Review: 'Should We Stay or Should We Go?' by Lionel Shriver
FICTION: A couple late in life try to make an exit plan — repeatedly.
By Marion Winik, Special to the Star Tribune
May 28, 2021 — 8:37am
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The new novel from Lionel Shriver, "Should We Stay or Should We Go," starts out seeming rather claustrophobic and grim.
In Chapter 1, we meet a British couple named Cyril and Kay Wilkinson, both just past 50, he a doctor, she a nurse. Having just buried Kay's dad at the end of a miserable period of dementia and dependency, they want to spare their three children, the national health system, and themselves similar trials. Cyril suggests a suicide pact. When Kay turns 80, one year after Cyril does, they will off themselves. Neatly, with pills. They'll put their affairs in order and quit while they're ahead.