Product Description

From Publishers Weekly
The smallest details of staid coupledom duel it out with a lusty alternate
reality that begins when a woman passes up an opportunity to cheat on her
longtime boyfriend in Shriver's latest (after the Orange Prize-winning We
Need to Talk About Kevin). Irina McGovern, a children's book illustrator in
London, lives in comfortable familiarity with
husband-in-everything-but-marriage-certificate Lawrence Trainer, and every
summer the two have dinner with their friend, the professional snooker
player Ramsey Acton, to celebrate Ramsey's birthday. One year, following
Ramsey's divorce and while terrorism specialist "think tank wonk" Lawrence
is in Sarajevo on business, Irina and Ramsey have dinner, and after
cocktails and a spot of hash, Irina is tempted to kiss Ramsey. From this
near-smooch, Shriver leads readers on a two-pronged narrative: one
consisting of what Irina imagines would have happened if she had given in
to temptation, the other showing Irina staying with Lawrence while
fantasizing about Ramsey. With Jamesian patience, Shriver explores snooker
tournaments and terrorism conferences, passionate lovemaking and
passionless sex, and teases out her themes of ambition, self-recrimination
and longing. The result is an impressive if exhausting novel. (Mar.)
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All
rights reserved.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #1096 in Books
• Published on: 2008-04-01
• Binding: Paperback
• 608 pages

Independent
`Those of us who rave about the dash and dare of Lionel Shriver's
fiction can rejoice that `The Post-Birthday World', a `Sliding Doors'-style
joint tale of alternative loves and lives, will garner the attention she
always deserves.'

Cosmopolitan
`Shriver gives us another passionate novel...Like Sliding Doors, the tale
splits into two, following the dramatic turns of each choice. Brilliant.'

Tatler
`It's another domestic drama with a compelling twist...the power struggle
between the sexes is spot-on. Shriver chalks her narrative cue with relish
and, once the story gets underway, it's hard to take your eyes off the
green baize.'

Customer Reviews

A marathon but thought provoking read
Its a long read but ultimately worth it as it shows what an elusive thing "perception" is - how you could come to totally different conclusions, choices and opinons about your life because of what happens in one moment in time when you have to make a choice about something. I must admit to be an alternate universe fan so the format and content of this novel attracted me (I also enjoyed Sliding Doors and GroundHog Day. After about 100 pages I thought "Well thats it, why do we need another 300 pages of the same" - but in fact I enjoyed the last 100 or so pages as much as the first 100. Although on the face of it a romance type book, I feel its much more than this, Shriver is a very fine writer and a keen observer of life. 7 out of 10. For another take on how lives can go in different directions try reading "Replay" by Ken Grimwood

Loved it.....
I absolutely loved this book. I had reservations to begin with; I didn't like that the author seemed to have stolen the 'Sliding Doors' idea, I found the first few chapters very slow, and I didn't warm to the character of Irina (and to be honest, never did). However the more I read the more I became engaged with the 'idea' of the book and whilst I skipped over many passages of dialogue (I grew up in Northern Ireland and really can't be bothered with endless debates about the politics!) I was fascinated by the emotional dilemmas the book triggered. It was one of the most thought provoking books I have ever read. Highly recommended (despite the truly terrible 'Cockney dialogue'!!!!).

Unconvincing and construed if very well written
Well written, and the plot is most certainly a very attractive line of thought to many. However, I was disappointed by the book. It does not live up to the promise of showing the two alternative routes that hinge on one moment and one decision for one character. From the moment the story breaks into two, one Irina barely resembles the other, and the same applies to her not-quite-husband. Instead, their characters seem to have been switched around in the stories. To put it differently: Shriver seems more concerned with constructing story lines that mirror each other than with making sure that the characters convince. It seems more important that in both story lines that same sweater or raincoat is worn by a specific character at a given point. I am not convinced that the alternate Irinas and Lawrences portrayed are plausible developments of their 'original selves' (as per the first chapter).
It's a shame. The book had great potential for being more than just a well though through, cleverly construed and well written one.