Property - by Lionel Shriver (Paperback)

Book Synopsis

Review Quotes

"A collection of two novellas and 10 short stories from the author of the explosive "We Need to Talk About Kevin." Set in Britain and the US, the stories explore the relationship between people, property and other "stuff."" - New York Post, This Week's Must-Read Books

"Shriver... is a brilliant satirist and virtuosic writer....even if Property isn't your dream house, it's a diverting enough place to spend an afternoon or two." - Associated Press

"[Property] places its eponymous subject--how we acquire it, use and often contend over it--under a powerful microscope. Moving gracefully from one side of the Atlantic to the other, these incisive stories are noteworthy for Shriver's keen, if often unsparing, assessment of how we relate to the things we own, their bite leavened by her cool wit and silky smooth prose." - BookReporter

"Award-winning Shriver's enthusiastic audience will delight in her clever and literary analyses of the spaces we occupy, and how they're all too often no broader than a knife's edge." - Booklist

"The collection, which concentrates on middle-class Brits and Americans, is bookended by two richly detailed and sardonic novellas.... Shriver's stories will make readers laugh when they feel they shouldn't, and the uniting theme of houses and humans works exceedingly well, turning up new wrinkles with each successive story." - Publishers Weekly (starred review)

"Two novellas and ten stories by the author of We Need to Talk About Kevin skewer the absurdities of materialism, wherein possessions substitute for meaning and power is exerted by, say, being 30 years old and refusing to leave your parents' house." - O Magazine, 10 Titles to Pick Up Now

"In this wickedly clever collection, Shriver lays bare our foibles when it comes to ownership of all kinds. What happens when a woman's male best friend marries? What are the rules of engagement for houseguests, subletters, homeowners, the newly divorced? These keenly observed stories are so honest about money it's almost shocking." - People

"Shriver is a virtuoso at describing what it is to be uncomfortable in one's own skin.... Her stories are filled with irony and psychological shafts of light. She understands the oddity of what it is to possess.... [and] has the gift for making one instantly curious, entertained, involved and ready to move in - no matter what the property." - Guardian