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Summer '11 Reading Group List
“Shep Knacker has been planning for his 'Afterlife' for decades, but life's pesky details always got in the way. Finally, he's ready to take off, even if he has to leave his wife behind. But when she is diagnosed with a deadly illness, Shep finds himself tied yet again to his employer so he can pay the hospital bills. This satisfying novel illustrates the arbitrary nature of the whole medical system -- including the things we bring on ourselves, the things we have no control over, and how we choose to deal with both.”
— Alice Meyer, Beaverdale Books, Des Moines, IA
March 2010 Indie Next List
“Shep Knacker has been planning for his 'Afterlife' for decades, but life's pesky details always got in the way. Finally, he's ready to take off, even if he has to leave his wife behind. But when she is diagnosed with a deadly illness, Shep finds himself tied yet again to his employer so he can pay the hospital bills. This satisfying novel illustrates the arbitrary nature of the whole medical system -- including the things we bring on ourselves, the things we have no control over, and how we choose to deal with both.”
— Alice Meyer, Beaverdale Books, Des Moines, IA
Description
Shep Knacker has long saved for "The Afterlife" an idyllic retreat to the Third World where his nest egg can last forever. Traffic jams on the Brooklyn-Queens Expressway will be replaced with "talking, thinking, seeing, and being"--and enough sleep. When he sells his business for a cool million dollars, his dream finally seems within reach. Yet his wife Glynis has concocted endless excuses why it's never the right time to go. Weary of working as a peon for the jerk who bought his company, Shep announces he's leaving for a Tanzanian island, with or without her.
Just returned from a doctor's appointment, Glynis has some news of her own: Shep can't go anywhere because she desperately needs his health insurance. But their policy only partially covers the staggering bills for her treatments, and Shep's nest egg for The Afterlife soon cracks under the strain.
So Much for That follows the profound transformation of a marriage, and Shriver delivers a compelling novel that presses the question: how much is one life worth?