“I realize it's commonplace for parents to say to their child sternly, 'I love you, but I don't always like you.' But what kind of love is that? It seems to me that comes down to, 'I'm not oblivious to you - that is, you can still hurt my feelings - but I can't stand having you around.' Who wants to be loved like that? Given a choice, I might skip the deep blood tie and settle for being liked. I wonder if wouldn't have been more moved if my own mother had taken me in her arms and said, 'I like you.' I wonder if just enjoying your kid's company isn't more important.”

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About Lionel Shriver

American author, journalist, and cultural commentator

Lionel Shriver is an American author, journalist, and cultural commentator. She is known for fiction and for her sharp public commentary, especially through her novel We Need to Talk About Kevin. Her novel We Need to Talk About Kevin won the Orange Prize for Fiction in 2005. Beyond her fiction, she has worked as a journalist and as a commentator on cultural questions, which gives her writing a distinctly observant and argumentative edge.

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Books by Lionel Shriver

We need to talk about Kevin

2003

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Post-Birthday World

2007

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Big Brother

2013

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So much for that

2010

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Double fault

1997

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