Ocean City Free Public Library Book Blog

Whenever anyone asks me for some of my favorite authors, 9 times out of 10 I will throw Lionel Shriver into the mix. We Need to Talk About Kevin is on my list of favorite books of all time (and proved to be one of the most sucessful book discussions that the library's book club has ever had), and The Post Birthday World messed with my head for weeks afterwards. The thing to keep in mind when reading Shriver is that she (and yes, Lionel Shriver is a female) evokes such deep emotions and feelings in all of her works, though they usually err on the negative side. The same can be said for So Much For That . Shep Knacker has been saving for years in the hopes of retiring to a remote island off of the African coast. The time has almost come for him to leave when he finds out his wife Glynis has mesothelioma and needs him to keep working in order to retain health insurance. The fact that Glynis is kind of a bitch merely adds to the frustration. Throughout the novel, Shep relies on his f...

Far and away, my favorite book for 2007 ( Entertainment Weekly also thought so as well). Shriver's novel delves deeply into the psychological realm of that nagging "what if" scenario. In chapter 1, Irina reaches a critical junction on the night of her friend Ramsey's birthday- should she continue to stay with her always-safe-but-boring husband Lawrence or run away with the sexy snooker (think billiards) player Ramsey. Shriver does what we all wish we could do and splits her novel into Irina's two scenarios. What's especially interesting is seeing how the consequences of each decision intermingle with each other as they play out. Is there ever just one "right" decision? Is predictability and comfort a proper substitute for passion? This book is so fabulous and if you can just get through the excessive snooker jargon, you will not be disappointed.