The Post-Birthday World : A Novel
Author(s): Lionel Shriver
This dazzling new novel from the Orange Prize–winning author of the international bestseller We Need to Talk About Kevin takes a psychological and deeply human look at love and volition
Does the course of life hinge on a single kiss? Whether the American expatriate Irena McGovern does or doesn’t lean into a certain pair of lips in London will determine whether she stays with her smart, disciplined, intellectual American partner Lawrence, or runs off with Ramsey—a wild, exuberant British snooker star the couple has known for years. Employing a parallel-universe structure, Shriver follows Irena’s life as it unfolds under the influence of two drastically different men. In a tour de force that, remarkably, has no villains, Shriver explores the implications, both large and small, of our choice of mate—a subject of timeless, universal fascination for both sexes.
Review(s):
“Original and involving...convincing and beautifully told. Highly recommended.”
“Daring [and] dazzling.”
“Hugely entertaining…tackles the dueling human needs for passion and security with fierce, witty honesty.”
“Shriver writes with elegance and a loaded intensity...she is a brilliant, witty storyteller and the book is utterly compelling.”
“[A] tour de force in literary structure and mastery of language...engrossing.”
“Provocative...stunningly intense.”
“Provocative….The Post-Birthday World is…as unflinching as they come.”
“...unique...”
“Witty, formidably bright author…Lively parts…”
“Shriver has a gift for creating real and complicated characters and putting them in less-than-simple situations…Highly engrossing novel…”
ISBN: 9780061187896