to think that this is a really weird premise for a novel? (Lionel Shriver)

[stressedout1994]

https://www.thetimes.co.uk/article/mania-lionel-shriver-review-kd35wrtn5

I think that Lionel Shriver used to write really interesting and thoughtful novels, but that her involvement in 'culture war' stuff has made her a bit myopic and odd. The premise of this novel is that there is a world where it's considered 'discriminatory' to call people stupid, or to say that some people are more intellectually gifted than others, and she claims that this is "a millimetre" away from where we are now. I certainly think that some elements of cultural life are becoming a bit more low-brow, but it seems soooooo overblown and hysterical to pretend that we have a culture that valorises stupidity.

I am just a bit suspicious of people who honk on about other people being inherently more gifted than others, and how this is a special and important distinction. I sometimes think this sort of thing is borderline eugenics-y.

Interested to hear what others think!

It wasn't a great story, true. It might be interesting to see what Shriver does with the same idea.

Some of you are sooooooooo mannerless and belligerent... meekly accepting what the writer says the book is about is not the same as reading and considering the text.... genuinely don't get how some of you don't grasp that the vehicle for the satire (mocking the stupid) is in and of itself a significant literary choice?

Needless to say I will be getting it out the library :)

You do know that authors get a royalty for library borrows right? Or is that sooooooooo mannerless and belligerent too?

Tbh, your whole style of arguing is like everything you accuse Shriver of being. Except she has genuine skill and perseverance as a writer. Honestly, my main take away from your posts is that you are someone who harbours dreams of success as a novelist but rather than commit yourself to honing your skill and doing the work, you'd rather find reasons to tear successful writers down.

Well, it’s not out till the 11th, and Amazon doesn’t even have a sample of the Kindle edition available, so it’s a little difficult for anyone other than reviewers to ‘read and consider’?

that's the one about the dancers having to wear weights?

Did anyone else read this in Moira Rose's voice? 😁

Anyway, of course anti-intellectualism exists. And of course there is a deliberate erosion of standards of intelligence -particularly within British universities. Why wouldn't she write about this?

@nojudge Oh, I see. You don’t have the will, the energy, and/or the skills to back up your assertions, so you’re going to pretend like you won’t bother because I would be too stupid to understand. “I don’t feel like getting into this topic - let’s agree to disagree” would have been fine.

The photograph with the UVF mug is still around? She clearly thinks peace in Ireland and cooperation in Europe are some kind of treason. Lots of right wing Americans seem to feel let down by their ancestral homeland? Of course we are familiar with that in Ireland too , the Returned Yank syndrome.
'You let the government run your transport - y'all Communist!'

There's a Kurt Vonnegut story along this line about a culture where everything must be made equal. So smart people have to wear an earpiece that randomly squawks loudly to disrupt their thoughts and glasses that are wrong for their eyes to give them headaches. Strong people have weights strapped to them and beautiful people wear ugly masks. I must admit I think about this every time I hear Jonathan Ross who has an obvious speech impediment because there's a part of the story where there's a news reader who can say what's happening because of his incredibly bad stutter.

But Vonnegut makes it clear he's very anti this sort of equalisation.

It was a UFF / UDA mug

https://ansionnachfionn.com/2018/04/16/lionel-shriver-the-uff-mug-and-british-terrorism-in-ireland/

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ulster_Defence_Association

I have no idea whether there have ever been IRA mugs, but can't imagine a novelist posing with one.

Ha ha ha at you using "obtuse" to disguise what you really want to say - stupid.

The irony is hilarious.

And no, that's not what her novel is doing.

I think it is a good premise for a dystopian book.

I will definitely look out for it. The Mandibles is on my top ten list of books.

I'm looking forward to it 😀

I think she's just reflecting what she's seeing, and factoring it up. It's what she does.

People are so shouty. It's not a compulsory purchase or anything 😂

Honestly OP, the more I reread your original post, combined with the title of this thread, the less sense it makes. Nothing in your argument follows.

Well maybe because she's not keen on Trump and never has been.

Yes.

She could reform him. Make him a more respectable sort of bigot.

Yeah because she's the kind of Victorian heroine who's spent her whole life just waiting for the opportunity to reform a narcissistic douchebag, rather than a successful and talented writer who wants to use character and story to explore ideas about life in the modern world.

Harrison Bergeron is quite short and thr focus is on all equality / inequality though. Also Vonnegut's is a pretty brutal satire - always feel he never steps away from his traumatic becoming-a-writer experience; Shriver is a much more nuanced and "difficult" writer. You cannot disagree with Vonnegut because of his subject matter; Shriver likes looking at what we disagree about.

Well that was sad!!

It sounds like a smart, funny take on people having to pretend they believe humans can change sex! That is reality today, if you don’t want to lose your job, get visits from the police or receive death threats. I’ll buy it.

You won't get much support around here for that sensible view. Much like certain other writers, being so- called GC is a 'get out of being shitty free' card to too many MNers.

I was coming on to say that she's turned into Ayn Rand, though Ayn Rand never produced anything even half as good as WNTTAK. It's a shame as I was very excited about her at first.

She has to be a better writer than perpetual teen angster and apologist for psychos Rand. I saw a young woman engrossed in the Fountainhead on a train a couple of years ago. Shudder.

She’s written one good book, which is We Need To Talk About Kevin.

Everything else she’s written has been astonishingly bad.