Most Popular Books by Lionel Shriver

The inspiration for the film starring Tilda Swinton and John C. Reilly, this resonant story of a mother’s unsettling quest to understand her teenage son’s deadly violence, her own ambivalence toward motherhood, and the explosive link between them remains terrifyingly prescient. Eva never really wanted to be a mother. And certainly not the mother of a boy who murdered seven of his fellow high school students, a cafeteria worker, and a much–adored teacher in a school shooting two days before his sixteenth birthday. Neither nature nor nurture exclusively shapes a child''s character. But Eva was always uneasy with the sacrifices and social demotion of motherhood. Did her internalized dislike for her own son shape him into the killer he’s become? How much is her fault? Now, two years later, it is time for her to come to terms with Kevin’s horrific rampage, all in a series of startlingly direct correspondences with her estranged husband, Franklin. A piercing, unforgettable, and penetrating exploration of violence and responsibility, a book that the Boston Globe describes as “impossible to put down,” is a stunning examination of how tragedy affects a town, a marriage, and a family.

"A fantasy that hews uncomfortably close to today’s reality, where facts and the truth are selectively recognized at increasingly subjective whims . . . . The specifics of Mania are the stuff of bleeding satire, but the novel’s guiding concept cuts close to the bone with no anesthesia. Shriver isn’t one to tip-toe around her subjects. She still knows how to poke the bear. In this case, the bear is us.” — Boston Globe Set in a parallel yet all too familiar near past, a brilliant subversive novel about a lifelong friendship threatened by culture wars, from the New York Times bestselling author. In an alternative 2011, the Mental Parity movement takes hold. Americans now embrace the sacred, universal truth that there is no such thing as variable human intelligence. Because everyone is equally smart, discrimination against purportedly dumb people is "the last great civil rights fight." Tests, grades, and employment qualifications are all discarded. Children are expelled for saying the S-word (“stupid”) and encouraged to report parents who use it at home. A college English instructor, the constitutionally rebellious Pearson Converse rejected her restrictive Jehovah’s Witness upbringing as a teenager, and so has an aversion to dogma of any kind. Made impotent in the university classroom, she’s also enraged by the crushing of her exceptionally bright children’s spirits in primary school. Fortunately, she enjoys the confidence of a best friend, a media commentator with whom she can speak frankly about her socially unacceptable contempt for the MP movement. Or at least she thinks she can . . . until one day the political chasm between the two women becomes uncrossable, and a lifelong relationship implodes. With echoes of Philip Roth’s The Human Stain, told in Lionel Shriver’s inimitable and iconoclastic voice, Mania is a sharp, acerbic, and ruthlessly funny book about the road to a delusional, self-destructive egalitarianism that our society is already on.

When her father dies, Kay Wilkinson can’t cry. Over ten years, Alzheimer’s had steadily eroded this erudite man into a paranoid lunatic. Surely one’s own father passing should never come as such a relief. Both medical professionals, Kay and her husband Cyril have seen too many elderly patients in similar states of decay. Although healthy and vital in their early fifties, the couple fears what may lie ahead. Determined to die with dignity, Cyril makes a modest proposal. To spare themselves and their loved ones such a humiliating and protracted decline, they should agree to commit suicide together once they’ve both turned eighty. When their deal is sealed, the spouses are blithely looking forward to another three decades together. But then they turn eighty. By turns hilarious and touching, playful and grave, Should We Stay or Should We Go portrays twelve parallel universes, each exploring a possible future for Kay and Cyril. Were they to cut life artificially short, what would they miss out on? Something terrific? Or something terrible? Might they end up in a home? A fabulous luxury retirement village, or a Cuckoo’s Nest sort of home? Might being demented end up being rather fun? What future for humanity awaits—the end of civilization, or a Valhalla of peace and prosperity? What if cryogenics were really to work? What if scientists finally cure aging? Both timely and timeless, Lionel Shriver addresses serious themes—the compromises of longevity, the challenge of living a long life and still going out in style—with an uncannily light touch. Weaving in a host of contemporary issues, from Brexit and mass migration to the coronavirus, Shriver has pulled off a rollicking page-turner in which we never have to mourn perished characters, because they’ll be alive and kicking in the very next chapter.

“Shriver shows in a masterstroke why character is fate and how sport reveals it.” —New York Times Book Review From the author of the New York Times bestseller The Post-Birthday World, and the international bestseller We Need to Talk About Kevin comes a brilliant and unflinching novel about the devastating cost of prizing achievement over love Tennis has been Willy Novinsky''s one love ever since she first picked up a racquet at the age of four. A middle-ranked pro at twenty-three, she''s met her match in Eric Oberdorf, a low-ranked, untested Princeton grad who also intends to make his mark on the international tennis circuit. Eric becomes Willy''s first passion off the court, and eventually they marry. But while wedded life begins well, full-tilt competition soon puts a strain on their relationship—and an unexpected accident sends driven and gifted Willy sliding irrevocably toward resentment, tragedy, and despair.

With dry wit and psychological acuity, this near-future novel explores the aftershocks of an economically devastating U.S. sovereign debt default on four generations of a once-prosperous American family. Down-to-earth and perfectly realistic in scale, this is not an over-the-top Blade Runner tale. It is not science fiction. In 2029, the United States is engaged in a bloodless world war that will wipe out the savings of millions of American families. Overnight, on the international currency exchange, the “almighty dollar” plummets in value, to be replaced by a new global currency, the “bancor.” In retaliation, the president declares that America will default on its loans. “Deadbeat Nation” being unable to borrow, the government prints money to cover its bills. What little remains to savers is rapidly eaten away by runaway inflation. The Mandibles have been counting on a sizable fortune filtering down when their ninety-seven-year-old patriarch dies. Once the inheritance turns to ash, each family member must contend with disappointment, but also—as the U.S. economy spirals into dysfunction—the challenge of sheer survival. Recently affluent, Avery is petulant that she can’t buy olive oil, while her sister, Florence, absorbs strays into her cramped household. An expat author, their aunt, Nollie, returns from abroad at seventy-three to a country that’s unrecognizable. Her brother, Carter, fumes at caring for their demented stepmother, now that an assisted living facility isn’t affordable. Only Florence’s oddball teenage son, Willing, an economics autodidact, will save this formerly august American family from the streets. The Mandibles is about money. Thus it is necessarily about bitterness, rivalry, and selfishness—but also about surreal generosity, sacrifice, and transformative adaptation to changing circumstances.

“Complex and nervy, Shriver’s clever meditation will intrigue anyone who has ever wondered how things might have turned out had they followed, or ignored, a life-changing impulse.” — People (Critic''s Choice) This dazzling novel from the Orange Prize–winning author of the international bestseller We Need to Talk About Kevin takes a psychological and deeply human look at love and volition Does the course of life hinge on a single kiss? Whether the American expatriate Irena McGovern does or doesn’t lean into a certain pair of lips in London will determine whether she stays with her smart, disciplined, intellectual American partner Lawrence, or runs off with Ramsey—a wild, exuberant British snooker star the couple has known for years. Employing a parallel-universe structure, Shriver follows Irena’s life as it unfolds under the influence of two drastically different men. In a tour de force that, remarkably, has no villains, Shriver explores the implications, both large and small, of our choice of mate—a subject of timeless, universal fascination for both sexes.

Following the death of her worthy liberal parents, Corlis McCrea moves back into her family''s grand Reconstruction mansion in North Carolina, willed to all three siblings. Her timid younger brother has never left home. When her bullying black-sheep older brother moves into "his" house as well, it''s war. Each heir wants the house. Yet to buy the other out, two siblings must team against one. Just as in girlhood, Corlis is torn between allying with the decent but fearful youngest and the iconoclastic eldest, who covets his legacy to destroy it. A Perfectly Good Family is a stunning examination of inheritance, literal and psychological: what we take from our parents, what we discard, and what we are stuck with, like it or not.

“Shriver has a gift for creating real and complicated characters… A highly engrossing novel.” — San Francisco Chronicle From New York Times bestselling author Lionel Shriver (The Post-Birthday World, We Need to Talk About Kevin), comes a searing, deeply humane novel about a crumbling marriage resurrected in the face of illness, and a family’s struggle to come to terms with disease, dying, and the obscene cost of medical care in modern America.

Acclaimed author Lionel Shriver—author of the National Book Award finalist So Much for That, The Post-Birthday World, and the vivid psychological novel We Need to Talk About Kevin, now a major motion picture—probes the mystery of charisma in a razor-sharp new novel that teases out the intimate relationship between terrorism and cults of personality, explores what makes certain people so magnetic, and reveals the deep frustrations of feeling overshadowed by a life-of-the-party who may not even be present. “Shriver is a master of the misanthrope. . . . [A] viciously smart writer.” —Time

In Lionel Shriver’s entertaining send-up of today’s cult of exercise—which not only encourages better health, but now like all religions also seems to promise meaning, social superiority, and eternal life—an aging husband’s sudden obsession with extreme sport makes him unbearable. After an ignominious early retirement, Remington announces to his wife Serenata that he’s decided to run a marathon. This from a sedentary man in his sixties who’s never done a lick of exercise in his life. His wife can’t help but observe that his ambition is “hopelessly trite.” A loner, Serenata disdains mass group activities of any sort. Besides, his timing is cruel. Serenata has long been the couple’s exercise freak, but by age sixty, her private fitness regimes have destroyed her knees, and she’ll soon face debilitating surgery. Yes, becoming more active would be good for Remington’s heart, but then why not just go for a walk? Without several thousand of your closest friends? As Remington joins the cult of fitness that increasingly consumes the Western world, her once-modest husband burgeons into an unbearable narcissist. Ignoring all his other obligations, he engages a saucy, sexy personal trainer named Bambi, who treats Serenata with contempt. When Remington sets his sights on the legendarily grueling triathlon, MettleMan, Serenata is sure he’ll end up injured or dead. And even if he does survive, their marriage may not. The Motion of the Body Through Space is vintage Lionel Shriver written with psychological insight, a rich cast of characters, lots of verve and petulance, an astute reading of contemporary culture, and an emotionally resonant ending.

“Shriver’s debut is a ''literary'' novel without an iota of pretentiousness. It reads with the grace of a well-written spy story, but conveys some of its author’s early wisdom about what our humanity both demands of and grants us.” —Washington Post The first novel by the New York Times bestselling author Lionel Shriver, The Female of the Species is the exotic and chilling story of a highly independent and successful woman’s late-life romantic education, in all its ecstasy and desperation Still unattached and childless at fifty-nine, world-renowned anthropologist Gray Kaiser is seemingly invincible—and untouchable. Returning to make a documentary at the site of her first great triumph in Kenya, she is accompanied by her faithful middle-aged assistant, Errol McEchern, who has loved her for years in silence. When sexy young graduate assistant Raphael Sarasola arrives on the scene, Gray is captivated and falls hopelessly in love—before an amazed and injured Errol''s eyes. As he follows the progress of their affair with jealous fascination, Errol watches helplessly from the sidelines as a proud and fierce woman is reduced to miserable dependence through subtle, cruel, and calculating manipulation.

“A rare voice, someone who challenges orthodoxies in the way that many journalists and public intellectuals claim to do but don’t. It is bracing to spend time in the company of such a smart, plain-spoken and unpredictable person.”—Wall Street Journal A striking collection of essays from the prize-winning, New York Times bestselling author of Should We Stay or Should We Go, So Much for That, and The Post-Birthday World. Novelist, cultural observer, and social satirist Lionel Shriver is among the sharpest talents of our age. A writer who embraces “under-expressed, unpopular or downright dangerous” points of view, she filets cherished shibboleths and the conformity of thought and attitude that has overtaken us. Bringing together thirty-five works curated from her many columns, features, essays, and op-eds for the likes of the Spectator, the Guardian, the New York Times, Harper’s Magazine, the Wall Street Journal, speeches and reviews, and some unpublished pieces, Abominations reveals Shriver at her most iconoclastic and personal. Relentlessly skeptical, cutting, and contrarian, this collection showcases Shriver’s piquant opinions on a wide range of topics, including religion, politics, illness, mortality, family and friends, tennis, gender, immigration, consumerism, health care, and taxes. In her characteristically frank manner, Shriver shrewdly skewers the concept of language “crimes,” while chafing at arbitrary limitations on speech and literature that crimp artistic expression and threaten intellectual freedom. Many an essay in Abominations reflects sentiments that have “brought hell and damnation down on my head,” as she cheerfully explains, and have threatened her with “cancellation” more than once. Throughout, Shriver offers insights on her novels and explores the perks and pitfalls of becoming a successful artist. In revisiting old pieces and rejected essays, Shriver updates and expands her thinking. “Enlightened” progressive readers will find plenty to challenge here. But they may find, to their surprise, insights with which they agree. A timely synthesis of Shriver''s expansive work, Abominations reveals this provocative, talented writer at her most assured.

“Ms. Shriver portrays [her characters] with psychological depth and wry humor, dramatizing a subject that’s rarely been exploited in fiction, and pulling off a novel that not only works, but rocks.” —New York Times Book Review From the author of the New York Times bestseller The Post-Birthday World and the international bestseller We Need to Talk About Kevin, a tender, hilarious story of youth and envy, ambition and rock and roll, hero worship and heroism, and, especially, love Beautiful and charismatic, nineteen-year-old Checker Secretti is the most gifted and original drummer that the club-goers of Astoria, Queens, have ever heard. When he plays, conundrums seem to solve themselves, brilliant thoughts spring to mind, and couples fall in love. The members of his band, The Derailleurs, are passionately devoted to their guiding spirit, as are all who fall under Checker''s spell. But when another drummer, Eaton Striker, hears the prodigy play, he is pulled inexorably into Checker''s orbit by a powerful combination of envy and admiration. Soon The Derailleurs, too, are torn apart by latent jealousies that Eaton does his utmost to bring alive.

Big Brother is a striking novel about siblings, marriage, and obesity from Lionel Shriver, the acclaimed author the international bestseller We Need to Talk About Kevin. For Pandora, cooking is a form of love. Alas, her husband, Fletcher, a self-employed high-end cabinetmaker, now spurns the “toxic” dishes that he’d savored through their courtship, and spends hours each day to manic cycling. Then, when Pandora picks up her older brother Edison at the airport, she doesn’t recognize him. In the years since they’ve seen one another, the once slim, hip New York jazz pianist has gained hundreds of pounds. What happened? After Edison has more than overstayed his welcome, Fletcher delivers his wife an ultimatum: It’s him or me. Rich with Shriver’s distinctive wit and ferocious energy, Big Brother is about fat: an issue both social and excruciatingly personal. It asks just how much sacrifice we''ll make to save single members of our families, and whether it''s ever possible to save loved ones from themselves.

A short story by Lionel Shriver from the collection Reader, I Married Him: Stories inspired by Jane Eyre.

Set against the vivid backdrop of modern-day Africa—a continent now primarily populated with wildlife of the two-legged sort—Lionel Shriver''s Game Control is a wry, grimly comic tale of bad ideas and good intentions. Eleanor Merritt, a do-gooding American family-planning worker, was drawn to Kenya to improve the lot of the poor. Unnervingly, she finds herself falling in love with the beguiling Calvin Piper despite, or perhaps because of, his misanthropic theories about population control and the future of the human race. Surely, Calvin whispers seductively in Eleanor''s ear, if the poor are a responsibility they are also an imposition. With a deft, droll touch, Shriver highlights the hypocrisy of lofty intellectuals who would "save" humanity but who don''t like people.

A new edition of one of bestselling author Lionel Shriver’s early novels, reissued 25 years after first publication—an engrossing commentary on the intersection of politics and human relationships, set in turbulent Northern Ireland. For ten years, Estrin Lancaster has fled Philadelphia. From the Philippines to Berlin, she’s been a traveler without a destination, an expatriate without a motherland. In each of the cities Estrin favors, she manages an apartment, a job, a lover, and never tarries past the first signs of ennui. Her latest destination is Belfast, in Northern Ireland. After twenty years of ritualized violence, this city, too, is exhausted—a town where when one more bomb explodes in the city center, old ladies blow the dust off their treacle cakes and count their change. Here the lanky and spiteful Farrell O’Phelan, former purveyor of his own bomb-disposal service, technically Catholic but everyone’s aggravation, wrangles through the maze of factions in the North by despising every side. Farrell’s affair with the curious Estrin is nonetheless a meeting of two loners; like hers, Farrell’s marathoning around the planet has become a running in place. In deadlocked Northern Ireland, it has become harder and harder to believe that anything is happening at all. A grand tragi-comedy—one of the earliest displays of the ambition and intelligence that has since earned Lionel Shriver worldwide acclaim—Ordinary Decent Criminals is about conflict groupies, people terrified of domesticity, who stir up anguish in their lives and their countries to avoid the greater horror of what lies closest to home.

From the award-winning novelist and short story writer, Lionel Shriver, comes a literary gem, a story about love and the power of a gift.

Featuring: Lisa Blower, Lavinia Greenlaw, Sarah Hall, Lionel Shriver and Lucy Wood. Edgar Allan Poe once claimed the greatest literary works were those that could be read ’in one sitting’. ‘Brevity must be in direct ratio of the intensity of the intended effect,’ he argued, once the effect has been established, of course. The stories shortlisted for the BBC National Short Story Award 2013 all use brevity with striking results, whether presenting a complex family history through the snapshots of a time-honoured, annual holiday, or using the form of a letter to demonstrate that a life mourned by a solitary woman is worth no less than one mourned by a nation. Each story sparks into life instantly and, like a struck match, leaves a vivid impression of its characters burning on the retina, long after the story has concluded. The landscapes they play out in also make their mark – from the panic-stricken streets of New York on 9/11, to the eerie quiet of a wood on the outskirts of a city, the haunted corners of an old Cornish house, to the rubble of a bombed-out office block in a country at war with itself. This year’s shortlist was drawn up by a panel of judges that included novelists Deborah Moggach, Mohsin Hamid and Peter Hobbs, as well as BBC Editor of Readings, Di Speirs, and the broadcaster Mariella Frostrup, who chaired the panel and who also introduces the collection.

Short story writers often say that, for maximum dramatic effect, you should arrive fashionably late to a scene. After years of living in the literary wilderness, it seems the short story’s own moment has finally arrived. The last twelve months have marked an extraordinary year for the form. The Nobel Prize for Literature, the Man Booker International Prize, the Folio Prize and the Independent Foreign Fiction Prize were all awarded to short story writers. The shortlist for the BBC National Short Story Award 2014 captures the spirit of this mood and the short story’s knack for cutting straight to the action, the all-important moment of change. The five stories on this year’s shortlist were chosen by a panel of judges that included: poet and novelist Adam Foulds; author, illustrator and performer Laura Dockrill; editor Philip Gwyn Jones; BBC Editor of Books Di Speirs; and the broadcaster Alan Yentob, who chaired the panel and introduces this collection.

Shep Knacker sempre economizou para a “Outra Vida”: um retiro idílico no Terceiro Mundo, onde um modesto pé-de-meia poderia durar para sempre. Os engarrafamentos de Nova York seriam substituídos por tempo para “falar, pensar, ver e ser” – e por horas de sono suficientes. Quando ele vende sua empresa de consertos domésticos por um milhão de dólares, parece que seu sonho finalmente será realizado. Ainda que Glynis, com quem é casado há 26 anos, sempre arrume desculpas e diga que nunca é o momento certo para partirem. Cansado de trabalhar como um peão para o idiota que comprou sua companhia, Shep anuncia que está de mudança para uma ilha na Tanzânia, com ou sem a esposa. Recém-chegada de uma consulta médica, Glynis também tem um anúncio a fazer: Shep não pode ir a lugar algum. Ela está doente e precisa desesperadamente de seu plano de saúde. Mas o convênio cobre apenas parte das despesas incrivelmente altas do tratamento, e o pé-de-meia de Shep para a Outra Vida parece se desfazer a cada dia. Um romance brutalmente honesto, Tempo é dinheiro acompanha as transformações de um casamento que é posto à prova ao mesmo tempo que se fortalece com as exigências de uma doença grave, e se revela uma inesperada oportunidade para a ternura, a renovação da intimidade e o humor ácido. Em uma pesada crítica aos sistemas de saúde, Lionel Shriver se atreve a fazer a temida pergunta: quanto custa a vida de uma pessoa?

Una novela feroz y explosiva, repleta de temas candentes, que toma el culto a la forma física como mirador desde el que observar la sociedad americana. Alérgica a toda clase de actividades grupales, Serenata Terpsichore, la protagonista de esta novela, es una artista de voz en off que ha dedicado su vida a hacer ejercicio físico, a correr, a nadar, a montar en bicicleta. Ahora, al cumplir sesenta, tanta actividad le pasa una dolorosa factura en forma de artrosis. Por su parte, Remington Alabaster, su siempre sedentario marido, acaba de ser prejubilado a la fuerza del Departamento de Transportes de Albany tras un confuso enfrentamiento con su nueva jefa, y decide escoger precisamente ese momento para descubrir las bondades de la gimnasia y correr una maratón. Tras apuntarse a la fiebre del fitness, cada vez más presente en el mundo moderno, el una vez moderado Remington se convierte en un narcisista insufrible, y contrata a una estricta (y seductora) entrenadora personal, junto a la que participará en competiciones cada vez más exigentes: después de la maratón, medio Mettleman, el triatlón completo... Tan furiosa como preocupada, Serenata descubrirá que no conviene subestimar la tenacidad de un prejubilado con mucho tiempo libre que se empeña en desafiar a la edad. Astuta y penetrante, en El movimiento del cuerpo a través del espacio la acidez de Lionel Shriver tiene un nuevo objetivo: el culto a la forma física, la entrega desmedida al ejercicio, que sirve de mirador desde el que observar tendencias, fallos y manías de la sociedad norteamericana de nuestros días, con sus tensiones culturales y raciales. Una novela feroz y explosiva, repleta de temas candentes (los sinsabores del envejecimiento, la masculinidad en crisis, las tensiones en la pareja, la corrección política), cuya mirada extremadamente aguda no elude ni una polémica, ni deja un mito sin desmontar.

Lionel Shriver realiza uma espécie de genealogia do assassínio ao criar na ficção uma chacina similar a tantas provocadas por jovens em escolas americanas. Aos 15 anos, o personagem Kevin mata 11 pessoas, entre colegas no colégio e familiares. Enquanto ele cumpre pena, a mãe Eva amarga a monstruosidade do filho. Entre culpa e solidão, ela apenas sobrevive. A vida normal se esvai no escândalo, no pagamento dos advogados, nos olhares sociais tortos. Transposto o primeiro estágio da perplexidade, um ano e oito meses depois, ela dá início a uma correspondência com o marido, único interlocutor capaz de entender a tragédia, apesar de ausente. Cada carta é uma ode e uma desconstrução do amor. Não sobra uma só emoção inaudita no relato da mulher de ascendência armênia, até então uma bem-sucedida autora de guias de viagem. Cada interstício do histórico familiar é flagrado: o casal se apaixona; ele quer filhos, ela não. Kevin é um menino entediado e cruel empenhado em aterrorizar babás e vizinhos. Eva tenta cumprir mecanicamente os ritos maternos, até que nasce uma filha realmente querida. A essa altura, as relações familiares já estão viciadas. Contudo, é à mãe que resta a tarefa de visitar o "sociopata inatingível" que ela gerou, numa casa de correção para menores. Orgulhoso da fama de bandido notório, ele não a recebe bem de início, mas ela insiste nos encontros quinzenais. Por meio de Eva, Lionel Shriver quebra o silêncio que costuma se impor após esse tipo de drama e expõe o indizível sobre as frágeis nuances das relações entre pais e filhos num romance irretocável.

A Shep Knacker no le ha ido nada mal en los negocios, pero desde la adolescencia sueña con retirarse todavía joven a un paraíso tercermundista, donde sus dólares valdrán mucho más y le durarán para siempre. Shep ya tiene el capital necesario para hacer real su sueño, pero su esposa, a quien él suponía comprometida con su proyecto, ha ido demorando la partida con distintos pretextos. Pero ahora Shep ha quemado las naves –o eso cree él– y ha comprado billetes, sólo de ida, para la isla de Pemba, cerca de Madagascar. Y entonces ella le revela que tiene una enfermedad rara y de muy mal pronóstico, un mesotelioma peritoneal, y que él no puede dejar su trabajo porque ella necesita su seguro médico para los tratamientos todavía experimentales que pueden salvarla... Una novela sobre el esplendor y las miserias de la clase media-baja americana, escrita con un notable despliegue de talento y ferocidad. «Una novela vigorosa» (Terry Apter, Times Literary Supplement). «Un grito furioso... La autora va mucho más allá de las fábulas hollywoodienses y pide cuentas a la sociedad americana y a un sistema que profundiza las desigualdades sociales» (Christine Ferniot, Lire). «Shriver, una escritora arriesgada y con una imaginación proteica, nos presenta otra novela deslumbrante y provocativa» (Publishers Weekly).

Pandora é uma empreendedora bem-sucedida que vive em Iowa com o marido, Fletcher, um homem de temperamento irritadiço, que nunca consegue relaxar. Edison, irmão de Pandora, antes um conhecido pianista de jazz em Nova York, está completamente falido, sem ter onde morar. Contrariando o marido, Pandora envia uma passagem aérea para o irmão e abre sua casa para hospedá-lo. Depois de quatro anos sem se encontrarem, ela quase não o reconhece quando vai buscá-lo no aeroporto e depara com um homem mais de cem quilos acima do peso. Em casa, os hábitos desleixados de Edison criam um enorme desconforto para Fletcher, até que Pandora decide se comprometer com o emagrecimento do irmão e abdica de tudo para ajudá-lo./span Construído com a inteligência e a força impactante de Lionel Shriver, Grande irmão é um livro sobre um assunto ao mesmo tempo social e dolorosamente íntimo. Shriver mostra, sem rodeios, como a obesidade grave pode atingir uma família de modo devastador e nos faz questionar se é possível proteger as pessoas que amamos delas mesmas. “Grande irmão tem a força necessária para dominar seus leitores. Uma história de peso que causa grande impacto.” The New York Times “Shriver explora de forma brilhante a força dos laços fraternos em contraste com as amarras muitas vezes frágeis do casamento.” Booklist

Em um futuro próximo e devastador, quatro gerações de uma família norte-americana outrora próspera sofrem as consequências de crises globais assustadoramente reais. Uma guerra fria de escala mundial reestrutura a ordem socioeconômica do planeta, criando novos eixos de poder. A União Europeia se desfaz, a China enfim é alçada ao posto de maior potência global e o longo período de prosperidade dos Estados Unidos chega ao fim. Da noite para o dia, o dólar despenca e, além do valor, perde também seu prestígio: uma nova moeda internacional, o bancor, chega para substituí-lo. Florence Mandible sofre as consequências desse cenário como uma típica representante da classe média. Uma cabeça de repolho passa a custar 20 dólares, o racionamento de água torna-se padrão e o ritual matinal já não inclui mais café – a mudança climática arruinou as safras – nem jornais, já que todos deixaram de existir. Sem escolha a não ser acolher os familiares sob seu teto – parentes que, assim como ela, dependem da herança do saudável patriarca da família, Douglas Mandible, de 97 anos –, Florence logo se torna responsável pela administração de um ecossistema familiar muito frágil, suscetível às mais dramáticas pulsões da natureza humana – como furto, alcoolismo e abandono de incapazes. Em A família Mandible: 2029 – 2047, Shriver narra os percalços de um típico clã norte-americano moderno e, como a guia experiente de um safári humano, conduz o leitor por detalhes muito íntimos da psique de seus personagens. Ambientada em um futuro que já se vê dobrando a esquina, a saga dos Mandible é o retrato de um apocalipse menos catastrófico, mas igualmente perturbador: a completa ruína financeira.

O mundo pós-aniversário aborda o relacionamento aparentemente sólido de um casal de americanos radicado em Londres. Ele é um disciplinado pesquisador de um instituto de estudos estratégicos; ela, uma acomodada ilustradora de livros que depara com uma vontade incontrolável de beijar outro homem: um velho amigo do casal, impetuoso jogador de sinuca que figura no topo do ranking do esporte, um dos mais populares entre os britânicos. Capítulo a capítulo, Lionel Shriver nos oferece dois desdobramentos do futuro dessa mulher sob a influência de dois homens radicalmente diferentes, e assim escreve duas histórias. A partir daquele único beijo, retrata alternativas para união e rompimento, e explora as consequências e as motivações mais íntimas de uma escolha. Determinar qual seria o melhor caminho não é óbvio nem fácil, mas a análise dos dois destinos em que a autora enreda os personagens e os leitores é memorável. Escrito com a sutileza e a sagacidade que são as marcas registradas da obra de Lionel Shriver, O mundo pós-aniversário é um apelo para aquele "talvez" que intriga e provoca todos nós.

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