The troubled life of Lionel Shriver: Racism, cultural appropriation accusations to highly controversial views
American author and journalist, Lionel Shriver is set to release her latest work 'The Motion of the Body Through Space' during the raging coronavirus pandemic, despite the business shutdown across the world. In an interview with the Guardian, the novelist said spoke of her fear regarding the sales on her new book saying, "I’m ashamed of myself because I’m not supposed to care about what’s happening to my book; it’s nothing compared to losing a business you’ve spent your whole life building. But it’s two years’ work, and I’m publishing into a big, black hole; all the bookshops closed."
Shriver has written for publications as the Wall Street Journal, The New York Times, The Economist, The Guardian. Currently, she regularly pens down a column for The Spectator. A prolific writer and columnist, she has several books to her name including the Orange prize-winning 'We Need to Talk About Kevin' and 'Big Brother,' and also won the BBC national short story award in 2014.
Although a literary figure of such caliber, you can't put it past her to stir up some controversy. "I’ve stuck my neck out in the past. I’ve made a lot of enemies. Some people think I’m evil incarnate," she said to the Guardian, and here are some reasons contributing to that public opinion.
Racism in 'The Mandibles'
'The Mandibles' is a dystopian fiction novel by Shriver which "explores the aftershocks of an economically devastating US sovereign debt default on four generations of a once-prosperous American family." Although a critically-acclaimed book, Shriver came under scrutiny for her depiction of Latino and African-American characters which some unimpressed critics have described as racist and politically misguided.
Brisbane Writers' Festival Speech
In 2016, Shriver was among the keynote speakers at the Brisbane Writers' Festival and gave a controversial speech about cultural appropriation, while citing the criticisms that she received for her book, 'The Mandibles'. In the speech, she opposed these criticisms and argued that the accusations against her about racism and cultural appropriation were on par with censorship and that writers have every right to write from their perspective, race, gender, or background.
Further, she said she was "hopeful that the concept of cultural appropriation is a passing fad" because "people with different backgrounds rubbing up against each other and exchanging ideas and practices is self-evidently one of the most productive, fascinating aspects of modern urban life."
Her speech sparked outrage among attendees, many of whom just up and left in the midst of her declamation, and as a result she vowed to never come back to Australia, although in vain. Three years after she made the controversial speech, in 2019 she returned to Australia for Sydney's Bookoccino event and said that her only regret in the controversy was the way it was reported. She also said that she stood by her keynote address at the Brisbane Writers' Festival and called identity politics "fascistic."
Remarks against diversity
Shriver was dropped from a judging panel for a writing competition hosted by a Mslexia after she wrote a column on the Spectator blasting publisher Penguin Random House for its diversity and inclusion policies. She said the publishing house was "drunk on virtue" after it announced new regulations to further inclusivity and diversity among their writer base and criticized its "new company-wide goal" for "both our new hires and the authors we acquire to reflect UK society by 2025."
“From now until 2025, literary excellence will be secondary to ticking all those ethnicity, gender, disability, sexual preference, and crap-education boxes,” she wrote in the Spectator. “We can safely infer from that email that if an agent submits a manuscript written by a gay transgender Caribbean who dropped out of school at seven and powers around town on a mobility scooter, it will be published, whether or not said manuscript is an incoherent, tedious, meandering and insensible pile of mixed-paper recycling.”
In response to the Shriver's comments, Debbie Taylor, editorial director and founder of Mslexia said that they were “not consistent with Mslexia’s ethos and mission” and would “alienate the very women we are trying to support” and subsequently announced that she would no longer act as judge for the competition. “Since our launch in 1999, Msxlexia’s raison d’etre has been to provide a safe space for all women writers – whatever their circumstances – to develop their craft. We actively encourage submissions from marginalized writers and frequently draw attention to the issues they face,” Taylor added.
#MeToo Movement
Shriver came to the spotlight for stance on the #MeToo Movement, in late 2018, when she said it was time for the industry-wide movement against sexual harassment to come to an end. Speaking at Cheltenham Literature Festival, the author said that the movement had “run its course” and is putting a strain on relationships between men and women. She added that it had been "important to begin with", having exposed "some of the real malefactors", for instance, Hollywood producer, Harvey Weinstein, per The Sunday Times.
“Then it took a turn and suddenly we were talking about bad dates and bad taste or making crass remarks and it trivialized itself and I thought that was really regrettable," she added.
Shriver also criticized Dr Christine Blasey Ford, the woman who accused US Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh of sexual assault against her when they were both teenagers - allegations, which the latter denied. “I wouldn’t say it was negligible [the incident] but I also did not think it was life-changing,” she said, adding that she didn't quite understand how Blasey Ford was “haunted by it and having post-traumatic stress disorder symptoms”.
“Let’s have a sense of proportion about sexual offenses and levels of grievousness,” she added. “I dislike this expression 'rape culture' which is used to throw all different offensive behaviors in the same basket and that they are all equally bad. I admire her [Blasey Ford] for being willing to go through that but I don’t think she was an icon of strength and resilience.”