A Better Life

In **A Better Life by Lionel Shriver**, a Brooklyn household becomes the perfect pressure cooker for a sharp, darkly comic take on contemporary immigration and family loyalty. Shriver’s satirical novel has a quick mind and a sharper edge, balancing big questions with everyday domestic friction.

Divorced mum Gloria Bonaventura signs up for a city scheme that pays locals to host migrants, and she’s delighted when Martine, a Honduran newcomer, arrives: capable, considerate, and seemingly grateful. Gloria’s adult son Nico, however, is forced out of his comfortable basement set-up and back into his old bedroom—and his resentment colours everything that follows. As Martine settles in and unexpected visitors appear, trust becomes slippery and everyone’s motives are up for debate.

Perfect for readers who enjoy literary fiction with subversive humour, unreliable narrators, and New York social commentary.

Add it to your stack and see where Shriver takes the idea of “doing the right thing.”