A Better Life

A Novel

De: Lionel Shriver

Narrado por: George Newbern

In a provocative novel addressing contemporary immigration by the sharply observant Lionel Shriver, a New York family takes in a Honduran migrant—who may or may not be the innocent paragon she claims to be.

Gloria Bonaventura, a divorced mother of three living with her 26-year-old son Nico in a sprawling house in Brooklyn, decides to participate in a new city program that would pay her to take in a migrant as a boarder. Gloria is thrilled when sweet, kind, helpful Martine arrives. But Nico is skeptical. A classic live-at-home Gen Zer with no interest in adulthood, Nico resents any interruption of his “hovercraft repose.”

As the months go by, Martine endears herself to both Nico’s sisters, while finding her way into Gloria’s heart and even, briefly, Nico’s. But as Martine’s disturbingly dodgy compatriots begin to show up, Nico conceives a dark twin hostile to both his mother’s altruism and the “migrant crisis” in general—and turns out to be anything but a reliable narrator himself.

Based loosely on a program a New York City mayor floated but did not initiate, A Better Life is Lionel Shriver at her best: smart, funny, and sensitive to the moral nuances of perhaps the most divisive issue of our times.

Will Keep You Up At Night

The very real, very relatable story story of an American family thrust into the national immigration crisis. With multiple perspectives from both sides of the political spectrum and the viewpoint of immigrants themselves, this book forces the reader to consider the uncomfortable, often frightening facts of mass migration. It depicts a family- a nation- divided yet forced to decide what future awaits- keep inviting and funding millions of illegals at the expense of Americans… or dramatically change course by enforcing our borders, ending handouts to illegals, and deporting the millions already here. A must read book for anyone concerned about the fate of our country.

Well done

Shriver is our sharpest satirist who writes in long form. She is our Jonathan Swift and just as reviled and admired, I guess. In this novel about a compassionate democrat mother and a right-leaning, critical son, she highlights the strengths and weaknesses of both positions. Ambiguity in their positions is what makes this novel work. I will always read, on the day it’s released, a Lionel Shriver novel.

Excellent fiction that could be someone’s reality

I am so glad I stumbled upon Douglas Murray’s interview of Lionel on YouTube. I work quite a bit so it’s difficult for me to have the cognitive energy to read at night. I listened to the book via Audible and the story line was suspenseful and the characters very believable. I can honestly see how this could occur in real life.

Perfect satire except that it's all to real

A brilliant, hilarious and infuriating depiction of the toxic empathy that is destroying cities like New York and threatens to do the same to the country. Shriver nails the madness of modern liberal psychology and paints an all too realistic story of how it is leading to their own unwitting suicide by faux-niceness. She is one of the few writers still writing that are holding up a mirror to our culture. read this and weep and hopefully wise up

facilitating

the twists and turns were amazing. brilliantly written. It kept me quite attentive. loved the book