Big Brother: A Novel (P.S.)

"Big Brother" tells the story of a forty-something woman, Pandora, whose brother, Edison, has recently grown grotesquely obese. Pandora’s husband, Fletcher, on the other hand, is a fitness fiend and nutrition nazi. When Edison comes for an extended visit, Pandora is distraught by his dramatic upsizing, and she determines to help him lose weight. In the endeavor, her marriage is compromised, and therein lies the story.I bought "Big Brother" after hearing an interview with Shriver (also the author of "We Need to Talk About Kevin") on NPR. Having read "Kevin," I already admired her work, and the concept of this new novel captured my acute attention. As expected, the actual reading was excellent. The story is intellectual and psychological. Shriver’s prose, as in "Kevin," is rich with observation, analysis, and intent, as she addresses the base human drives of food, love, power, and ego. The primary plot is simple, but because the key elements are so universally experienced, it’s surprisingly alluring.The characters in "Big Brother" are multidimensional and believable. You’ll root for each of them and shake your head at them in turn. Pandora, who narrates the story, is the wallflower type. She rose to national notoriety somewhat accidentally with the surprise success of her custom doll business. Since she’s uncomfortable in the limelight, she takes deliberate steps to maintain her humility and normalcy. Conversely, her brother is a self-important, unctuous, jargon-spouting jazz pianist who left home straight out of high school and flourished on the New York music scene. In his middle age, his career deflated, but his ego ‒ and his body ‒ did not.While the primary plot centers on Edison’s food issues, Pandora and Edison also reminisce about their unconventional upbringing, each from their own contrasting perspectives. Their mother’s tragic death was a suspected suicide, and their father, a Hollywood television actor, was more attached to his onscreen children than his biological progeny. Throughout the pages, Shriver deconstructs these complexities without the coldness of an overt psychoanalysis. Instead, it’s a show-and-tell of dysfunction, and Pandora is, mostly, the voice of reason.The surprise ending isn’t ‒ obviously ‒ what you’ll be expecting. But it isn’t even what you’d expect for a surprise ending. It’s strangely settling and unsettling at once.My only criticisms of "Big Brother" tie back to "We Need to Talk about Kevin." First, Pandora’s narrative style is identical to Eva’s (the protagonist in "Kevin"). Although Pandora’s characteristics and circumstances are effectively differentiated from Eva’s, both women are hyperanalytical intellectualizers with expansive vocabularies, which probably means that Shriver is too. Shriver’s mind and lexicon impress me, but if she can’t find unique voices for her first-person narrators, she might consider writing in third-person next time. Also, and mainly, "Kevin" is still Shriver’s masterpiece. The characters in "Big Brother" aren’t quite as gripping, the development not quite as driving, the climax not quite as spectacular.Nevertheless, "Big Brother" is a great psychological drama, and because of the subjects it addresses ‒ overeating and extreme dieting, marital power balances, family dysfunction ‒ it will easily appeal to most thoughtful readers. It certainly held my attention, exercised my mind, and earned my heartfelt recommendation.(Check out my other book reviews at [...].)

Every family has its own dramas and internal failures and this book makes you ask yourself how far you would go to help a family member - in this case a sibling...especially one that does not want to be helped and seemingly cannot help themselves.Shriver looks at the obesity issue that has become part of all of our lives and she asks some hefty questions and makes some pretty hard hitting points.Is a food addict the same as a drug or alcohol addict? Do they face the same struggles or is it harder because their addiction is something that they have to face every day? To really fight the addiction do you have to absolve yourself of food totally and survive on liquid only? Will the eventual show down with food unravel you and take you back to where you started?Edison and Pandoras journey highlights some interesting discoveries about eating/food/dieting like - even when we know we are over weight, when we are the smallest person in a group of overweight people we feel like we are okay. How we revolve friendships, partnerships and most of our living around food - the preparation of, the presentation of, the discussion of, the daydreaming about and then the consuming. Food is wrapped up in so many moments and memories that is it so far fetched that we are all a little obsessed about it? Dieters will agree that socialising becomes very hard when you are abstaining and yet for those who have eating disorders it is the most lonely place to be. Shriver asks us if the way we live in this day and age, not wanting for much and having everything at our disposal - whether food has lost its core function. It is no longer about survival and for most people it no longer holds real satisfaction. Once we finish one meal we are already planning the next without really stopping to savor this one. Meals are eaten hastily in front of televisions, over conversations, at computers and while driving, we pay little homage to something that should be a sustenance. Has food changed from keeping our bellies full, to trying to make us feel full and content in general? Are we seeking comfort and chasing that ever elusive feeling of fullness that used to come from working hard for something and reaping the reward? Food is a quick and easy feel good tool that the general population are using to get their 'fix'.Wonderful subject matter, really makes you stop and think about how far you would go to help a family member and if they really want/need/appreciate it. Looks at how hard it is sometimes to address the elephant in the room and what leads people to lose themselves in an addiction and not be able to come through it. Is the adage once an addict always an addict true? Can you abstain from food when you actually need it to survive? Is this why the diet industry is so massive and the solution to the problem not as easy as everyone thinks?Shriver weaves magic with her writing but even I felt annoyed when I had to keep looking up words and re-reading sentences because the language was over the top and verbose to say the least. I dont think the novel needed it and if anything detracted from it for me personally.The ending was not what I was expecting and I can see how it has upset many fellow readers. But for me it just concreted everything that the book was trying to get us to think about.

I agree with my fellow reviewers on the need for trimming the excessive rambling, in particular in the beginning of the novel, for which I would have taken off one star if not for the fact that I emerged both deeply awed and humbled as well as multiple linguistic treasures richer after I had patiently plowed through.After about one quarter of the book, the story became so intense that I put it down deliberately for a later reading, or it would have affected me so much that it would have affected my work performance. I kid you not. As for the ending: I can relate to the fact that many readers would yell in outrage because of the "twist" as several reviewers called it. However, if upon reading Shriver's autobiographical remarks at the end, her choice of such an ending not only made sense to me but broke my heart twice.I definitely came out of this experience, and I am deliberately calling it this way - a lot more conscious of my own and our society's eating habits as well as our cruel beauty standards. I know I will read this novel again and again, but with long intervals in between.

Lionel Shrivel is the coldest writer ever.She gives you life ,as it is.This book tells us what we would like to do in a particular situation and what we actually do.

Lionel Shriver is a genius. As with many of her books, I read Big Brother in one day. Tackling contemporary issues with a wit and an angle that are sharply unique, Shriver's command of her art form is astonishing. My only complaints are that her characters weren't as finely drawn as in "Kevin", and the plot resolution could have been more satisfying. Worth reading!

Catchy and disturbing.Shriver shines a light to a pertinent subject that's been concealed in today's society.Caught myself cheering till the end!

Un tema universal ambientado en el siglo XXI. un cóctel explosivo entre familia y sobrepeso. Shiriver nos tiene acostumbrado a este tipo de análisis críticos