The Scent Keeper
Erica Bauermeister, 2019
St. Martin's Press
320 pp.
ISBN-13: 9781250622624
Summary
A moving and evocative novel about childhood stories, families lost and found, and how a fragrance conjures memories capable of shaping the course of our lives.
Emmeline lives on a remote island with her father, who teaches her about the natural world through her senses.
What he won’t explain are the mysterious scents stored in glass bottles that line the walls of their cabin, or the origin of the machine that creates them.
As Emmeline grows, however, so too does her curiosity, until one day the unforeseen happens, and Emmeline is vaulted out into the real world—a place of love, betrayal, ambition, and revenge. To understand her past, Emmeline must unlock the clues to her identity, a quest that challenges the limits of her heart and imagination.
Captivating and emotional, The Scent Keeper explores the provocative beauty of scent, the way it can reveal hidden truths, lead us to the person we seek, and even help us find our way back home. (From the publisher.)
Author Bio
• Birth—1959
• Where—Pasadena, California, USA
• Education—Ph.D., University of Washington
• Currently—lives in Seattle, Washington
In her words:
I was born in Pasadena, California in 1959, a time when that part of the country was both one of the loveliest and smoggiest places you could imagine. I remember the arching branches of the oak tree in our front yard, the center of the patio that formed a private entrance to our lives; I remember leaning over a water faucet to run water across my eyes after a day spent playing outside. It’s never too early to learn that there is always more than one side to life.
I have always wanted to write, but when I read Tillie Olsen’s "I Stand Here Ironing" in college, I finally knew what I wanted to write – books that took what many considered to be unimportant bits of life and gave them beauty, shone light upon their meaning. The only other thing I knew for certain back in college, however, was that I wasn’t grown up enough yet to write them.
So I moved to Seattle, got married, and got a PhD. at the University of Washington. Frustrated by the lack of women authors in the curriculum, I co-authored 500 Great Books by Women: A Reader’s Guide with Holly Smith and Jesse Larsen and Let’s Hear It For the Girls: 375 Great Books for Readers 2-14 with Holly Smith. In the process I read, literally, thousands of books, good and bad, which is probably one of the best educations a writer can have. I still wrote, but thankfully that material wasn’t published. I taught writing and literature. I had children.
Having children probably had the most dramatic effect upon how I write of anything in my life. As the care-taker of children, there was no time for plot lines that couldn’t be interrupted a million times in the course of creation. I learned to multi-task, and when the children’s demands were too many, we created something called the "mental hopper." This is where all the suggestions went — "can we have ice cream tonight?" "can we take care of the school’s pet rat over the summer?" "can I have sex at 13?" The mental hopper was where things got sorted out, when I had time to think about them. What’s interesting about the mental hopper is that when something goes in there, I can usually figure out a way to make it happen (except sex at 13).
And that is how I write now. All those first details and amorphous ideas for a book, the voices of the characters, the fact that one of them loves garlic and another one flips through the pages of used books looking for clues to the past owner’s life, all those ideas go in the mental hopper and slowly but surely they form connections with each other. Stories start to take shape. It’s a very organic process, and it suits me. So when people say being a mother is death for writers, I disagree. Yes, in a logistical sense, children can make writing difficult. In fact, I don’t think it is at all coincidental that my first novel was published after both my children were in college. But I think differently, I create the work I do, because I have had children.
It’s been more than thirty years since I first read Tillie Olsen. My children are now mostly grown. I’ve been married for three decades to the same man; I’ve lived in Italy; I’ve stood by friends as they faced death. I’ve grown up a bit, and I’ve returned, happily and naturally, to fiction.
Novels
The first result was The School of Essential Ingredients, a novel about eight cooking students and their teacher, set in the kitchen of Lillian’s restaurant. It’s about food and people and the relationships between them – about taking those "unimportant" bits of life and making them beautiful. The response to School has been a writer’s dream; the book is currently being published in 23 countries and I have received letters and emails from readers around the world.
My second novel, Joy For Beginners came out two years later (see how much more quickly you can write when the children are in college?). Joy For Beginners follows a year in the life of seven women who make a pact to each do one thing in the next twelve months that is new, or difficult, or scary – the twist is that they don’t get to choose their own challenges. It has been a marvelous experience to watch this book become a catalyst for readers and entire book clubs, and to read the letters of those who have decided to change their lives or who have simply gained insight through the characters.
My third novel was published in early 2013. The Lost Art of Mixing returns to some of the characters from The School of Essential Ingredients whose stories simply weren’t finished (although I have to say, even I was surprised to learn where those stories went). It begins one year later, and throws four completely new characters into the mix, in an exploration of miscommunication, serendipity, ritual, and (well, of course) food. (From the author's website.)
Book Reviews
[A] magical novel…. Blending fantasy with a realist family drama, Bauermeister’s novel will enchant fans of Katherine Paterson.
Publishers Weekly
(Starred review) Woven through [Emmeline's] life's journey is a multi-layered story of fragrance and its evocative power, as strong and tenacious as this sensuous novel's plucky heroine.
Shelf Awarenes
[D]elights the senses, immersing the reader in the sights, sounds, and scents of the wilderness and city life. Fans of… Jennifer Close will fall in love with Bauermeister's plucky heroine, the layers of family secrets, the lush settings, and the painfully tender relationships.
Booklist
[In] lyrical, haunting prose, the story provides fascinating information about the ways… different fragrances can impact human behavior….. An artfully crafted coming-of-age story… [and] exquisite olfactory adventure.
Kirkus Reviews
Discussion Questions
—General questions
1. What is the smell of childhood for you?
2. If you could preserve one scent, what would it be?
3. If technology was not an issue, what invention would you create?
4. In the course of the book, Emmeline lives on the island, in Secret Cove, and in the city. Each location affected her profoundly and differently. How have the places you’ve lived affected you?
—Nightingale/scent questions:
5. What do you think the story of the Nightingale means to John? To Emmeline? Why do you think John cut it from the book?
6. The Nightingale machine is a fictional invention. Discuss its role in the book.
7. Both John and Victoria have a wall of scents. What do you think they mean to each of the characters?
8. Emmeline’s father strives to preserve memories through scent. Emmeline’s mother uses scent to influence others. Rene is trying to re-create scents that are disappearing in the modern world. What are the up and downsides to their actions?
9. What do you think about Emmeline’s relationship with scent? How does it change as she grows older?
—Emotional Arc questions/Parents:
10. Secrets are an important element in The Scent Keeper. Which secrets do you think the characters were right to keep? Which should they have told and when?
11. What do you think about John’s decision to take Emmeline to the island? How do you feel about their relationship?
12. What do you think was the most important lesson that Emmeline learned on the island?
13. At one point, Emmeline comes to understand her father has been revealing his past through stories. What do you think he’d been trying to tell her?
14. Emmeline experiences the deaths of Cleo, her father, and Dodge. How does her reaction to each differ? What does each one tell us about her?
15. How do you see Emmeline’s relationship with her parents change throughout the book?
16. What do you think happens at the end of the book?
—Fisher:
17. What role does Fisher plays in Emmeline’s life? How does that change?
18. What do you think about Emmeline’s decision to take Fisher to the island? How does it compare to her father’s decision to take her there as a baby?
19. Emmeline blames herself for her father’s death, and for the confrontation between Fisher and his father. Do you think she was right to do so?
20. Fisher chose to leave his abusive father (and Emmeline). His mother chose to stay. What do you think about each of their decisions?
21. At one point in the book, Fisher’s mother says: "Martin used to tell me how salmon always return to the same stream to spawn. They say it’s the smell that draws them upstream. Maybe we’re more like fish than we think." How does this apply to the characters in the book? Do you agree with the statement?
—Literary questions:
22. Several chapter titles are repeated in the book. Why do you think that is?
23. The Scent Keeper is told through Emmeline’s perspective. Imagine if it had been told through the varying perspectives of the major characters—Emmeline, Fisher, John, and Victoria. How would that change the book?
24. How does the prologue affect your reading of the rest of the novel? How would the book have been different if it had come at the end?
25. Fairy tales and stories are present throughout the book. What is their role in the book? In our lives?
(Questions issued by the publisher.)
The Pisces
Melissa Broder, 2018
Crown/Archetype
288 pp.
ISBN-13: 9781524761554
Summary
Lucy has been writing her dissertation on Sappho for nine years when she and her boyfriend break up in a dramatic flameout. After she bottoms out in Phoenix, her sister in Los Angeles insists Lucy dog-sit for the summer.
Annika's home is a gorgeous glass cube on Venice Beach, but Lucy can find little relief from her anxiety—not in the Greek chorus of women in her love addiction therapy group, not in her frequent Tinder excursions, not even in Dominic the foxhound's easy affection.
Everything changes when Lucy becomes entranced by an eerily attractive swimmer while sitting alone on the beach rocks one night.
But when Lucy learns the truth about his identity, their relationship, and Lucy’s understanding of what love should look like, take a very unexpected turn.
A masterful blend of vivid realism and giddy fantasy, pairing hilarious frankness with pulse-racing eroticism, The Piisces is a story about falling in obsessive love with a merman: a figure of Sirenic fantasy whose very existnce pushes Lucy to question everything she thought she knew about love, lust, and meaning in the one life we have. (From the publisher.)
Author Bio
• Birth—ca. 1979-1980
• Where—Bryn Mawr, Pennsylvania, USA
• Education—B.A., Tufts University; M.F.A., City College of New York
• Awards—Pushcart Prize
• Currently—lives in Los Angeles, California
Melissa Broder is the author of the essay collection So Sad Today and four poetry collections, including Last Sext, and a 2018 novel, The Pisces.
Her poetry has appeared in POETRY, The Iowa Review, Tin House, Guernica, and she is the recipient of a Pushcart Prize. She writes the "So Sad Today" column at Vice, the astrology column for Lenny Letter, and the "Beauty and Death" column on Elle.com. She lives in Los Angeles. (From the publisher.)
Book Reviews
Melissa Broder writes about the void. She approaches the great existential subjects—emptiness, loneliness, meaninglessness, death and boyfriends—as if they were a collection of bad habits. That's what makes her writing so funny. And so sad.… Broder carries us along, even as we shake our heads. The book…has great momentum, like waves hitting the rocks.… Broder's preoccupations—and sometimes her prose—mirror her essays and poetry and tweets, but she has also allowed her social-media style and substance to blossom. The Pisces is part satire, part fairy tale and, sometimes jarringly, part meditation on addiction. Lucy longs for what is unattainable in life and so is drawn to the soothing darkness of death. She is an idealist who can't help noticing that nothing is ideal.
Cathleen Schine - New York Times Book Review -
A page turner of a novel.… The Pisces is many things: a jaunt in a fabulous voice, a culture critique of Los Angeles, an explicit tour of all kinds of sex (both really good and really bad).… Broder’s voice has a funny, frank Amy Schumer feel to it, injected with moments of a Lydia Davis-type abstraction.
Washington Post
It’s a knife-tip dissection of 21st-century anomie, and its clear-sighted depiction of muddy-headed people makes for bracing reading—like a dip in the freezing, salty sea.
Guardian (UK)
The dirtiest, most bizarre, most original works of fiction I’ve read in recent memory.
Vogue.com
Time for the easiest game of "if you loved this movie, read this book" ever: If you loved The Shape of Water,…you should definitely read The Pisces by Melissa Broder, a book about fish sex…[The Pisces offers] an exploration of how deeply impacted we all are in the corrupted world, and how far we’d have to swim to escape it.
Huffington Post
Explosive, erotic, scathingly funny…Its interspecies romantic intrigue buttresses a profound take on connection and longing that digs deep.
Entertainment Weekly
[A]n alternately ribald and poignant fantasy.… Broder evokes the details of bad sex in wincingly naturalistic detail, and even if the good sex is a little more soft-focus, it makes for a satisfying fantasy. [A] consistently funny and enjoyable ride.
Publishers Weekly
This anticipated first novel from poet/essayist Broder is hilariously narrated.… Those who take the plunge will be rewarded with a wild ride from a narrator whose sardonic outlook reveals profound truths about the nature of the self. —Kate Gray, Boston P.L., MA
Library Journal
(Starred review) In her first novel, essayist, poet, and Twitter-star Broder (So Sad Today, 2016; Last Sext, 2016) wraps timeless questions of existence—those that gods and stars have beseeched to answer for millennia—in the weirdest, sexiest, and most appealing of modern packaging. Brilliant and delightful.
Booklist
(Starred review) [A]t once intimate and sharp, familiar and ugly. Lucy dares you to recognize your [own] thoughts, fantasies, and obsessions …in life and love.… A fascinating tale of obsession and erotic redemption told with black humor and biting insight.
Kirkus Reviews
Discussion Questions
1. Early on, Lucy’s reliance on hope manifests in an affinity for crystals, psychics, and other spiritual entities. How does this evolve throughout the book?
2. Why do you think Lucy overdosed? Was she trying to hurt herself?
3. What does Lucy’s uncertainty about her thesis reveal about her? Do you think finishing it would offer her a sense of closure?
4. After joining a therapy group, Lucy jokingly thinks that the meaning of loving yourself is being repellant to others. Do you agree with her? How do she and the other group members exhibit their self-love?
5. Did you find Lucy’s desire for closeness and fulfillment relatable? Are these feelings normal?
6. When Theo reveals that he is a merman, he assures Lucy that "you aren’t hallucinating …in a way you were hallucinating before you met me in the sense that there was only one part of life you could see" (p. 139). What part of life did Lucy see before understanding who and what Theo is, and what part of life does she see after?
7. Lucy wonders if it is possible to be used while using someone. Who is she using, and who is using her?
8. What does Theo symbolize within the context of Lucy’s life? Do you think there is a particular reason he entered her life when he did?
9. Do you think Lucy learns anything from her brief encounters with Adam, Garrett, and Chase?
10. Of the members of her therapy group, Lucy feels most connected to Diana and Claire. Are these friendships helpful or harmful?
11. Do you think the support group has helped Lucy? What do Dr. Jude and its members teach her about herself?
12. Why do you think Jamie tries to reconnect with Lucy? Does she have any remaining feelings for him?
13. Lucy describes many types of love: a feeling of sisterly love felt between her and her sister, Diana, and Claire, a pure form of love between herself and Dominic, and the love she shares with Theo. How do these different types of love and relationships compare? Which type of love is most present in her life, and which is most important?
14. Lucy hypothesizes that "the only way to maybe have satisfaction would be to accept the nothingness and try not to put anyone else in it" (p. 104). Is it possible for her to accept the empty spaces in her life without attempting to fill them?
15. Why do you think Annika is so invested in Dominic? What does her reaction to his death say about her relationship with Lucy?
16. Do you believe that Theo is really what and who he claims to be? Do any of his actions indicate otherwise?
17. Ultimately, Lucy decides to return to her sister’s home rather than living with Theo or returning to Phoenix. Do you think this was the right decision?
(Questions issued by the publisher.)
The Unhoneymooners
Christina Lauren, 2019
Simon & Schuster
432 pp.
ISBN-13: 9781501128035
Summary
For two sworn enemies, anything can happen during the Hawaiian trip of a lifetime—maybe even love—in this romantic comedy from the New York Times bestselling author of Roomies.
Olive Torres is used to being the unlucky twin: from inexplicable mishaps to a recent layoff, her life seems to be almost comically jinxed.
By contrast, her sister Ami is an eternal champion … she even managed to finance her entire wedding by winning a slew of contests.
Unfortunately for Olive, the only thing worse than constant bad luck is having to spend the wedding day with the best man (and her nemesis), Ethan Thomas.
Olive braces herself for wedding hell, determined to put on a brave face, but when the entire wedding party gets food poisoning, the only people who aren’t affected are Olive and Ethan. Suddenly there’s a free honeymoon up for grabs, and Olive will be damned if Ethan gets to enjoy paradise solo.
Agreeing to a temporary truce, the pair head for Maui. After all, ten days of bliss is worth having to assume the role of loving newlyweds, right? But the weird thing is … Olive doesn’t mind playing pretend. In fact, the more she pretends to be the luckiest woman alive, the more it feels like she might be.
With Christina Lauren’s "uniquely hilarious and touching voice" (Entertainment Weekly), The Unhoneymooners is a romance for anyone who has ever felt unlucky in love. (From the publisher.)
Author Bio
Christina Lauren is the pen name of two long-time writing partners and best friends, Christina Hobbs and Lauren Billings. (You see what they've done there.) The two met in 2009, writing fanfiction online, eventually joining forces to coauthor 15 best selling adult and young adult fiction.
Their books have received high praise, winning many starred reviews. In addition, the duo has been featured in publications such as Forbes, The Atlantic, Washington Post, Time, Entertainment Weekly, People, O Magazine and more.
Lauren has a Ph.D. in neuroscience and worked in research before turning to full-time writing. A mother and wife, Lauren lives in Orange County, California. Christina was a junior high school counselor until, like Lauren, she became a full-time writer and mother and wife. Christina lives in Salt Lake City, Utah. (Adapted from the authors' website.)
Book Reviews
(Starred review) [D]azzling… a hilarious comedy of coincidences.… Lauren brilliantly wields familiar rom-com tropes—enemies to lovers, fake marriage, even height differences—to craft a delightful romance that will have readers hanging on every word.
Publishers Weekly
(Starred review) Sassy and appealing, writing duo Lauren’s ( My Latest Half-Night Stand) latest endeavor is sure to please. A perfect read for beach or poolside, this is one hot summer story not to miss!
Library Journal
Lauren (Love and Other Words, 2018) has penned a hilariously zany and heartfelt novel... the story is sure to please readers looking for a fun-filled novel to escape everyday life with.
Booklist
(Starred review) Blending witty banter with healthy adult communication, the fake newlyweds have real chemistry…. [T]ruth… [is] they're crazy about each other. Heartfelt and funny, this enemies-to-lovers romance shows that the best things in life are… free.
Kirkus Reviews
Lighthearted, laugh-out-loud funny and all too accessible…, The Unhoneymooners is delightful. Olive's initial dislike of Ethan, tempered by her slow realization of his good qualities, makes for a charming and enjoyable romance.
Shelf Awareness
Discussion Questions
We'll add publisher questions if and when they're available; in the meantime, use our LitLovers Book Club Resources. They can help with discussions for any book:
• How to Discuss a Book (helpful discussion tips)
• Generic Discussion Questions—Fiction and Nonfiction
• Read-Think-Talk (a guided reading chart)
(Resources by LitLovers. Please feel free to use them, online and off, with attribution. Thanks.)
Recursion
Blake Crouch, 2019
Random House
336 pp.
ISBN-13: 9781524759797
Summary
Reality is broken.
At first, it looks like a disease. An epidemic that spreads through no known means, driving its victims mad with memories of a life they never lived.
But the force that’s sweeping the world is no pathogen. It’s just the first shock wave, unleashed by a stunning discovery—and what’s in jeopardy is not our minds but the very fabric of time itself.
In New York City, Detective Barry Sutton is closing in on the truth—and in a remote laboratory, neuroscientist Helena Smith is unaware that she alone holds the key to this mystery … and the tools for fighting back.
Together, Barry and Helena will have to confront their enemy—before they, and the world, are trapped in a loop of ever-growing chaos. (From the publisher.)
Author Bio
• Birth—1978
• Where—Statesville, North Carolina, USA
• Education—B.A., Univerfsity of North Carolina-Chapel Hill
• Currently—lives in Durango, Colorado
Blake Crouch is an American author, known for his 2012-14 Wayward Pines Trilogy, which was adapted into the 2015 television series Wayward Pines. In 2016, he published Dark Matter and in 2019, Recursion, both science fiction thrillers, both achieving wide acclaim.
Early life and career
Crouch was born near the piedmont town of Statesville, North Carolina in 1978. He attended the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and graduated in 2000 with degrees in English and Creative Writing. He published his first two novels, Desert Places and Locked Doors, in 2004 and 2005.
In addition to his novels, his short stories have appeared in Ellery Queen's Mystery Magazine, Alfred Hitchcock's Mystery Magazine, Thriller 2 and other anthologies.
Crouch lives in Durango, Colorado. (From Wikipedia. Retrieved 7/29/2016.)
Book Reviews
[A] fantastic philosophical thriller [with] ingenious plotting, cinematic action and unflappable characters.
Minneapolis Star Tribune
A mind-bending thriller.
USA Today
[Crouch] has sketched out the rules for a new reality.… [Recursion] has a thrumming pulse that moves beyond big ideas and into their effects on a larger, more complex world.
Jason Sheehan - NPR
[Recursion] will keep you up all night—first because you can't stop reading it, and then because you can't stop thinking about it.
BuzzFeed
[An] epic page-turner.
Good Housekeeping
Suffice it to say that, having tackled the subject of alternative dimensions in 2016’s Dark Matter, the author tackles another familiar science fiction trope here. And, as was the case with that previous book, he breathes fresh life into the matters with a mix of heart, intelligence, and philosophical musings.… Recursion is definitely one not to forget when you’re packing for vacation.
Etertainment Weekly
[I]ntriguing, adventurous, terrifying, emotional, philosophical, and even inspirational…. Blake Crouch may be a daredevil, unafraid of any speculative heights, but he’s an incredibly talented writer and thinker, too. His surefootedness… is well worth every ooh and aah it collects. Bravo.
Washington Independent Review of Books
[I]ntelligent, mind-bending thriller.… Crouch effortlessly integrates sophisticated philosophical concepts—such as the relationship of human perceptions of what is real to actual reality—into a complex and engrossing plot. Michael Crichton’s fans won’t want to miss this one.
Publishers Weekly
Completely engrossing… highly recommended, especially for readers who enjoy suspenseful, fast-moving, well-crafted, science-based Sci-Fi.
Library Journal
Crouch fills his follow-up to Dark Matter (2016) with mind-bending science, mounting suspense, and some romance. Readers may have to accept that they might not get the physics of what’s going on, but, in a peculiar way, that’s part of the fun.
Booklist
Crouch delivers a bullet-fast narrative and raises the stakes to a fever pitch. A poignant love story is woven in with much food for thought on grief and the nature of memories and how they shape us, rounding out this twisty and terrifying thrill ride.
Kirkus Reviews
Discussion Questions
1. If put in Helena’s position, would you have accepted Jee-woon’s offer, especially without knowing who you’d be working for?
2. Who would benefit/suffer most from the creation of the chair?
3. What are the pros and cons of the chair?
4. When Helena laments her lack of personal relationships and work-life imbalance, Slade says, "I think balance is for people who don’t know why they’re here.” (p. 39). Do you agree?
5. Do you think Helena’s tunnel vision about building the chair blinds her to its potential for evil? Or is she aware of all of its capabilities—both good and bad?
6. Is there anything to be learned from the characters in the book about reconciling with the past?
7. Which of the two protagonists do you find more relatable—Barry or Helena? In what ways, if any, can you relate to Slade? Explain.
8. Does the view of time presented in the book make you think differently about déjà vu or memories in general? How so?
9. What do you think of Marcus Slade’s obsession with (re)creating the chair? Can you empathize with him? If you were in his situation, would you be tempted to do the same?
10. Would you use the chair for self-gain or for humanitarian purposes, if put in Slade’s position?
11. If you could relive a treasured moment of your past without consequences, would you? What moment would you choose?
12. Is there some moment in your past you would go back to and do differently, even if it meant your loved ones experiencing dead memories?
13. Helena feels solely responsible for the fate of the world due to her creation of the chair. Is she right for feeling this way?
14. What lesson, if any, does Barry learn throughout the course of the book and how does it contrast with the view of the past that Slade endorses?
15. The author leaves the book somewhat open-ended. Do you believe Barry and Helena will eventually be together again?
(Questions issued by the publisher.)
So Much for That
Lionel Shriver Author, 2010
HarperCollins
480 pp.
ISBN-13: 9780061978494
Summary
Shep Knacker has long saved for "The Afterlife": an idyllic retirement on a tropical island in the Third World where his nest egg can last forever. Traffic jams on the Brooklyn-Queens Expressway will be replaced with "talking, thinking, seeing, and being" — and enough sleep.
When he sold his home repair business for a cool $1 million, his dream finally seemed within reach. Yet Glynis, his wife of twenty-six years, has concocted endless excuses why it's never the right time to go. Sick of working as a peon for the company he founded, Shep announces that he's leaving for what they've always tagged "The Afterlife," with or without her.
Just returned from a doctor's appointment, Glynis has some news of her own: Shep can't go anywhere because she desperately needs his health insurance. It rapidly becomes clear that this "health insurance company from hell" only partially covers the staggering bills for her treatments, and Shep's nest egg for The Afterlife soon cracks under the strain.
So Much for That follows the profound transformation of a marriage, for which grave illness proves an unexpected opportunity for tenderness, renewed intimacy, and dry humor, while also pressing the question: How much is one life worth? (From the publisher.)
Author Bio
• Birth—May 18, 1957
• Where—Gastonia, North Carolina, USA
• Education—B.A., Barnard College; M.F.A., Columbia
University
• Awards—Orange Prize
• Currently—lives in London, England.
Lionel Shriver (aka Margaret Ann Shriver) is an American journalist and author born to a deeply religious family (her father is a Presbyterian minister). At age seven, Shriver decided she would be a writer. At age 15, she informally changed her name from Margaret Ann to Lionel because she did not like the name she had been given, and as a tomboy felt that a conventionally male name fitted her better.
Shriver was educated at Barnard College, Columbia University (BA, MFA). She has lived in Nairobi, Bangkok and Belfast, and currently in London. She is married to jazz drummer Jeff Williams.
Writing
Shriver had published six novels before the 2003 We Need to Talk About Kevin. She called it her "make or break" novel, referring to the years of "professional disappointment" and "virtual obscurity" preceding it.
Its publication in 2003, We Need to Talk About Kevin made Shriver a household name. Beautiful and deeply disturbing, the novel asks one of the toughest questions a parent can ask of themselves: have I failed my child? When Kevin Khatchadourian murders nine of his classmates at school, his vibrant mother Eva is forced to face, openly, her son's monstrous acts and her role in them.
Interestingly enough, her agent rejected the manuscript. Shriver shopped her book around on her own, and eight months later it was picked up by a smaller publishing company. The book created a good deal of controversy, but achieved success through word of mouth. As Publisher's Weekly comments, "A number of fictional attempts have been made to portray what might lead a teenager to kill a number of schoolmates or teachers, Columbine style, but Shriver's is the most triumphantly accomplished by far." Kevin won Shriver the 2005 Orange Prize.
Her experience as a journalist is wide having written for the Wall Street Journal, Financial Times, New York Times, Economist, contributed to the Radio Ulster program Talkback and many other publications. In July 2005, Shriver began writing a column for the Guardian, in which she has shared her opinions on maternal disposition within Western society, the pettiness of British government authorities, and the importance of libraries (she plans to will whatever assets remain at her death to the Belfast Library Board, out of whose libraries she checked many books when she lived in Northern Ireland).
The Post-Birthday World was issued in 2007. The novel uses a parallel-universe structure to follow one woman's future as it unfolds under the influence of two drastically different men. In 2010 Shriver released So Much for That, which was subsequently named a finalist for the National Book Award in fiction. Her work The New Republic came out in 2012, and Big Brother, inspired by the morbid obesity of one of her brothers, in 2013. (Adapted from Barnes & Noble and Wikipedia. Retrieved 6/11/2013.)
Book Reviews
[Shriver's] managed to take an idea for a kind of thesis novel and instead create a deeply affecting portrait of two marriages, two families, as cancer in one case and a rare, debilitating childhood condition in the other threaten to push their daily lives past their tipping points. Though there is one farcical plot development that is poorly woven into the emotional fabric of the story, and though some of the asides about health care feel shoehorned into the narrative, the author's understanding of her people is so intimate, so unsentimental that it lofts the novel over such bumpy passages, insinuating these characters permanently into the reader's imagination.
Michiko Kakutani - New York Times
If Jodi Picoult has her finger on the zeitgeist, Shriver has her hands around its throat. Not only does her new book wrestle with actual laws and prices…but it reminds us just how politically argumentative a novel can be. Like Upton Sinclair, she forces us to look at how the sausage is made; if anything, So Much for That is even bloodier than The Jungle.… I admire that what [Shriver's] done here is without a dose of sentimentality. Yes, it's gangling and pedantic and far, far too long, but its anger is infectious. If you can take the story's grisly details and Shriver's badgering insight into all things, this is the rare novel that will shake and change you. With these wholly realistic and sympathetic characters, she makes us consider the most existential questions of our lives and the dreadful calculus of modern health care in this country.
Ron Charles - Washington Post
(Refers to audio version.) [Shep's] lifelong goal of retiring to a remote, primitive country …is no whimsical daydream, but a desperate need that is at the very core of Shep's identity.… A "must listen."
Publishers Weekly
Shriver's strong, clear writing is marred by several complex subplots and lengthy rants…. [B]ut Shriver's fans and others willing to follow the author's turns will find themselves thinking about the novel long after they've finished it. —Christine Perkins, Bellingham P.L., WA
Library Journal
[W]hile this sometimes feels like an op-ed writ large, Shriver's skill at characterization is so solid that Jackson never becomes a plot device.… An overly schematic but powerful study of both marriage and medical care.
Kirkus Reviews
Discussion Questions
The questions below were generously submitted to LitLovers by CHRISTINA CHICHESTER, Adult Services Libarian, Cinnaminson Branch Library, Burlington (New Jersey) County Library System. Many thanks, Christina:
1. Shep thinks, "people who acted above money …were the same folks who never earned any to speak of.” (p. 20). Is this true? How are beliefs about the importance of money shaped?'
2. Jackson wonders about his and Carol’s decision to pretend to medicate Heather. Was this a good idea? Is medicating children necessary or just trendy?
3. The book addresses many issues about the world of illness and insurance. Which insights stick out the most to you?
4. Consider Jackson’s paradigm of Mooch to Mug (p. 76-80). How accurate is it? What do you think are the percentages of each?
5. Shep is often frustrated by Beryl’s refusal to live within her own means. How do we avoid living in an economy based on sympathy? Is Beryl capable of being a more responsible adult?
6. What similarities and differences do you see between Flicka and Glynnis as patients? What conclusions do you draw from their attitudes?
7. Why do so many people respond to Glynis with fear? Why do we feel so helpless when a loved one suffers from a serious illness? How can we learn to better handle the social awkwardness of it?
8. Does Shep’s transformation from a self centered jerk to doting husband strike you as believable?
9. Glynis wants to sue the company responsible for the asbestos. What role do lawsuits play in these circumstances? Does winning a lawsuit provide satisfaction?
10. Glynis can be a difficult personality. Does this help or hinder her in her cancer battle? Does having a positive attitude help? Does having faith?
11. What are some ways we can be genuinely helpful to a person who is seriously ill?
12. Pogatchnik, Shep’s boss, is portrayed as a greedy, insensitive business man. What do you think of his argument that employers should not be burdened with the cost of health care? Why did the author choose to make Pogatchnik such an unsympathetic character?
13. Both Glynis and Jackson eventually blow up at Shep for being a pushover. Is Shep partially to blame for his problems? Why is Jackson so angry about it? Why does Shep so quickly overlook this outburst?
14. In what ways have you seen good come from terrible circumstances?
(Questions submitted to LitLovers by Christina Chichester. Please feel free to use them, online and off, with attribution. Thanks.)