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The New Republic
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Ostracized as a kid, Edgar Kellogg has always yearned to be popular. A disgruntled New York corporate lawyer, he's more than ready to leave his lucrative career for the excitement and uncertainty of journalism. When he's offered the post of foreign correspondent in a Portuguese backwater that has sprouted a homegrown terrorist movement, Edgar recognizes the disappeared lar
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Oct 08, 2013
B the BookAddict
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Published in 2012, The New Republic was completed in 1998 between Shriver's Double Fault and We Need to Talk About Kevin. While it does deal with the weighty issue of terrorism, it is probably the most comedic and witty of her novels. She is very respectful of the terrorism issue but she has a lot of fun with her characters. Set in an perversely quixotic country with a curious storyline, Shriver presents characters who are larger than life with brilliantly satirical dialogue.
Edgar has gone thro ...more
Edgar has gone thro ...more
Dear Lionel Shriver,
Ugh.
That sort of hurt my head a bit, Lionel. It started out interesting and zippy - full of potential. But then there was some really, really, really horrible writing:
Ugh.
That sort of hurt my head a bit, Lionel. It started out interesting and zippy - full of potential. But then there was some really, really, really horrible writing:
Such a piercing whistle sang through window cracks that Edgar's headache was immediate. As the hump-fendered sedan galumphed down the road, it swayed in and out of lane, though the driver wrestled manfully with the wheel. Now and again a thud sounded against the doors as if a linebacker had assaulted the cab...more
A strange book. It was written (as Shriver tells us in a very confident if not arrogant afterword) well before 9-11 but attracted no interest then due Shriver says to a lack of interest in terrorism. After 9-11 the book's satirical nature (Shriver uses the words "funny" and "playful" but the book is anything but) made it unpublishable. She admits her own fame with "... Kevin ..." also made publication easier.
The treatment of terrorism is interesting - Shriver clearly believes strongly that terr ...more
The treatment of terrorism is interesting - Shriver clearly believes strongly that terr ...more
I've read everything Shriver has written and until 'We Need To Talk About Kevin' she was a very ordinary author at best. WNTTAK was brilliant and Post-Birthday World even better. Here was an incredibly talented author, a great intellect and a master prose stylist. Her book following Birthday World, "So Much For That" was a big disappointment, and not just because I expected more from Shriver - it simply had nothing to recommend it - plot, ideas, prose. So when "The New Republic" came out in 2012
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My review of this book could be easily summarised by the beginning author's note, revealing this novel was written two decades ago but remained unpublished until this point. Of course this is due to the theme being 'poisonous' at the time, and the 2012 audience, becoming more recpetive. Nothing to do with Shriver becoming an international bestseller in the meantime.
I hate to do this negative review because I loved ..Kevin and enjoyed So Much for That, but I suspect this novel wasn't published ea ...more
I hate to do this negative review because I loved ..Kevin and enjoyed So Much for That, but I suspect this novel wasn't published ea ...more
In progress and generally enjoying despite being offended during an insomnia bout by a former prep school superstar saying "So I tossed it. I didn't apply to Yale or Harvard, but Haverford."
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Updated: Like many, I came to "meet" Shriver in We Need to Talk About Kevin. Enjoyed is an odd word for such a dark novel, but I found it very well-done. As such, I jumped on the Shriver pick when it became available as an advance read from my lovely Harper pals. I wish I hadn't.
This is a novel about repo ...more
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Updated: Like many, I came to "meet" Shriver in We Need to Talk About Kevin. Enjoyed is an odd word for such a dark novel, but I found it very well-done. As such, I jumped on the Shriver pick when it became available as an advance read from my lovely Harper pals. I wish I hadn't.
This is a novel about repo ...more
What happens when a clutch of journalists is left in a remote posting with nothing to report? Might some of them be tempted to fabricate news or massage the truth to keep the paychecks coming and avoid being called home?
The New Republic is set on a fictional peninsula called Barba that is trying to gain independence from Portugal. Terrorist attacks all over the world have been claimed by the Soldiers of Barba, or "SOB." Barba residents are angry at the tide of Muslim immigrants flooding their t ...more
The New Republic is set on a fictional peninsula called Barba that is trying to gain independence from Portugal. Terrorist attacks all over the world have been claimed by the Soldiers of Barba, or "SOB." Barba residents are angry at the tide of Muslim immigrants flooding their t ...more
This was one of the more frustrating novels I've read in a long time. I love Shriver's work generally, but this one...just...dragged. For a long time it was one of those dreaded books that sucks the joy out of reading for awhile, simply because you don't look forward to going back to it. Anyway. The first two-thirds of the book follow new journalist Edgar Kellogg as he lands an assignment in the (imaginary) backwater land of Barba, which is struggling from independence from Portugal. He casts ab
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Only Shriver dares to make fun of terrorism.
Originally written in 1998, but unable to find a publisher, Shriver finally got her novel out in 2012 (after the success of We Need to Talk About Kevin). A prescient satire about terrorism and the unholy relation between terrorism and journalists, hilarious and dark-humoured. Michiko Kakutani hated it - there should be NO fun-making about terrorism - and called it a 'ghastly novel'. Which just about proves Shriver's point...
4,5*
Originally written in 1998, but unable to find a publisher, Shriver finally got her novel out in 2012 (after the success of We Need to Talk About Kevin). A prescient satire about terrorism and the unholy relation between terrorism and journalists, hilarious and dark-humoured. Michiko Kakutani hated it - there should be NO fun-making about terrorism - and called it a 'ghastly novel'. Which just about proves Shriver's point...
4,5*
As she explains in her author's note, Lionel Shriver wrote this comic novel about terrorism in 1998, but was unable to sell it because of American lack of interest in terrorism. So now it's a novel set in an alternate past. I found it quite funny.
The main character Edgar is an unpleasant, chauvinistic guy who feels he's always second best. He's always jealously hero-worshiping someone else. Even though the character was a jerk and kept making poor decisions, I felt sympathetic to him and I was ...more
The main character Edgar is an unpleasant, chauvinistic guy who feels he's always second best. He's always jealously hero-worshiping someone else. Even though the character was a jerk and kept making poor decisions, I felt sympathetic to him and I was ...more
I won't say that I loved this book, but I will say that I found it fascinating. I was completely enthralled by it. Ostensibly about pseudo-journalist turned pseudo-terrorist Edgar Kellogg, who is sent to a political backwater known for it's pungent fruit and gale force winds. His assignment is to cover the local terrorist group who has been making waves, while investigating the mysterious disappearance of his charismatic predecessor.
Originally written in the late 1990's and shelved for a decade ...more
Originally written in the late 1990's and shelved for a decade ...more
As a journalist, I’ve been one of those who lived in anticipation of covering “a big story”, and when it happened; be it a natural disaster, horrific accident or multiple murder, almost gleefully sought out the gory details since the more casualties, the more dramatic the story, and the more likely my byline would appear on the front page.
Lionel Shriver, a journalist herself, knows this rush and how being in the right place at the right time can make a career, just as poor timing and bad luck (f ...more
Lionel Shriver, a journalist herself, knows this rush and how being in the right place at the right time can make a career, just as poor timing and bad luck (f ...more
Silly me, thinking We Need to Talk About Kevin would come out with another fantastic book, especially considering that her books have been increasingly bad since WNTTAK. This one fit into her recent need for political diatribes and was coupled with the worst of her writing - heavy dialogue, overt analysis interwoven into people's daily observations, lines that seem to be poised in front of a waiting audience. But worst of all is the leading man, or loser, Kellogg, who in his late thirties just w
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Wisecracking and whip-smart, Lionel Shriver's The New Republic is a rollicking ride of a read. Though it was completed in 1998, it wasn't published until after Shriver achieved international success with We Need to Talk About Kevin, for me a 5-star read. While it was written in the 90s, and there are some inevitable time capsule moments (like the fact that only one journalist has a cell phone), the book and its themes - of immigration, a rising tide of Muslim movement, fracturing nations and "na
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I ended up really enjoying this book after almost abandoning it halfway through because it was dragging.
Overall, I'd say magnetic personalities and terrorism are not subjects I'm particularly drawn to. So when I started losing interest I figured that was why. But loving Lionel as much as I do I decided to not give up. It was a good call. She had me laughing at her cutting social commentary and she dissects her topics so well that you can't help but get interested in them afterall. I really got ...more
Overall, I'd say magnetic personalities and terrorism are not subjects I'm particularly drawn to. So when I started losing interest I figured that was why. But loving Lionel as much as I do I decided to not give up. It was a good call. She had me laughing at her cutting social commentary and she dissects her topics so well that you can't help but get interested in them afterall. I really got ...more
This book basically follows two tracks with two messages: the personal and the political. The protagonist is Edgar, a middle-aged lawyer who quits his boring but steady job to pursue a more exciting career in journalism. He’s always been the solid guy in the background, never the popular star of the show, and he’s sick of it. But once he arrives at his new beat in a fictional town in Portugal, he discovers that the journalist he’s replacing was the star of the show, and once again, he’s overshad
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this book had a limited check-out time from the library and I tried hard to make it through. I got onto Lionel Shriver as most did with We Need to Talk about Kevin - I read that book in 12 hours and could not stop thinking about it (still can't!) this one I'm 2 weeks into and I just can't make it. I'm even having trouble sleeping because the plot enters my dreams and I feel as if she can't possibly be so obvious, and there must be some fabulous surprise ending that I will adore but at this point
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I chose this book because I so enjoyed the last two of hers I read: "So Much for That" and "We need to Talk About Kevin". But this one stinks. Notably, it was written before the other two and withheld from publication by the author till recently. She should have withheld it longer. I was her biggest fan, raving about the afore-mentioned.
But this one is a tedious tale of a bunch of unlikeable journalists posted in a small fictional country waiting for a continuation of terrorist activities to re ...more
But this one is a tedious tale of a bunch of unlikeable journalists posted in a small fictional country waiting for a continuation of terrorist activities to re ...more
Actually to say I read this book is a lie. I read part of it and got so bored with it I stopped.
The characters were so annoying.
The plot never materialized (by page 120).
I didn't even get any sense of time or place and since the author had created the place, I think she could have put a bit more effort into helping readers picture it.
But mostly it was plain boring.
The characters were so annoying.
The plot never materialized (by page 120).
I didn't even get any sense of time or place and since the author had created the place, I think she could have put a bit more effort into helping readers picture it.
But mostly it was plain boring.
Great writing, good story and characters. There's one plot element that I wasn't a big fan of, but despite that it was a quick, engaging read.
She uses descriptions like "Her mouth assholed" and "He grinned like Santa Claus thumbing through kiddy porn."
Lionel... your prose aside, the story's kinda dull also.
Lionel... your prose aside, the story's kinda dull also.
This novel is an earlier effort than Shriver's masterful
We Need to Talk About Kevin
, and to me her handling of the material felt just a little heavy-handed. But I didn't mind that. Her basic theme here--the interaction between larger-than-life people who have some kind of natural magnetism and their clingy sidekicks--deserves lots of serious attention.
All of his life, Edgar has been in the shadow of one or another figure that he (and others) have viewed as a Great Character. He has resented ...more
All of his life, Edgar has been in the shadow of one or another figure that he (and others) have viewed as a Great Character. He has resented ...more
I saw some reviews of this implying it wasn't a very good Shriver book - I have to disagree, this was a well written book with excellent characterisation and Lionel Shriver's highly readable prose.
As we have come to expect from Shriver, the topic is slightly unexpected and original, something I really value - not another predictable love/war story, or unreadable over-arty literati offering.
In this book a lawyer-turned-journalist, Edgar Kellogg, takes up his first posting in a far flung corner of ...more
As we have come to expect from Shriver, the topic is slightly unexpected and original, something I really value - not another predictable love/war story, or unreadable over-arty literati offering.
In this book a lawyer-turned-journalist, Edgar Kellogg, takes up his first posting in a far flung corner of ...more
My third? fourth? Lionel Shriver.
Got a little tiring towards the end, but here are my favourite parts:
"He thought they fell for a decoy. After all, when you love someone, what do you love? What's he good at? If a woman only loved your writing or your aptitude as a solicitor, you'd be disappointed. I think you could even make a distinction between a person and a personality. Barrington's retinue trotted after what he had. Not who he was."
"Edgar learned to scuba dive; he got bored with it. He lear ...more
Got a little tiring towards the end, but here are my favourite parts:
"He thought they fell for a decoy. After all, when you love someone, what do you love? What's he good at? If a woman only loved your writing or your aptitude as a solicitor, you'd be disappointed. I think you could even make a distinction between a person and a personality. Barrington's retinue trotted after what he had. Not who he was."
"Edgar learned to scuba dive; he got bored with it. He lear ...more
It's pure satire but it didn't make me laugh. Not because the absurd plot was about terrorism, but because I couldn't sympathize with any of the characters and got tired of the same bitter, knowing voice coming out of all of their mouths. Shriver's books are almost always at least thought-provoking, but I didn't get much out of this one.
Thank God it's over! Starting ok enough but really became pretty ridiculous and insufferable
I think this is the most experimental of Lionel Shriver’s books, given her preferred style of writing. Personally, I don’t think it was an experiment that went very well, as it failed to capitalize on some of her main strengths as a writer. The plot of the book is pretty interesting actually. It follows a man who quits a lucrative career in law to become a journalist, for no better reason it seems, than that it seems more cool and sexy, and a popular boy at his high school did it. He gets statio
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Shriver wrote this book on terrorism and journalism before 9/11 but understandably there was not much of a market for it for several years. This is interesting, but not as interesting as the fact that the subject of this book – the integrity and honesty of journalists – has become only more relevant.
I read this book during our self-quarantine because of Covid-19, decades after the advent of the internet. In short, at a time when I would expect relevant information to be readily available and w ...more
I read this book during our self-quarantine because of Covid-19, decades after the advent of the internet. In short, at a time when I would expect relevant information to be readily available and w ...more
I bought this book a good few years ago after spotting Shriver's name on the cover. Having read her work before I was eager to read more and since this novel had a grounding in Journalism it seemed perfect.
Since then it's languished in cupboards for a long, long time. I had started to read it a handful of times but couldn't get past the first few chapters.
This time I persevered and found that this is really a pretty remarkable novel with a message that carries well in today's world.
Given thou ...more
Since then it's languished in cupboards for a long, long time. I had started to read it a handful of times but couldn't get past the first few chapters.
This time I persevered and found that this is really a pretty remarkable novel with a message that carries well in today's world.
Given thou ...more
I started reading this because I liked "We Need to Talk About Kevin." I finished reading it because it grabbed me.
Not really a thriller, but certainly builds suspense. Not really a romance, but explores relationships between people with an eye at once critical, cynical, hopeful, wise, and insightful. What makes people popular? admired? the center of their social clique? What is it like to be one of those "larger than life" characters? Do they like it?
Full of moments, quips, and narrative asides ...more
Not really a thriller, but certainly builds suspense. Not really a romance, but explores relationships between people with an eye at once critical, cynical, hopeful, wise, and insightful. What makes people popular? admired? the center of their social clique? What is it like to be one of those "larger than life" characters? Do they like it?
Full of moments, quips, and narrative asides ...more
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Lionel Shriver's novels include the New York Times bestseller The Post-Birthday World and the international bestseller We Need to Talk About Kevin, which won the 2005 Orange Prize and has now sold over a million copies worldwide. Earlier books include Double Fault, A Perfectly Good Family, and Checker and the Derailleurs. Her novels have been translated into twenty-five languages. Her journalism h
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This envelope-pushing writer covered school shootings in We Need to Talk About Kevin and now terrorism in The New Republic, a playful take on the...
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“If Edgar sounded overeager, even rushed, the race was with his own temperament. He placed a premium on savvy. Yet since you could only obtain new information by admitting you didn’t know it already, savvy required an apprenticeship as a naive twit. You had to ask crude, obvious questions…you had to sit still while worldly-wise warhorses…fired withering glances as if you were born yesterday.
Well, Edgar was born yesterday for the moment, although his tolerance for being treated liked a simpleton was in short supply. He’d needed to rattle off a multitude of stupid questions before he embraced his next incarnation as an insider. The trouble was that savvy coated your brain in plastic like a driver’s license: nothing more could get in. Hence the point at which you decided you knew everything was exactly the point at which you became an ignorant dipshit.”
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Well, Edgar was born yesterday for the moment, although his tolerance for being treated liked a simpleton was in short supply. He’d needed to rattle off a multitude of stupid questions before he embraced his next incarnation as an insider. The trouble was that savvy coated your brain in plastic like a driver’s license: nothing more could get in. Hence the point at which you decided you knew everything was exactly the point at which you became an ignorant dipshit.”
“Couples stray,” said Edgar. “Part of the breaking-in process.”
“Not breaking in, breaking.” Nicola differed sharply. “You can glue people together again. But then your relationship’s like any other repaired object, with cracks, blobs of epoxy, a little askew. It’s never the same. I can see you haven’t a notion what I’m on about, so you’ll have to take my word for it.”
“Christ, you’re a babe in the woods.” Edgar stopped slicing tomatoes. “You got it ass-backward. A marriage perched like porcelain on the mantelpiece is doomed. Sooner or later grown-ups treat each other like shit. You gotta be able to kick the thing around, less like china than an old shoe—bam, under the bed, or walk it through some puddles. No love’s gonna last it if can’t take abuse.”
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More quotes…
“Not breaking in, breaking.” Nicola differed sharply. “You can glue people together again. But then your relationship’s like any other repaired object, with cracks, blobs of epoxy, a little askew. It’s never the same. I can see you haven’t a notion what I’m on about, so you’ll have to take my word for it.”
“Christ, you’re a babe in the woods.” Edgar stopped slicing tomatoes. “You got it ass-backward. A marriage perched like porcelain on the mantelpiece is doomed. Sooner or later grown-ups treat each other like shit. You gotta be able to kick the thing around, less like china than an old shoe—bam, under the bed, or walk it through some puddles. No love’s gonna last it if can’t take abuse.”
