The Motion of the Body Through Space: From the award-winning author of We Need to Talk About Kevin

I could criticise ‘The Motion of the Body Through Space’ for the lame plot and many one-dimensional characters, and that it seems like an essay collection mashed into a novel. Nevertheless, I found this a wonderfully entertaining, well written and effortlessly easily-read novel.It deals with a large number of themes: The nature of and obsession with exercise. Exercise as maintenance or glorification or mortification of the flesh or addiction? Do you exercise to live or live to exercise? What happens when age or injury or illness restricts exercise? How does the preoccupation with exercise impact on the rest of your life? Cultural appropriation. The ageing process. Submitting to younger and less experienced bosses?I related strongly to the central character: This could have been written about me, and I’m sure many people will feel the same.It is so easy to read that it invites criticism. I was inclined to complain that the prose lacked poetry. But I think this is just because you feel if something is easy to read that it can’t be deep or artistic. Actually I think there is a deep artistry in writing simply and clearly. Ian McEwan, for instance, has this down pat. The last novels that I read effortlessly, McEwan’s ‘Machines Like Me’, and Ishiguro’s ‘Never Let Me Go’, are great works. There is a place for difficult novels, like Richard Powers or Thomas Pynchon, or Thomas Mann, but not every novel needs to be difficult, and it is clearly a great art to write an effortlessly readable work.It has a strange epilogue that makes some trite observations about what happens to our characters and society and work in the near future. It also inserts the idea apparently for the first time that there is nothing wrong with living and having lived an unimpactful life.She writes simply, clearly and engagingly about important subjects. This was my first Lionel Shriver book, and it won’t be my last.

Very very readable but IMO LS lets her general bitching at the state of the world just get the better of her here - the entire book and main character are a vehicle for aspects of modern life she loathes. She writes compellingly on the dispiriting aspects of ageing, and coming to terms with a body that will gradually weigh down on us and fail. The reason I love her books is because I share her views pretty much (particularly as I have been diagnosed with arthritis at 44) but I couldn't help feeling a little dirty and mean-spirited after finishing this one. A somewhat ineffective element is that the narrator and the main character are basically the same cynical voice, so there is no 'relief' when we step back from her - there is no neutral tone to retreat to. Even as someone equally angry at aspects of modern life, it can get too much for me if there is no escape to some kind of calm acceptance. Shriver's attempts at the end to tie it all up with a positive tone of 'life is meaningless but we've got to enjoy what we can' just doesn't wash. The entire novel until the pat ending, although extremely readable and at times laugh-out-loud funny, is a rant. This isn't surprising, it's what she seems to do best, but it makes me start to want a bit more imagination. The secondary support characters are not developed enough and in many cases are cardboard cutout with no nuance, just objects inserted to allow the 'heroine' to get more irritated, eg the daughter. LS has never surpassed the brilliance of 'Kevin', and one of the delights of that novel was how long it was. This is a tad too short and it felt as though she ran out of rant-energy at the end. Big Brother was more satisfying to me, and the Property stories just brilliant. Lionel, please give us something huge, more nuanced and set in London. I'm looking forward to it!

I've read several books by Lionel Shriver and am always impressed by her ability to handle difficult topics.I can see some of myself in this book on a few different levels. I'm slightly younger than Serenata but have recently discovered the fitness addiction so was curious to see how Lionel Shriver would explore this.LS is always controversial although I'm never sure whether this is intentional or not. She challenges stereotypes and holds a mirror up to society, making any reader put themselves into her characters and consider the varying responses.The book is 338 pages split into 12 chapters.I adore the dedication to her husband - "Added together and divided by two, we make a perfectly balanced person" - that is what any good marriage should be.There aren't many authors who write like this - LS shows a dry humour and seems to savour wonderful words and phrases. Many times, I had to slow down and read out loud some of these sentences.On the surface this book explores the world of extreme sport, but it is much deeper than that. I consider the ageing process and how we all deal with that, with its effects on the body and the mind. It looks at what we all do with ourselves now that we retire years before we physically need to and how that void must be filled with something. It made me think about how we cope with ageing and how easily we accept it (or not!).Long term marriage is also a big part of this novel - how do partners cope when they or their other half change - is it different when that change is enforced or chosen.This book is close to some things going on in my life so parts of it are uncomfortable to read which reminded me again that LS is such a brilliant writer. It is all very thought provoking and will stay in my head for a long time.Running (!!) alongside the main story is an ongoing discussion about racism, misogynism and other prejudices in society. She thinks about what happens when these issues are over corrected and when white privilege becomes a disadvantage. Both Serenata and Remington have their careers damaged by societal change although we are encouraged to think about how they got their jobs initially.Their children are on the edge of the story but are used to illustrate facets of a broken US society.All these social issues are explored to varying degrees and I love that LT allows herself to vent about what she dislikes about the world - she does this by creating a character to whom she can relate. Never did I feel bombarded which can happen when a book is as packed with problems as this is. This book will make you think deeply about everything it raises – even those that are lightly mentioned are still to be considered.The ending is well crafted, leaving me wanting more whilst being perfectly satisfied – its unusual that a book manages to do both.

I know her from the Spectator where she is an incredibly witty columnist.This novel treats her own and society’s fitness obsession with gleeful disdain, the failings and success of her marriage with wisdom, along with sufficient scepticism of life today.

Highly entertaining, with a 'how will this end' tension evenly distributed and kept up till the last page, and a set of characters tirelessly bickering and bouncing ideas off each other with tongues as sharp as Shriver's own.Among the many things I love about Shriver's novels is her obvious relish in crafting each sentence and her striving to max out the treasures of the English language, dusting off words forgotten in the attic or dashing off novel puns.Of all the backgrounds she has chosen for her works, this one, the world of amateur endurance athletes, was one of the most promising to me. Of course, the last word about running has not been said. In 'The Motion of the Body Through Space' we come to see exercise through the eyes of somebody who has for years maintained a rigid discipline of daily ten-mile runs from a sense of obligation to the body rather than for the sheer pleasure of running, crippling herself in the process what with wear and tear on the knees. The only time the protagonist really seems to enjoy the motion of her own body through space is when she climbs and rides the bicycle named Carlisle.– You can read a more personal review in my blog.

Lionel Shriver is one of my favourite writers. I've enjoyed everything she's ever written. This one is no exception, as it depicts a long married couple's struggles with ageing and the breakdown of their bodies, and how that affects their identities (each of them identifying with athleticism). What happens when an old man decides to take up marathon running, and pushes himself past his limits? What happens when his wife who used to be the athletic one in the marriage, has a busted knee meaning she can never reach her past levels of fitness?While in classic Lionel Shriver fashion, there is plenty of the depiction of everyday resentment and irritation in the marriage, what sticks with me is how tender and loving the story is. Especially at the end. The last few chapters especially stick with me more than anything else.

Seranata, the narrator, is smart, fascinating, and often wickedly funny. She claims to be a misanthrope, but she isn't really. Remember the old bumper sticker: "I love humanity, it's people I can't stand"? Serenata is the opposite of that, and that's what I found endearing. Shriver has taken some heat because Seranata's husband suffered the consequences of being an old white man in a woke environment, but this book is about more than politics. I'd have hoped that folks who say that math is racist would have a sense of humor, but, sadly, ...no.Shriver has a great ear for dialogue and a great sense of how the move the narrative along. Don't pass it up if you want a fun read, even if it's a little dark.

Interesting premise.