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A better life : a novel / Lionel Shriver.

Shriver, Lionel, (author.).

Summary:

"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. Liberal to the extreme, 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 New York City Mayor Eric Adams 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"-- Provided by publisher.

Record details

  • ISBN: 9780063482142
  • ISBN: 0063482142
  • ISBN: 9780063482159
  • ISBN: 0063482150
  • Physical Description: 289 pages ; 24 cm
  • Edition: First edition.
  • Publisher: New York, NY : Harper, an imprint of HarperCollins Publishers, 2026.
Subject:
Immigrants > New York (State) > New York > Fiction.
Single mothers > New York (State) > New York > Fiction.
Adult children living with parents > New York (State) > New York > Fiction.
Shared housing > New York (State) > New York > Fiction.
Hondurans > United States.
New York (N.Y.) > Emigration and immigration > Political aspects > Fiction.
Brooklyn (New York, N.Y.) > Fiction.
Genre:
Fiction.
Novels.

Available copies

  • 17 of 24 copies available at NC Cardinal. (Show)
  • 1 of 1 copy available at Onslow County Public Library.

Holds

  • 1 current hold with 24 total copies.
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Show Only Available Copies
Location Call Number / Copy Notes Barcode Shelving Location Status Due Date
Jacksonville Main Library FIC SHRIVER (Text) 36015000785713 Adult New Fiction Available -

Accessibility Features

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020 . ‡a9780063482142 ‡q(hardcover)
020 . ‡a0063482142 ‡q(hardcover)
020 . ‡a9780063482159 ‡q(trade paperback)
020 . ‡a0063482150 ‡q(trade paperback)
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1001 . ‡aShriver, Lionel, ‡eauthor. ‡0(CARDINAL)282932
24512. ‡aA better life : ‡ba novel / ‡cLionel Shriver.
250 . ‡aFirst edition.
264 1. ‡aNew York, NY : ‡bHarper, an imprint of HarperCollins Publishers, ‡c2026.
264 4. ‡a©2026
300 . ‡a289 pages ; ‡c24 cm
336 . ‡atext ‡btxt ‡2rdacontent
337 . ‡aunmediated ‡bn ‡2rdamedia
338 . ‡avolume ‡bnc ‡2rdacarrier
520 . ‡a"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. Liberal to the extreme, 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 New York City Mayor Eric Adams 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"-- ‡cProvided by publisher.
650 0. ‡aImmigrants ‡zNew York (State) ‡zNew York ‡vFiction.
650 0. ‡aSingle mothers ‡zNew York (State) ‡zNew York ‡vFiction.
650 0. ‡aAdult children living with parents ‡zNew York (State) ‡zNew York ‡vFiction.
650 0. ‡aShared housing ‡zNew York (State) ‡zNew York ‡vFiction.
650 0. ‡aHondurans ‡zUnited States. ‡0(CARDINAL)579801
651 0. ‡aNew York (N.Y.) ‡xEmigration and immigration ‡xPolitical aspects ‡vFiction.
651 0. ‡aBrooklyn (New York, N.Y.) ‡vFiction. ‡0(CARDINAL)344253
655 7. ‡aFiction. ‡2lcgft ‡0(CARDINAL)330525
655 7. ‡aNovels. ‡2lcgft ‡0(CARDINAL)336215
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