Big Brother

By Lionel Shriver

The new novel from the Orange Prize-winning author of WE NEED TO TALK ABOUT KEVIN, this is the compelling and confronting story of a sister who risks her marriage to save her morbidly obese brother .
When Pandora picks up her older brother Edison at her local Iowa airport, she literally doesn't recognize him. In the four years since the grown siblings last saw one another, the once slim, hip New York jazz pianist has gained hundreds of pounds. What happened? Worse, Edison's slovenly habits, appalling diet, and know-it-all monologues drive her health-and-fitness freak husband Fletcher insane. After the big blowhard of a brother-in-law has more than overstayed his welcome, Fletcher delivers his wife an ultimatum: it's him or me. Putting her marriage and two adoptive children on the line, Pandora chooses her brother - who, without her support in losing weight, will surely eat himself into an early grave. BIG BROtHER tackles a constellation of issues surrounding obesity: why we overeat, whether extreme diets ever work in the long run, and how we treat overweight people.

• Language: English
• Publisher: HarperCollins Publishers Australia
• Release date: May 1, 2013
• ISBN: 9781743098271

Lionel Shriver

Although Lionel Shriver has published many novels, a collection of essays, and a column in the Spectator since 2017, and her journalism has been featured in publications including the Guardian, the New York Times and the Wall Street Journal, she in no way wishes for the inclusion of this information to imply that she is more “intelligent” or “accomplished” than anyone else. The outdated meritocracy of intellectual achievement has made her a bestselling author multiple times and accorded her awards, including the Orange Prize, but she accepts that all of these accidental accolades are basically meaningless. She lives in Portugal and Brooklyn, New York.

Reviews for Big Brother

[bibleblaster · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

I enjoyed the way this book investigated the responsibilities of family and the uncertainty, confusion and regret that often accompanies our best intentions. How do we help? Are we enabling? What sort of boundaries are reasonable? What can we actually control about the life of another person? The story itself felt a little rough, the dialogue clunky in many spots, but I was able to forgive some of these things as I finished the book (and you'll understand why if you read it).

[nomadreader_1 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

The backstory: Lionel Shriver is an author whose work I've enjoyed immensely in the past. After raving about So Much For That (I gave it 5 stars), I also enjoyed We Need to Talk About Kevin (I gave it 4.5 stars) and The New Republic (I gave it 4 stars.) I'm utterly fascinated with both her work and her as a person, because her books and characters are so distinct.The basics: Big Brother is the story of Pandora, who grew up in Los Angeles with a father who starred on a popular 1970's family sitcom with parallels to her life. She now lives in Iowa with her husband Fletcher, a health nut, and his two children. When her brother Edison, an accomplished jazz pianist, arrives for a visit, Pandora cannot believe how obese her brother has become.My thoughts: I didn't realize this novel is set in Iowa until I began reading it, and it was a treat. From the point of view of this Iowa transplant, Shriver nailed the details, the positive and the negative, of everyday life in Iowa. Pandora, too, is a fascinating character. Life so many Shriver narrators, she is somewhat brash, refreshingly honest and insightful, and beautifully formed. I did, however, chuckle at her use of the phrase "But, to my horror," because I could imagine almost any Shriver character using that phrase, despite their differences. What Shriver characters also tend to have in common is a clear view of both the world and themselves.In addition to the fascinating character of Pandora, a woman I'm not sure I would actually want to be friends with, but one who fascinates me, is the powerful theme of family and obligation. As a stepmother and wife, Pandora in some ways feels she owes her brother more than her husband and his family:"He's a sponger you're related to by accident. I'm your husband by choice. If you 'love' that loudmouth it's a kneejerk genetic thing; I'm supposed to be the real love of your life."This tension is palpable throughout the novel, and it's one I keep coming back to. In most cases, of course, it's not a choice. Your 'chosen' family and the family you were born with can peacefully coexist. But how does it feel to have to choose, on some level, between the two? Shriver explores these ideas beautifully through Pandora, Edison and Fletcher. Each character's perspective makes sense, and their conflicting thoughts and feelings are beautifully realized.Yet as fascinated as I was with these characters, they never seemed quite real to me. As I read, I got caught up in the ideas more than the stories themselves. I couldn't shake the sense that Shriver had an agenda and is more interested in making her readers think than in telling a story. I'm not opposed to either, but this novel often felt more like an exercise in thinking than a captivating story. Shriver's writing and observations are often profound and challenging, but I can't quite shake the feelings of being somewhat manipulated as I read.Favorite passage: "If I held few opinions, I did cling to a handful--like the view that facts are not the same as beliefs, and that most people get them confused."The verdict: I appreciated Big Brother more once I finished it. Is it an accomplished, intelligent, thoughtful novel? Absolutely. Is it one I will continue to think of and ponder? Yes. Was it a novel I loved while reading? Not always. Ultimately, it's a novel I appreciate and respect far more than I enjoyed it.

[casualfriday_1 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

I doubt anything will ever have the impact for me of We Need to Talk About Kevin, but Big Brother was a very good book, hard to put down, with that wonderfully arch and honest voice that I recognized from Shriver's most popular book. It is about a successful business owner whose morbidly obsese brother disrupts her life and her marriage. Pandora, whose company makes customized talking dolls that mock their recipient, is married to a slightly fussy, health conscious and conspicuously unsuccessful furniture maker when her brother Eddie, a failed jazz musician, pops in for a visit and is almost unrecognizably fat. Pandora decides, to her husband's understandable consternation, to move to an apartment with her brother and help him lose the weight.What struck me most about the book was not the issue of Fat but of Family, and how entangled we all are with family loyalties and guilt, no matter how independent and separate we suppose ourselves. I see that many readers objected to the book's ending, and for a minute I was disappointed myself, but Shriver won me over with Pandora's emotionally truthful explanation for what might pass for a narrative trick.

[imperfectcj · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

Aside from an ending that feels a little like a cheat, I enjoyed reading this novel. I was sometimes incredulous about the way it progressed, which I suppose makes sense given the ending, but there were still bits that struck me as true (in the sense of emotional truth, not factual accuracy). One of these moments comes in chapter ten or Part I (p 138 in the hardcover I read):"This sounds idiotic, but every time I encounter a picture of myself I am shocked to have been seen. I do not, under normal circumstances, feel seen. When I walk down the street, my experience is of looking. Manifest to myself in the ethereal privacy of my head, I grow alarmed when presented with evidence of my public body."I don't know how commonplace this is, but I certainly relate to it. I think this was the main thing I disliked about being pregnant, this sense that I was more noticeable than I am usually. Of course, I'm always visible, I always enact with the world via my physical body, but during pregnancy I seemed to become a kind of community property about which strangers were invited to comment. Whether it was the hip couple in the Whole Foods who pushed their cart into my backside when my belly caused me to extend too far into the aisle while I was browsing the spice selection or the well-meaning woman (women, actually) who said gravely, "Are you sure it's not twins?" people's reactions made it impossible to trick myself into thinking I was invisible.I'm a fairly small person---not necessarily slender, but little. For example, when the dentist takes impressions of my teeth, she needs to use a child-sized tray, and I have trouble finding contact lenses that feel comfortable because my irises are small. I'm accustomed to being overlooked, unseen, or at least I feel like I am overlooked and unseen. When I'm "presented with evidence of my public body," I, too, grow alarmed. It's as though someone in a movie I'm watching suddenly began interacting with me. Well, maybe not quite that alarming, but still unsettling.Another idea that feels true to me is woven throughout the novel, but appears overtly at the end of chapter one in Part II:"It wasn't that eating was so great---it wasn't---but that nothing was great. Eating being merely okay still put it head and shoulders above everything else that was decidedly less than okay." (190)Food is necessary for survival, so we can't give it up entirely like we might smoking or gambling, which, even with as difficult as complete abstention is, would still be easier than eating enough but not too much, needing both to be wary of and to embrace food. It's difficult to put our attention on the relationship between food and the shape of our bodies and not obsess. It's difficult to separate food as physical nourishment from food as spiritual, social, and emotional nourishment. It's difficult, but I think it makes sense. When an infant is nursing from his mother or being held in arms and taking a bottle, he's receiving not just food but also comfort and an emotional nourishment without which he would not thrive. I remember looking into my nursling's eyes intent upon mine and thinking how miraculous it was that this loving closeness also gave her food. I think that conflating of food and attachment, food and love, food and unconditional acceptance must be hard-wired into us. Perhaps when one gets out of balance, we feel a need to compensate with the other.

[nyiper · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

As others have already written, the writing itself is good but the ending? Disappointing to say the least and Edison, the big brother---as in real life, he represented a tremendous, no pun intended, problem with the negatives of the high fat, sugar, salt food supply/industry and too many people who can't find anything that appeals to them about life once they start down the road of eating everything in sight. It's a very sad commentary---yes, there were funny parts but the book was depressing in so many ways. I couldn't quite imagine the ending beyond the idea of Edison reaching his ideal weight and I guess the author couldn't really figure that out either.

[susan.h.schofield · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

3.5 stars - it was four right up until the last section

[lara335 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

I look forward to Shriver novels, her clear-sighted take on the world, and fearless honesty. The subject matter in this one is our complex relationship with food - ranging from denial anorexia to morbid obesity. Considering how central to our lives food is, I am surprised I haven't come across a novel with similar preoccupations.A large part of the novel seemed very un-Shriver-like fairy tale and wish-fulfilment, but the ending remedied this, and Shriver's own relationship with her brother which she has written about explains her need to revisit and rewrite what she did and could have done through fiction.As usual from her - a very thought-provoking read.

[turtlesleap · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

Well written, interesting and original. I would have rated the book higher but for the ending, which was, in my opinion, a bit of a cheat.

[beamis12 · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

I was a little disappointed in this book. I know that the author lost her brother due to weight issues and this book is definitely about us and our weird relationship with food. It was told in the first person, which is always a bit tricky, but this allowed the narrator and chance to. I almost felt lectured, on all and sundry having to do with weight and food. Also the narrator's father in the book had been a TV movie star back in the day and we are treated to further diatribes on this. The main story was okay, family members and what we owe them, how to keep our own family content while dealing with a very large brother who is a house guest, but once again how this is resolved seemed a bit unbelievable. There are some good parts here and there about what food means to different people and how often food is used as a weapon or a crutch, but for me this wasn't enough. I also did not really like any of the characters with the exception of Cody, the young girl who is kind and tries to keep everyone together. Other readers may find what I did not interesting but for me, I just expected more.

[gayla.bassham · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

Big Brother It's hard to know what to say about a book in which the author is so obviously laying out her own personal issues. (As described here.) I can't help but wonder if she would have been better off just talking about some of this with a therapist. It's an interesting (if odd) book, not badly written, but some of the characters who are supposed to be attractive and sympathetic just seem like asses. And the author seems to want us to approve of the protagonist's unkind, even punitive treatment of her brother--which makes some psychological sense given the backstory, but very little sense within the world of the novel.

[shazjhb · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

This book will make my top 10 for 2013

[toobusyreading · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

Pandora's big brother, jazz musician Edison, is unrepentantly fat when he comes to stay with her because he has no where else to go. Pandora's husband is obsessively and stridently health conscious.You can tell from just that there will be much conflict, but how much will Pandora do to help and how much is she willing sacrifice to be peacemaker? Only she can make that decision.This story is about family dynamics gone desperately awry, about the obesity problem now being called an epidemic in the U.S. Pandora, who claims to never want the spotlight, has become successful by selling dolls that insult those they are given to, passive-aggression flaunting itself as humor, supporting the less financially successful and therefore resentful members of her family.That should give you a clue to the dynamics of this book.The writing, for the most part, was wonderful. Pandora and Edison's father is a washed-up TV star from a mostly forgotten series that was more real to him than his real life. The book included a good-sized chunk of explanation about the show, and I got bored with that, but otherwise, the book was entertaining and thought-provoking. The ending was not what I expected, but I wasn't disappointed in the turn that the book took.I think I've read only one other book by this author, So Much For That, and I didn't love it. I decided to read this one only because the subject sounded so intriguing, and now I'm going to have to try more of her books. This one exceeded my expectations.I was given an advance copy of this book for review, for which I am grateful.

[eenerd · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

Great writing, utterly absorbing narrative, fabulously flawed characters. I'm still not sure how I *feel* about the ending, but I like where she went with it.

[corioreo · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

SO, I really, really liked this book. Until the end. I'm not sure why the author chose to go that way with the ending (I won't spoil it), but it changed my outlook on the entire book.

Really well written, but it lost me in Part 3.

[smileydq · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

Fans of Lionel Shriver will not be disappointed with this new novel, which I am absolutely placing at the top of my 2013 list (at least for now, who knows what gems are still to come?) As always, Shriver has crafted a detailed and complex narrative about family dynamics, love, loyalty, and the question of how to gauge what one person might 'owe' another, especially a blood relation. This is a story about fat as a social issue, a personal battle, and a family tragedy.A quick plot summary would do this book and its readers an injustice - suffice it to say that 'Big Brother' has something for every kind of reader: sibling rivalry, fame, television, parental dysfunction, spousal competition, and food, glorious food. Shriver's characters are not always likable, or lovable, but they are strikingly real and sometimes painfully human. She writes witty dialogue and vocabulary-heavy descriptions that immerse the reader in the lives and minds of the characters; even the lesser characters are given brief moments to shine.To anyone who has ever felt out of control in the face of someone else's struggle, or struggled themselves to reach out to someone else while maintaining a fragile hold on his or her own life, this book is a must-read. I highly recommend 'Big Brother', it's deserving of more than five stars!

[sparemethecensor · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

I found the set-up so artificial that it was harder for me to get into the story than any of her other novels I've read. Sometimes things would happen -- capital of which is the siblings moving in together -- that I just couldn't believe, and that jerked me out of the story. She always brought me back, but it was a tougher road than I expected. So, I also felt jerked out of the story by the "twist." And I completely agree with other reviewers about the narrator being a light sketch of Shriver herself. All that said, I didn't dislike the book. There were so many tidbits of philosophy, not to mention that the way characters interact with each other (in this and all of her books) is so compelling and real to me. I would not recommend Big Brother over others of her books, but I still am glad I read it.

[starbox_2 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

"There has to be more to life than food and drink",, 24 July 2015This review is from: Big Brother (Paperback)When Pandora - chubby forty-something, married to a grumpy health freak, and stepmother to his two teenagers - welcomes her big brother on a visit, she isn't prepared for the changes in him. After four years, the formerly good-looking jazz musician has become chronically obese, and his life and career have gone down the pan.With husband Fletcher's increasing disgust at Edison's eating habits and untidiness, Pandora has to decide whether she should put her brother first and sacrifice her marriage to help her friendless sibling...This was an enjoyable read, but one that makes the reader think about the wave of obesity sweeping the West today:"The more I chewed, the more bewildered I grew by how this fleeting, unseizable pleasure had so enslaved my countrymen that many of us were willing to disgrace ourselves for it: demoralize ourselves for it; demolish a host of other pleasures for it, like running and dancing and sex; destroy this very pleasure itself in its pursuit - for every tidbit I'd consumed since putting on weight had been contaminated with an acrid after-taste of self-reproach; and even, in extreme cases like the one my fast becoming, die for it."Expect to be surprised...

[markmeg · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

The "realness" of the conclusion is overridden by the romance of the body of the story --which I found more appealing.Brother comes to vist--huge--sister takes on task of helping him lose almost 200 pounds. He loses it. She almost loses her marriage, and he instantly gains it all back. Reality--after 2 months of a difficult visit she puts him on a plane. He ultimately dies of the results of being overweight. Intriguing for a while, but the end twist was the sorry reality.

[sarahstenhouse · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

From the author of We need to talk about Kevin - but much more believable. Story about family relationships, the extent of our responsibilities to each other and the the writing of the story itself. Read on ebook from Waimak library.

[sleahey_3 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

This is a novel about family and food, and toxic interactions among them. Pandora, who lives with her husband and two step-children in Iowa, provides a place for her adored brother to stay when he's down and out. His surprise obesity, gargantuan appetite, and inconsiderate habits take a toll on Pandora's household and test everyone's tolerance and commitment to each other. The musings on food's dominance in our culture and individual wrestling with food issues are a strong aspect of this book. My annoyance with the behavior of the main characters stood in the way of my appreciation of the novel, though, and I had to force myself to finish it. In case anyone else is inclined not to finish it, the ending is strong and important. Or is it a cop-out?

[sainsborough · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

Firstly, I am writing this not having read any other reviews. Secondly, my BMI is at the border between normal and overweight. In that context, here goes:Unbelievable, a novel by Lionel Shriver that is actually laugh-out-loud funny! Shriver takes herself extremely seriously, so perhaps it is unintentionally funny? And only in parts. In other parts, I came to the realisation that there is only one thing more tedious than being on a diet, and that is reading about someone else on a diet.Sticking with it (the book, I mean) as this dieting progresses, I wondered at the presumptuousness of the slimming method adopted. Wouldn't what Shriver appeared to be advocating pose a grave danger to public health? I mean, four little envelopes of powder for months on end? Is she seriously suggesting that this is a sound and sustainable approach to help a morbidly obese man? Would it really be possible for anyone to follow this regime?As always with this writer, the book is full of thrillingly incisive, pithy observations about life in general, that had me poised over the text with a highlighter pen. However, I got a distinct feeling that Pandora is actually Shriver (and that was before I read an article revealing that Shriver did in fact have a fat brother). Pandora's voice is disciplined, controlling, intolerant of failure and without an overabundance of heartfelt sympathy for the foibles of her fellow man. Pandora is childless, but a step-mother, to allay any suggestion that there is perhaps part of her personality not quite filled out. Pandora seems to have the attitude that, seeing she has made it and has money, she is a pillar of virtue who can tell everyone else how to run their lives and what is good for them. For most of the book, despite the protagonist's efforts to disguise it, that stance appears jaw-droppingly arrogant and was an irritation to a reader like me.BUT the book redeems itself...(How? Can't tell you. No spoilers here. Read the book. To the end.)

[infjsarah · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

Can't say I liked this much but then I hated "Kevin" and wouldn't have read Shriver again if it hadn't been a reading group book.She does have some interesting things to say about our obsession with food, diet and exercise. And I wondered if the twist ending was meant to point out to us how easily we are fooled by the promises of magic diets. Reality isn't like that. I was annoyed with myself that I didn't spot the clues.But as a writer she comes across as annoyingly superior - "I'm so clever compared to you stupid lot" - yeah, right.

[pattylouise_1 · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

Big BrotherbyLionel ShriverMy" in a nutshell" summary.Basically it's this...a sister goes overboard to help her obese brother lose weight...or does she?My thoughts after reading this book...Oh my...I loved Lionel Shriver's book...We Need To Talk About Kevin. With that thought in mind I was so anxious to hit this book. Edison...Pandora's brother...is clearly obese. If that is not uncomfortable enough...he is also clearly obnoxious. He doesn't have a home, any money, and he appears to be running out of friends. He comes to Pandora and irritates everyone. Sigh! He even irritated me! He seems to have taken over the house. He is the kind of person that in reality would be intolerable. He takes over the kitchen, cooks gigantic amounts of unhealthy fatty foods and again...irritates everyone.Pretty much this book is sort of two books in one...the first part is all about being fat and the second part is all about what Pandora does to help her brother lose weight.What I loved about this book...I am not sure that I really loved anything about this book...seriously. I am sad to say that but it's what I feel. What I did not love...I don't think I was a good fit for this book. It didn't absorb me, it didn't make me feel good about food or people or relatives...or handmade furniture...lol...and the whole idea of leaving your family to live with this obnoxious brother...kind of not believable.Final thoughts...My final thoughts about what I read are usually clear. In this case and for this book they are not clear. I have mixed feelings about this book and most of them are not good ones. The writing is great, the character descriptions clear...but I didn't enjoy this book. Plus I missed th twist...a friend had to point it out to me!

[justmelissa_1 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

First, the good: Lionel Shriver has a gift with words. I highlighted a handful of passages in this book because they were so well written; at turns, evocative, lyrical, clever, lighthearted or funny . Early on in my reading I turned to my husband and said "I'm not even 50 pages in and already she's used "folderol" and "foofaraw" - this is my kind of book!" I thought the pacing was swift - despite pausing to savor my favorite sentences, this was still a quick read. Without giving anything away, Shriver uses an unusual technique near the end of the book that would be hard to pull off, but somehow seems perfect for these characters. The bad: Almost to the one, these people are making bad choices. Not just ones that might lead to undesired outcomes, but one that hurt themselves and each other. Their motivations are often selfish, their solutions are damaging, their emotional maturity is low. Seriously, whatever they're doing, they're doing wrong! Among them, they are co-dependent, uncommunicative, bullying, self-righteous, narcissistic, unproductive, hubristic, passive-aggressive, and fat. And the whole thrust of the book is this: we must fix the fat man. Being fat is a moral flaw, a wrong that must be made right at all costs. I wanted to shake all of them - fine, fix the fat man, but also? Fix yourselves! Final verdict: Although I hated these people, I think Big Brother would make a great book club book. There is a lot to discuss & debate about the writing craft choices Shriver made AND the subject matter and characters give readers plenty to sink their teeth into. And an addendum. I first gave this book a 1 1/2 star rating. I thought I really hated it. Then I started writing the review. The more I wrote, the higher the rating got until I finally settled on four stars. I figure any book that inspires me to write a spontaneous review and pisses me off so much, is probably pretty darn good after all. I'd much rather read a book that invokes a passionate response than one that simply entertains. Well played, Ms Shriver.

[gypsysmom_1 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

What do you do when your beloved older brother shows up at the airport and you don't recognize him because he is morbidly obese? Do you pretend nothing has changed? Do you confront him about his weight? Do you try to figure out why he gained so much weight? Do you offer to coach him into losing weight at the risk of losing your spouse and family? If you are Pandora Halfdnarson you do all of those things in succession.Pandora and her brother Edison move into an apartment and go on a strict liquid only diet. Pandora has about 40 pounds to lose but Edison has over 200. Obviously, it is going to take Edison much longer but Pandora figures a year should be sufficient.It's rather ironic that Lionel Shriver took on obesity as the subject of this book; Shriver is thin and from what I have read she always has been. I must say that her portrayal is mostly sympathetic but there were times when I said to myself "No way." For instance, she has Edison cook for Pandora once Pandora is down to her ideal weight but Edison continues on the liquid diet and never tastes a morsel of what he cooks. I just don't think that is possible. I also didn't like the whole concept of the liquid diet because I felt it did not teach either of the dieters how to eat properly. Most people who lose weight and keep it off do it gradually and by changing their habits.Still, I enjoyed listening to this book and it even got me re-dedicated to losing weight myself.

[ellencam · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

Spoiler alert: Maybe a little one coming up.....I really don't know how to write a helpful review about this book. I finished it ten minutes ago, and can't even decide how to rate it. I will start with what I liked; The writing was excellent, I thought. I had never read anything from this author, and thought her storytelling was superb. I eagerly anticipated getting back into the book every evening. I am not a person who will continue to read if a book is not entertaining me, so just getting to the end will tell you the book had something going for it.As for what I did not like; The characters, all except Cody the stepdaughter, were beyond annoying. The "big brother" with the massive weight problem was SO aggravating, referring to people as "cats" and putting, "dig?" at the end of every other sentence. His ridiculous overeating greatly exaggerated the actual journey to obesity, I thought. I don't think most people shovel down boxes of confectioner's sugar and wolf down all sorts of fattening foods as if they had been starving. It just seemed so exaggerated. The husband and his obsessive running and dieting was just as bad. The "Wait a minute. Did I really tell you that story?" ending seemed so contrived.I'm just not sure what the author was trying to say. I might have been expecting more as I had seen this book featured in People Magazine a couple of months ago and looked forward to a good read. Would I recommend this to anyone? No, I really would not. I do, however, appreciate the fact that the author sent it to me as I had won the book in the Giveaways program, and I plan on reading one of her other books because I have heard very good things about them.

[nivramkoorb · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

This is the 3rd novel I have read by Shriver and they have all been excellent. She has a great way with words and she takes an important topic and builds her book around it. In this case it is eating on both the obesity and the strict food intake side. Both extremes are examined in this very entertaining book. In addition to the food issue, Shriver gets into sibling, marital, step-children, parents, and friend relationships. She deals with L.A. versus Iowa. The basic story has Pandora a successful entrepreneur who has a marriage to Fletcher that is 7 years old and comes with 17 and 13 year old children. They live in Iowa. Into her life comes her jazz piano playing brother Edison who she hasn't seen for 4 years. They are close because of their upbringing with a TV star father. Turns out Edison has gained over 200 pounds since she last saw him and is having a hard economic downturn. Fletcher is a food fanatic and avid cyclist who makes custom furniture that doesn't sell. The clash between the obese Edison and Fletcher is one of the many stories in this book. Shriver does a great job of making it all work while also making an important statement about our relationship to food. This book helped me realize that as a reader we always tend to question the plausibility of plot lines in novels. Especially, if it is going to be a reasonable tale. This book did stretch my belief that all of the actions could occur, but then I realize that this is fiction and the higher purpose of this book was achieved through Shriver's plot. There is a twist at the end that many people had trouble with. For me it did not impact the overall value of the book. Shriver is a great writer that deals with big issues. If you have not read anything by her, then this is a good place to start.

[pdebolt_1 · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

Lionel Shriver is a gifted author as evidenced by We Need To Talk About Kevin. Big Brother is the story of a morbidly obese man who visits his sister in Iowa after having worn out his welcome in New York with friends from his career as a jazz pianist. The first part is brilliant, the second part makes the characters less than likeable on many levels, and the third part is the abrupt reality. I am impressed with Shriver's skills as a writer, but this one cannot compare with We Need To Talk About Kevin in its plot and believability.

[laine4cunningham · Rating: 2 out of 5 stars]

I feel cheated.
There was a feeling all along that this novel was written in too-journalistic a way. That is, it felt more like nonfiction, a memoir, than fiction. There were moments when Shriver hit her usual stride with the prose and I kept reading in part hoping there would be more of that.
I would have given this book 3 stars if that was the only issue. There was quite a bit of unique, thought-provoking material she mentioned in here...the twisted relationship between siblings that can come when they live together as adults, the desire to leave a marriage yet not divorce, and other subtle threads. But she left most of those undeveloped.
I wonder if she left them undeveloped because of how she handled the time when the two lived together. The fact that SPOILER ALERT the middle portion never happened would explain some of this style choice. But in the end, when it turned out that the middle part never happened, I was more than disappointed. I felt cheated out of the time I'd spent reading. It feels like an easy way out for the story.
I wanted to like this book because I was so impressed with Kevin. But this one fell flat in a very disappointing way.

[sandra.k.heinzman · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

Wow, what a book. For anyone with weight issues, it gives you a lot to think about. The ending was not what I expected at all. I recommend this book.