The Post-Birthday World
Ratings6
Average rating3.5
15
Ratings6
Average rating3.5
In this eagerly awaited new novel, Lionel Shriver, the Orange Prize-winning author of the international bestseller We Need to Talk About Kevin, delivers an imaginative and entertaining look at the implications, large and small, of whom we choose to love. Using a playful parallel-universe structure, The Post-Birthday World follows one woman's future as it unfolds under the influence of two drastically different men.
Children's book illustrator Irina McGovern enjoys a quiet and settled life in London with her partner, fellow American expatriate Lawrence Trainer, a smart, loyal, disciplined intellectual at a prestigious think tank. To their small circle of friends, their relationship is rock solid. Until the night Irina unaccountably finds herself dying to kiss another man: their old friend from South London, the stylish, extravagant, passionate top-ranking snooker player Ramsey Acton. The decision to give in to temptation will have consequences for her career, her relationships with family and friends, and perhaps most importantly the texture of her daily life.
Hinging on a single kiss, this enchanting work of fiction depicts Irina's alternating futures with two men temperamentally worlds apart yet equally honorable. With which true love Irina is better off is neither obvious nor easy to determine, but Shriver's exploration of the two destinies is memorable and gripping. Poignant and deeply honest, written with the subtlety and wit that are the hallmarks of Shriver's work, The Post-Birthday World appeals to the what-if in us all.
(jacket)
Reviews with the most likes.
POTENTIAL SPOILERS.
Up until the last 3 chapters, I would have said it was my favorite book ever. I was completely stunned by the quotidian detail, the voices of the 3 main characters, the unconventional frankness about desire and sex, and the non-punishing, non-judging attitude the author has toward her characters. However I felt at the end that she did tend toward judgment and a sort of punishment. Or maybe not. Still processing this one, really and plan to revise this review later.
Between a 3.5/4 out of 5 star reads. I was intrigued by the two different paths that Irina's life could end up. Some elements of the alternative lives I didn't feel were realistic but overall I felt Shriver creates realistic, raw and honest alternative lives for Irina. Some mirroring of scenarios and repeated sentences within the text was rather tedious but overall I was emotionally engaged with Irina's story and her romantic engagements to both Ramsey and Lawrence. This book could have been slightly shorter and I think the structure of this novel is limited as a style. However I think the characters will stay with me long after finishing this book and I will mull over which path she should have chosen for some time to come. And doesn't that say all it needs to about Shriver's skill as a writer?
