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Critics had divided reactions to Lionel Shriver's latest novel (after the Orange Prize?winning We Need to Talk About Kevin, ***1/2 Sept/Oct 2003). Though most considered her use of the dual narrative a clever literary device, not all agreed that it worked. Some found the alternating storylines confusing, while others were bored by the exhaustively catalogued details of Irina's everyday life. The Post-Birthday World doesn't provide easy answers to the questions it raises about relationships. Irin

Critics had divided reactions to Lionel Shriver's latest novel (after the Orange Prize?winning We Need to Talk About Kevin, ***1/2 Sept/Oct 2003). Though most considered her use of the dual narrative a clever literary device, not all agreed that it worked. Some found the alternating storylines confusing, while others were bored by the exhaustively catalogued details of Irina's everyday life. The Post-Birthday World doesn't provide easy answers to the questions it raises about relationships. Irina, however, proves to be a well-rounded, sympathetic character, and the relative failure or success of her dueling destinies depends as much on the reader's point of view as it does on her own. At 528 pages, Shriver's novel is a hefty examination of the possibilities__and regrets__in the decisions we make every day.

This is an excerpt from a review published in Bookmarks magazine.