Author: Lionel Shriver
Of all the authors I originally listed, the one I've read the least of is Lionel Shriver. I've only read three of her books, and none since 2012. So how'd she end up on this list? Good question. I think when I built it I took a quick troll through my end of year lists to see if any authors jumped out as people I wanted to read more of, and there she was as someone I'd enjoyed but not explored. That statement remains true.
Lionel Shriver
I've read three of her books and they had little in common. One was very serious, one had its tongue planted firmly in cheek, and another was somewhere between. Nothing stood out in her writing style; she just wrote three books I enjoyed and so I added her. I guess you'd call is an aspirational addition to the list that hasn't paid off yet.
Start Here
Let's be honest: if you've heard of Shriver at all, it's because of We Need to Talk About Kevin, which describes a school shooting in horrifying detail. I'm not sure if it's a great book or one that rode the zeitgeist perfectly, but the horror I felt reading it was not dissimilar from the horror I felt reading The Road. (read 2011)
If You Like Those
The New Republic is an exceedingly clever book about terrorism and politics. In retrospect, it might be too clever for its own good, actually, but at the time I enjoyed it so much that shortly after I read it in 2012 I had grabbed
The Post-Birthday World from the library. This is a very different book (all her books have been very different) with a relationship that splits off in into two possibilities and then merges them together at the end.
For Completists
I've liked all three books so far, so I can't dismiss one yet.
What I Haven't Read Yet
Probably Won't
So here's the problem: If I look at the rest of her novels, none stand out as titles I've even heard of. I don't know anyone else whose read her books, and I only read The New Republic because I ran into it on the new shelf at the library. So maybe she has a bunch of other great novels, and maybe they're all trash. I don't know. I'm basically flying blind at this point, which is probably why I haven't read one of her books since 2012. Who knows? I may not ever again.
Lionel Shriver
I've read three of her books and they had little in common. One was very serious, one had its tongue planted firmly in cheek, and another was somewhere between. Nothing stood out in her writing style; she just wrote three books I enjoyed and so I added her. I guess you'd call is an aspirational addition to the list that hasn't paid off yet.
Start Here
Let's be honest: if you've heard of Shriver at all, it's because of We Need to Talk About Kevin, which describes a school shooting in horrifying detail. I'm not sure if it's a great book or one that rode the zeitgeist perfectly, but the horror I felt reading it was not dissimilar from the horror I felt reading The Road. (read 2011)
If You Like Those
The New Republic is an exceedingly clever book about terrorism and politics. In retrospect, it might be too clever for its own good, actually, but at the time I enjoyed it so much that shortly after I read it in 2012 I had grabbed
The Post-Birthday World from the library. This is a very different book (all her books have been very different) with a relationship that splits off in into two possibilities and then merges them together at the end.
For Completists
I've liked all three books so far, so I can't dismiss one yet.
What I Haven't Read Yet
Probably Won't
So here's the problem: If I look at the rest of her novels, none stand out as titles I've even heard of. I don't know anyone else whose read her books, and I only read The New Republic because I ran into it on the new shelf at the library. So maybe she has a bunch of other great novels, and maybe they're all trash. I don't know. I'm basically flying blind at this point, which is probably why I haven't read one of her books since 2012. Who knows? I may not ever again.