Big Brother is a fictional approach to the difficult subject of obesity. Lionel Shriver (author of best-seller ‘We Need to Talk About Kevin’) lost her own obese brother to a heart attack at age 55. In this story the main character, Pandora, gives up a year of her life (and marriage) to help her brother Edison, a talented musician and one-time heart-throb, lose weight using a rather extreme diet.
I’m liking
Shriver is a very thought-provoking writer with many wise insights about obesity, success, and relationships in general. It’s also an interesting case-study of what could happen if one were to actually go the extra mile to help a loved one.
Things that made me go hmmmm
At times Pandora, the protagonist, comes across as strangely detached from her relationships. I had a similar feeling when reading ‘We Need to Talk About Kevin’ and it makes it difficult to invest in the story fully.
The conclusion
Although it’s not a riveting page-turner, there are some ideas in this book that get you thinking. The ending takes you by surprise and makes up for some of the reservations I had throughout the story regarding realism. The book does need to be read in its entirety to make sense.
