Big Brother by Lionel ShriverMy rating: 4 of 5 stars
I had to stew on this for a few days before deciding how to rate this book.
Honestly, the entire first part was boring, and a lot of the language used throughout was completely unnecessary. I am all about utilizing the English language intelligently, but sometimes it's more impressive to read a book that is simplistically beautiful than one that feels artificially full of large words. In fact, I sometimes wondered if the author was just trying to hit a word count rather than make a point.
That being said, when you strip away the pretentious language and often unnecessary meandering of the author, there was an incredibly poignant and beautiful story that paints the stark reality of obesity in many modern families.
As someone who works a day job that is at the forefront of the obesity revolution (as a manager of a health club run by former Biggest Loser contestants), I've seen so many of the moments in the book first hand and realize the complexity of what fighting obesity entails.
Without revealing any spoilers, I was initially disappointed with the ending - but then I stepped back and realized that the ending was right for this book and made a good and yet sad commentary on the realities of our culture.
Overall, if you can get past the verbiage to the heart of the story, I think you'll enjoy this book.
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