Big Brother
Author: Lionel Shriver

Big Brother is a striking novel about siblings, marriage, and obesity from Lionel Shriver, the acclaimed author the international bestseller We Need to Talk About Kevin. — For Pandora, cooking is a form of love. Alas, her husband, Fletcher, a self-employed high-end cabinetmaker, now spurns the 'toxic' dishes that he'd savored through their courtship, and spends hours each day to manic cycling. Then, when Pandora picks up her older brother Edison at the airport, she doesn't recognize him. In the years since they've seen one another, the once slim, hip New York jazz pianist has gained hundreds of pounds. What happened? After Edison 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: an issue both social and excruciatingly personal. 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.

So what happens when you meet your brother after four years and he has gained hundreds of pounds? This is the dilemma of Pandora when she picks up her brother, Edison, at the airport in Iowa. Edison had gone to New York when he was a teen. And as far as Pandora knew, he was a successful jazz pianist, touring to different locations and playing with big-name musicians. But out of the blue, she gets a call from Edison's roommate telling her that he was down and wanted a break. So Pandora sends him an airline ticket to Iowa to spend some time with her and her family. But when she sees him, he is unrecognizable with his mounds of flesh! Pandora's husband, Fletcher, is on a healthy diet himself and when he sees Edison, he is less than optimistic about his stay in their household. Fletcher is also an accomplished furniture maker and when Edison breaks one of his favorite pieces, he delivers an ultimatum to Pandora: it's either him or me! So what can Pandora do to help Edison and appease Fletcher? She decides to help Edison lose weight but this is a very time-consuming process and her marriage is strained to the limits. She also has two step-children that are affected by Edison's stay plus her business is strained as well.

I really found this novel compelling reading. It really sheds some light on the issue of obesity and how it affects not only the obese person but those around him including friends and family. I have an older brother myself who has this problem and I can relate to some of the issues in the novel. This novel may be hard to read if the reader is overweight but overall it was full of emotions including humor, pathos, pain, anger, and ultimately love. The ending was a bit of a shock to me and was not what I was expecting but overall, I would give this a high recommendation.

Sending this one off to dabercro in Utah...selected from the Lit VBB. Enjoy!

Arrived in the mail yesterday. Thank you for sharing.

An interesting read about weight and obesity. Weight (too much, not enough, etc) is often used to determine a person's worth. Like the previous reader, I was surprised by the ending. I didn't see that coming. I didn't really care for the ending.

Added to a RABCK box. Sent to Chicvolley99 in CO.

Received from daberco. Thank you so much!

Released outside. Please enjoy!