false 393060 21 In this eagerly awaited new novel, Lionel Shriver, the Orange Prize-winning author of the international bestseller <i>We Need to Talk About Kevin</i>, delivers an imaginative and entertaining look at the implications, large and small, of whom we choose to love. Using a playful parallel-universe structure, <i>The Post-Birthday World</i> 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, <i>The Post-Birthday World</i> appeals to the what-if in us all. 953226 1 3 2007 The Post-Birthday World total:2470|5:457|4:827|3:701|2:319|1:166| 2470 8500 3989 761 2 13 false false Wed Mar 21 00:00:00 -0700 2007 Thu Apr 24 09:50:43 -0700 2008 Thu Apr 24 09:52:56 -0700 2008 Great Premise with Unlikable Results

Being a fan of Lionel Shriver's previous novel, "We Need to Talk about Kevin", I was thrilled to find that she had a new novel out. I was even more intrigued by the novel's beguiling plot: Irina McGovern, a forty-something ex-pat living in ...more...]]> 4 11 false false Thu May 01 00:00:00 -0700 2008 Tue Apr 29 20:14:47 -0700 2008 Thu May 01 09:23:54 -0700 2008
I loved Shriver's other book, We Need To Talk About Kevin, so I was actually a...more...]]> 4 8 false false Thu May 01 00:00:00 -0700 2008 Wed Mar 26 11:12:54 -0700 2008 Wed May 07 10:46:14 -0700 2008 more...]]> 1 6 false false Thu Apr 24 00:00:00 -0700 2008 Sun Mar 16 19:32:14 -0700 2008 Thu Apr 24 16:27:51 -0700 2008
This author knows not the concept of "too much information." Maybe I am on the prudish side, but...more...]]> 1 6 false false Mon Jun 09 00:00:00 -0700 2008 Sun Jan 27 00:57:35 -0800 2008 Mon Jun 09 14:26:45 -0700 2008 Lesson #2: If you can't decide between two (or more) men, they're probably both wrong for you. Especially if they're, oh, self-centered assholes.

I hated this book from page one. Halfway through I declared it to be one of th...more...]]> 5 4 false false Tue May 01 00:00:00 -0700 2007 Thu May 24 08:19:27 -0700 2007 Thu May 24 15:10:11 -0700 2007 more...]]> 2 4 false false Mon Jan 19 00:00:00 -0800 2009 Sat Jun 28 11:19:29 -0700 2008 Mon Jan 19 09:55:00 -0800 2009 more...]]> 5 4 false false Sun Jun 01 00:00:00 -0700 2008 Mon Jun 16 14:20:58 -0700 2008 Mon Jun 16 14:20:58 -0700 2008 more...]]> 5 4 false false Sun Jul 01 00:00:00 -0700 2007 Tue Aug 07 16:31:10 -0700 2007 Tue Aug 07 16:49:08 -0700 2007 more...]]> 4 4 false false Sat Mar 24 17:28:04 -0700 2007 Fri May 04 11:05:29 -0700 2007 more...]]> 2 2 false false Wed Nov 28 10:45:27 -0800 2007 Wed Feb 20 07:56:15 -0800 2008 more...]]> 3 2 false false Sun Jul 01 00:00:00 -0700 2007 Sun Aug 26 05:06:33 -0700 2007 Sun Aug 26 05:06:33 -0700 2007 This book goes in two parallel stories and begins and ends with the same chapter that suffices for both stories. Basically, there are two chapter 2s, 3s, 4s etc. The chapters that have a black number are the ones where she i...more...]]> 0 1 false false Wed Oct 29 11:37:21 -0700 2008 Wed Oct 29 12:20:01 -0700 2008
In We Need To Talk About Kevin, Shriver's rambling, circuitous style was reined in by a strong story. This novel has no such anchor. It's just not ABOUT much...more...]]> 4 1 false false Fri Aug 01 17:50:22 -0700 2008 Fri Aug 01 17:52:35 -0700 2008 more...]]> 2 1 false false Wed Apr 30 00:00:00 -0700 2008 Wed Apr 30 06:47:27 -0700 2008 Wed Apr 30 06:47:27 -0700 2008 more...]]> 3 2 false false Sun Aug 31 00:00:00 -0700 2008 Mon Apr 21 15:25:06 -0700 2008 Tue Sep 02 08:02:02 -0700 2008 Post-Birthday World is a bit of a mixed bag. I read the bulk of it in two days and was tearing up towards the end. After I set the book down and my mother asked me how it was, my response was, "It was okay," then I proceeded to tell her, at length, about the story, what I liked and what I ...more...]]> 1 1 false false Tue Apr 01 00:00:00 -0700 2008 Wed Apr 02 12:48:59 -0700 2008 Wed Apr 23 14:30:14 -0700 2008
But I do not like this book. Some books start slow. Stephen King, my favorite writer of all time, has been kno...more...]]> 1 1 false false Tue Apr 01 00:00:00 -0700 2008 Thu Mar 27 13:34:04 -0700 2008 Wed May 14 08:45:17 -0700 2008
The supposed purpose of this book was to show how one seemingly small decision can have drastic impacts your life, but your decisions will still result in very similar parallels. However, the moral I took from this story ...more...]]> 4 1 false false Wed Aug 01 00:00:00 -0700 2007 Tue Jun 26 07:18:26 -0700 2007 Sat Aug 18 14:13:43 -0700 2007
The basic plot revolves around an expatriate American illustrator in London (Irina), who either leaves her ten year relationship with Mr. Dependable for a "hard l...more...]]> 5 1 false false Wed Aug 01 00:00:00 -0700 2007 Sun Jul 29 15:25:17 -0700 2007 Tue Aug 28 21:08:08 -0700 2007 more...]]>