"Remember how sometimes, in the middle, a movie seems to drag? I get restless, take a leak, or go for popcorn. But sometimes, the last part, it heats up and then right before the credits one of us starts to cry--well, then you forget about the crummy middle, don't you?" I'm sure Lionel Shriver was not attempting to describe her latest novel as she wrote this but, funnily enough, the quote perfectly describes So Much For That. This book deals with the infinite shortcomings of the American healthcare system. As the protagonist, Shep, nears retirement, he dreams of the "Afterlife" on a remote African island. Mere days before he and his family are to embark on their adventure, Shep learns that his wife, Glynis, has terminal cancer. Thus ensues a story (intertwined with three sub-plots) of undecipherable hospital bills, impossibly apathetic insurance companies and dwindling investments. At times, the novel reads like a polemic against corporate America; the repetition in certain characters' rants gets tedious and Shriver loses touch with the reader at a few points (hence my opening quote). However, Shriver's prose ranges from the sharp and witty to the touching and profound. She adds elements of humour to what is, at heart, a tragic story while also maintaining a strong sense of reality. And yes, the ending does indeed make up for the "crummy middle." |
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