Staff Pick
A blistering takedown of the American medical system, So Much for That is the story of one family's terminal illness and the financial ramifications thereof. Shep watches his retirement account flush away while trying to keep his wife alive. Shriver's characters are layered, complex and not always likable, but the situation is dire, and the story is riveting. So much for the "American dream." Recommended By Dianah H., Powells.com
Synopses & Reviews
Shep Knacker has long saved for "the Afterlife," an idyllic retreat in the Third World where his nest egg can last forever. Exasperated that his wife, Glynis, has concocted endless excuses why it's never the right time to go, Shep finally announces he's leaving for a Tanzanian island, with or without her. Yet Glynis has some news of her own: she's deathly ill. Shep numbly puts his dream aside, while his nest egg is steadily devastated by staggering bills that their health insurance only partially covers. Astonishingly, illness not only strains their marriage but saves it.
From acclaimed New York Times bestselling author Lionel Shriver comes a searing, ruthlessly honest novel. Brimming with unexpected tenderness and dry humor, it presses the question: How much is one life worth?
Review
“Brave, bold. . . . A page turner. . . . Brilliantly funny and a superb plotter, Shriver is a master of the misanthrope. . . . [A] viciously smart writer.” Mary Pols, Time
Review
“Shriver writes in precise, dynamic prose…. If anyones going to perk up the often-limp niceness of the womens novel its Shriver, who has no use for earth mothers or noble victims…. The climax offers more fun, vengeful satisfaction and pure tenderness than any treatise on the future of healthcare.” Ella Taylor, Los Angeles Times
Review
“Harrowing yet riveting.... Wisely, Shriver doesnt make her characters all saints.... [They] come alive with visceral abandon.... Clever, convincing...stubbornly real-and chillingly personal.” Julia Keller, Chicago Tribune
Review
“[A] shrewd, ambitious novel. . . . Shrivers prose is frank and often beautiful . . . nuanced and persuasive.” The New Yorker
Review
“The rare novel that will shake and change you. With these wholly realistic and sympathetic characters, [Shriver] makes us consider the most existential questions of our lives and the dreadful calculus of modern health care in this country…. Its a bitter pill, indeed, but take it if you can.” Ron Charles, Washington Post
Review
“Neither stingy with subplots nor shy about taking on timely, complex issues, [Shriver] tosses plenty of both into the pot with real daring and brio.” Leah Hager Cohen, New York Times Book Review
Review
“[An] immaculate, hilarious, and authentically dark new novel. . . . A cast of characters as absurd and entertaining as they are real.” Cathi Hanauer, Elle
Review
“A visceral and deeply affecting story, a story about how illness affects peoples relationships, and how their efforts to grapple with mortality reshape the arcs of their lives…. [Shrivers] understanding of her people is so intimate, so unsentimental…it lofts these characters permanently into the readers imagination.” Michiko Kakutani, New York Times
Review
“A delicious novel. . . . So Much for That, Lionel Shrivers improbably feel-good black comedy, is the rare book that can make suicide, near-bankruptcy and terminal cancer so engaging you cant wait to turn the page. . . . Provocative, entertaining-and so very timely.” Jocelyn McClurg, USA Today
Review
“[Shriver] certainly has her finger on national nerves.” Birmingham Post
About the Author
Lionel Shriver's novels include the New York Timesbestseller The Post-Birthday Worldand the international bestseller We Need to Talk About Kevin, which won the 2005 Orange Prize and has now sold over a million copies worldwide. Earlier books include Double Fault, A Perfectly Good Family, and Checker and the Derailleurs. Her novels have been translated into twenty-five languages. Her journalism has appeared in the Guardian, the New York Times, the Wall Street Journal, and many other publications. She lives in London.