"Shriver is brilliant on the novel shock that is hunger. . . . With
honesty, precision and humour, she conveys all the boredom and
exhilaration of weight loss, along with its tendency to threaten the
people around you." --Guardian
From the New York Times bestselling author Lionel Shriver, a
striking novel about siblings, marriage, and obesity
When Pandora picks up her older brother Edison at the Iowa airport, she
doesn't recognize him. In the four years since she last saw him, the
once slim, hip New York jazz pianist has gained hundreds of pounds. What
happened? And it's not just the weight. Edison breaks her husband
Fletcher's handcrafted furniture, makes overkill breakfasts for the
family, and entices her stepson not only to forgo college but to drop
out of high school. After Edison has more than overstayed his welcome,
Fletcher delivers his wife an ultimatum: it's him or me. But which
loyalty is paramount, that of a wife or a sister? For without Pandora's
support, surely Edison will eat himself into an early grave.
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 we are obligated to help members of our families, and
whether it's ever possible to save loved ones from themselves.
