So Much for That

So Much for That
Lionel Shriver

An extraordinary novel from the Orange Prize winning author of ‘We Need to Talk About Kevin’.What do you pack for the rest of your life?Shepherd Knacker is bored with his humdrum existence. He's sold his successful handy-man business for a million dollars and is now ready to embark on his 'Afterlife' - a one way ticket to a small island off the coast of Africa. He tries to convince his wife Glynis to come with him, but she laughs off the idea as preposterous.There's no way she'll let Shepherd uproot the family to some far-flung African island.When Glynis is diagnosed with an extremely rare and aggressive form of cancer, Shepherd's dreams of an exotic adventure are firmly put on hold. He devotes himself to caring for his sick wife, watching her fade before his eyes.Shepherd's best friend Jackson knows all too well about illness. His sixteen year old daughter has spent her life dosed up on every treatment going while he and his wife Carol feed their youngest daughter sugar pills so she won't feel left out. But then Jackson undergoes a medical procedure of his own which has devastating consequences …So Much For That is a deeply affecting novel, told with Lionel Shriver's trademark originality, intelligence and acute perception of the human condition.

Copyright (#u82e9a611-6ed8-54f8-8f77-9bdbedf84de5)

The Borough Press

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www.harpercollins.co.uk (http://www.harpercollins.co.uk)

Published by HarperCollinsPublishers 2015

First published in Great Britain by HarperCollinsPublishers 2010

Copyright © Lionel Shriver 2010

Lionel Shriver asserts the moral right to be identified as the author of this work

A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library

This novel is entirely a work of fiction. The names, characters and incidents portrayed in it, while at times based on historical figures, are the work of the author’s imagination.

All rights reserved under International and Pan-American Copyright Conventions. By payment of the required fees, you have been granted the non-exclusive, non-transferable right to access and read the text of this e-book on-screen. No part of this text may be reproduced, transmitted, down-loaded, decompiled, reverse engineered, or stored in or introduced into any information storage and retrieval system, in any form or by any means, whether electronic or mechanical, now known or hereinafter invented, without the express written permission of HarperCollins.

Cover design © HarperCollinsPublishers 2015

Cover photographs © Shutterstock.com (http://Shutterstock.com)

Source ISBN: 9780007578061

Ebook Edition © 2015 ISBN: 9780007351886

Version: 2015-01-22

Dedication (#u82e9a611-6ed8-54f8-8f77-9bdbedf84de5)

To Paul. In loss, liberation.

Time is money.

—BENJAMIN FRANKLIN,

Advice to a Young Tradesman, 1748

Contents

Cover (#ue80ddf81-708d-5550-b07f-d5bc43b38525)

Title Page (#u381673d3-f346-557d-b64c-7167c658370e)

Copyright

Dedication

Epigraph (#u736a64ba-ad88-5dc7-910c-f3d647f116c7)

chapter one

chapter two

chapter three

chapter four

chapter five

chapter six

chapter seven

chapter eight

chapter nine

chapter ten

chapter eleven

chapter twelve

chapter thirteen

chapter fourteen

chapter fifteen

chapter sixteen

chapter seventeen

chapter eighteen