{"product_id":"should-we-stay-or-should-we-go-a-novel","title":"Should We Stay or Should We Go: A Novel","description":"\u003cp\u003eWhen\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eher father dies, Kay Wilkinson can’t cry. Over ten years, Alzheimer’s had steadily\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eeroded this erudite man into a paranoid lunatic. Surely one’s own father passing should never come as such a relief.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eBoth medical professionals, Kay and her husband Cyril\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003ehave seen too many elderly patients in similar states of decay. Although healthy and vital in\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003etheir early fifties, the couple fears what may lie ahead. Determined to die\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003ewith dignity, Cyril makes a modest proposal. To spare\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003ethemselves and their loved ones such a humiliating and protracted decline, they\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eshould agree to commit\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003esuicide together once they’ve both turned eighty. When their deal is sealed, the spouses are blithely looking forward to another three decades\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003etogether.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eBut\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003ethen they turn eighty.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eBy turns hilarious\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eand touching, playful and grave, \u003cem\u003eShould We Stay or Should We Go\u003c\/em\u003e portrays\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003etwelve parallel universes, each exploring a possible future for Kay and Cyril. Were\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003ethey to cut life artificially short, what would they miss out\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eon? Something terrific? Or something terrible? Might they end up\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003ein a home? A fabulous luxury retirement village, or a \u003cem\u003eCuckoo’s Nest\u003c\/em\u003e sort of home? Might being demented end up being\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003erather fun? What future for humanity awaits—the end of civilization, or a\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eValhalla of peace and prosperity? What if cryogenics were really to work? What\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eif scientists finally cure aging?\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eBoth timely\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eand timeless, Lionel Shriver addresses serious themes—the compromises\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eof longevity, the challenge of living a long life and still going out in style—with\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003ean uncannily light touch. Weaving in a\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003ehost of contemporary issues, from Brexit and mass migration to the coronavirus,\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eShriver has pulled off a rollicking page-turner in which we never have to mourn\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eperished characters, because they’ll be alive and kicking in the very next\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003echapter.\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Lionel Shriver","offers":[{"title":"Trade Paperback","offer_id":55250938659107,"sku":"9780063094253","price":13.59,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0930\/2258\/5123\/files\/9780063094253.jpg?v=1781795202","url":"https:\/\/epicreads.com\/products\/should-we-stay-or-should-we-go-a-novel","provider":"Epic Reads","version":"1.0","type":"link"}