Big Brother
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Big Brother
Buy Now for £12.99
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Narrated by:
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Alice Rosengard
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By:
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Lionel Shriver
About this listen
‘A gutsy, heartfelt novel’ Sunday Times
‘[Shriver’s] best novel yet’ Independent on Sunday
‘A surprising sledgehammer of a novel’ The Times
‘Shriver is brilliant on the novel shock that is hunger… glorious, fearless, almost fanatically hard-working prose’ Guardian
‘Lionel Shriver's Big Brother has the muscle to overpower its readers. It is a conversation piece of impressive heft’ New York Times
‘Shriver is wonderful at the things she is always wonderful at. Pace and plot. . . . Psychology’ Independent
‘The latest compelling, humane and bleakly comic novel from the author of We Need to Talk about Kevin’ Evening Standard
‘Her best work… presents characters so fully formed that they inhabit her ideas rather than trumpet them’ New Republic
When Pandora picks up her older brother Edison at her local Iowa airport, she literally doesn’t recognize him. The once slim, hip New York jazz pianist has gained hundreds of pounds. What happened?
Soon Edison’s slovenly habits, appalling diet, and know-it-all monologues are driving Pandora and her fitness-freak husband Fletcher insane. After the brother-in-law has more than overstayed his welcome, Fletcher delivers his wife an ultimatum: it’s him or me.
Rich with Shriver’s distinctive wit and ferocious energy, Big Brother is about fat: why we overeat and whether extreme diets ever really work. It asks just how much sacrifice we’ll make to save single members of our families, and whether it’s ever possible to save loved ones from themselves.
©2013 Lionel ShriverCritic reviews
Praise for Big Brother:
‘Big Brother is brilliant, very different from Kevin but equally compelling. A great tale of a challenging modern problem and the power of sibling devotion’ Dawn O’Porter
‘Glorious, fearless, almost fanatically hard-working prose. Nothing here feels half-hearted or accidental. There is so much to revel and enjoy…and the result is writing of a beauty and character that is lamentably missing from so much literary fiction’
GUARDIAN
‘Her best novel yet…who would have thought that a novel about a diet could be so moving, and so suspenseful?’
INDEPENDENT ON SUNDAY
‘Shriver is wonderful at the things she is always wonderful at’
INDEPENDENT
‘Shriver is a brilliant writer. She has a strong, clear and strangely seductive voice. The characters are strong. The tensions – and hope, and disappointments, and struggles – are well done . . . so moving it will make you want to gasp or cry’ SUNDAY TIMES
‘From the start I was gripped by its story. Once again, Shriver has provided much food for thought’
DAILY MAIL
‘Lionel Shriver’s Big Brother has the muscle to overpower its readers. It is a conversation piece of impressive heft’ THE NEW YORK TIMES
‘Piercingly bleak in tone and formally original in execution. It takes the reader by surprise, reminding us, not a moment too soon, that Shriver is a novelist as well as a polemicist. The push-and-pull of a marriage is something that Shriver continues to write exceptionally well. Shriver turns the story on its head and brings a novelist’s panache to the true-life tale’ DAILY TELEGRAPH
‘Big Brother finds the funny – and the pathos – in fat’
USA TODAY
It would appear that Edison is not the only one who has a dysfunctional relationship with food. Pandora, herself has gained some weight over the years, and her husband, Fletcher is obsessed with healthy food choices and cycling for miles. This contrast leads to many clashes between Edison and Fletcher, which often leaves Pandora stuck in the middle.
For me, I found the first hour and a half difficult to follow, and was struggling to engage with the author and her “wordy” approach to prose. But once the main character of Edison made his entrance, it quickly got better and eventually had me fully absorbed and moved. Even though nearly all of the characters were unlikeable to some degree (with the exception of Cody), they were nonetheless very believable and real.
I did not see the twist at the end coming, and was not sure whether this was a satisfying finale. Nonetheless, I would still recommend this work, and the narration was spot on.
The Ripple Effect Of Obesity
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Enjoyable, easy listen.
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Fascinating story!
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Performance was tedious and slow
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What did you like most about Big Brother?
Had it not been for an article I read about the author, I would not have bought this book. Nevertheless, I thought it would make for a change in my weekly diet of biographies. Whilst the start is a bit slow and I was unsure where the book was going, I surprised myself being completely hooked one the first third of the book was completed. Well told and brilliantly written, this story is an excellent way to dive into the merits and perils of seeking to help a family member in need but immature. Many will be able to relate.Any additional comments?
Whilst the patronizing aspect of the sister/brother relationship may get on your nerve at first, it is really worth pursuing the read.A surprising read
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