Expertly skewers psycho/social 'woke' mania

An alternative history of our times that chronicles the rise and fall of 'mental disparity' ideology. Schriver hits so many familiar nails of the head that I kept having to reassure myself that this particular 'woke' ideology is not being inflicted on us. Yet.

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the new dystopia

I think this is a new must-read/listen. A warning that shows our currently reality for where its heading if we don't wake up. let's hope it's not too late

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3 people found this helpful

Parallels with today’s gender madness

A searing analysis of the pros and cons of being steadfast to your beliefs versus being an ever-adaptable opportunist.

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Tenuous concept at times but overall enjoyable

Tenuous concept at times but overall very enjoyable. Coming off of listening to Julia/1984 this did pale somewhat in comparison when talking about dystopian views but it provided a flavour which was worth exploring on its own to its logical conclusions.

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The reality of now in the fictional then.

Loved the narrator’s voice and delivery of the compelling story on both levels; one of social fashions and their consequences, the other of “frenemies” who have an irrevocably inseparable if not destructive bond.

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A work of genius.

"Kevin" spoke to the general blindness of families and society to the warning signs of the disillusioned potential high school mass killers. "Mania" warns against either extreme swing of the ideological pendulum. Brilliantly done! Thank you, Lionel.

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Another v good book

LS is a writer in command of language and inspiration.
Nearly always a pleasure to read and listen.

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Biting satire-close to the knuckle

Lionel Shriver pulls off her satirical alt-history and skewers her targets with aplomb.

The narrator however grates to English ears at least as she struggles with some of Lionel’s more flowery phrases and mangles vowel sounds as though encountering many longer words for the very first time. Maybe this is just irony American-style?

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An over-stretched polemic

An effective satire needs to identify its target, then build a world around it that the reader finds persuasive. Shriver does the first very well by skewering the 'progressive' identity politics obsession with inclusion to the detriment of fairness and rationality, as well as to some extent the populist right'distrust of experts. However, the idea that this (Mental Parity) movement could take over whole societies to the point of self-destruction lacks credibility and we are left with somewhat tiresome lists of words banned for their association with cognitive advantage. Having been a great fan of Shriver's fiction, my impression is that her tendency towards contrarianism is submerging her acuity for observation. This is offset somewhat by her greatest strength - observation of personal relationships (the friendship between the main character and Emily) and her willingness to give both sides good dialogue. The narration is also excellent.

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3 people found this helpful

Fantastic novel

An interesting glimpse into human nature and how we can so easily become unstuck as societies. Feels like we are about 5 minutes away from this story being a reality…it already is for many who have lost jobs, families and friends over the last number of years.

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