Nicki's book blog

The Motion Of The Body Through Space- Lionel Shriver-

“ Lionel Shriver’s entertaining send-up of today’s cult of exercise—which not only

encourages better health, but now like all religions also seems to promise meaning,

social superiority, and eternal life—an aging husband’s sudden obsession with extreme

sport makes him unbearable.”

I had to smile at this book. As with all Lionels books there is always a good solid plot and

characters you take to (or loathe!) and Lionel being a wordsmith always enlightens my

vocabulary. Remington (named after a typewriter) has decided at 60+ to do a marathon.

His wife Serenata has recently had to give up running after many,many years due to her

knees and feels that Remy is doing this to get back at her. She still exercises but in a

different way so as to reduce pressure on her joints. He meets Bambi who becomes

his personal trainer- a person Seranta can’t stand. This is cleverly written (as with all

Lionel's books) with a study in exercise and overdoing it. Being a keen runner myself

I found this both interesting and amusing. The tribunal is brilliant and you totally get

Remington's standpoint and his clever use of history. A highly entertaining read especially

for anyone who has caught the fitness bug later in life. A read with a smile and

maybe, who knows, a message for all of us perhaps?

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