Lionel Shriver - Big Brother **SPOILER ALERT**

[chirpchirp]

I've just finished reading this after picking it up for 99p on one of the kindle offers. All the way through I was really enjoying it and had recommended it to a few people. I adore Shriver's use of language and phrasing however 20 pages from the end, in my opinion, she ruined it using the adult equivalent of "and then I woke up and it had all been a dream". I feel cheated! Does anyone else feel the same?

[chirpchirp]

ARGH SORRY! SHOULD HAVE PUT SPOILER IN THE TITLE!

[DuchessofMalfi]

You might want to report your own post, so MN can add Spoiler to the title, chirp :)

I listened to it on audio book last year, and loved it. One of the best books I "read" last year. I felt completely immersed in the story, and bereft when it ended. It was the first Lionel Shriver novel I've read, having given up on We Need to Talk About Kevin (couldn't get into it).

[Biscuitsneeded]

We need to talk was horrific, in a brilliant and compelling way. I am looking forward to reading big Brother. I would also recommend So much for that, which sounds unpromising but had me gripped.

[TheBigBumTheory]

I've read it too and I tend to agree with you. Her brother died of obesity and I think that's why it has a slightly inadequate ending.

[Mintyy]

Loved the book all the way through - but hated the ending.

[Stokey]

Totally agree - felt a bit ripped off that about half of the novel had been a fantasy

Loved the rest of it - and it's made me think a bit more about what I'm shovelling into my mouth!

[bibliomania]

I see where you're coming from, but for me, the ending worked. Both narrator and author were working through a rescue fantasy and attempting to convince themselves that it would never have worked anyway as a way of dealing with the guilt of never going all-out to try the rescue in real life.

Like the Kevin book, I found it an interesting way of confronting ambivalence to those we "love" - what are the limits of what we should do/sacrifice for each other?

[CuntyBunty]

I loved the book too. She has a laser like insight into character, she just seems to hit that spot.
The book did fall down badly at the end. I don't know why she did that.
I'd heartily recommend "So Much For That" as well.

[tumbletumble]

I agree with bibliomania. At first I felt cheated just like you OP, but the more I thought about it, the more it seemed right. Would Pandora really have risked her marriage and her relationship with her step children to help her brother lose weight? I don't think so. But she would have felt a lot of sadness and regret about the situation, so the fantasy was like a tribute to him and a wish that things could have been different. For me, this fits with Pandora's character.