Book description
The new novel from the Orange Prize winning author of We Need to Talk
About Kevin
It all hinges on one kiss. Whether Irina McGovern does or does not lean
in to a specific pair of lips in London will determine whether she stays
with her disciplined, intellectual partner Lawrence or runs off with
Ramsey, a hard-living snooker player. Using a parallel universe
structure, we follow Irina's life as it unfolds under the influence of
two drastically different men. Lawrence is Irina's partner of nearly ten
years. Ramsey is the ex-husband of a sometime friend, a once-a-year
acquaintance to whom Irina has never paid a great deal of attention.
Where Lawrence is supportive and devoted; Ramsey is flighty and
spontaneous. Lawrence is emotionally withdrawn to the point of
repression; Ramsey is fiery and passionate, but volatile. The contrasts
between the two men have ramifications for Irina's relationships with
friends and family, for her career as an illustrator, and more
importantly, for the texture of her daily life.
This love is about trade-offs. Both men in Irina's dual future are
worthy of her affection but deeply flawed. The answer is that there is
no perfect answer: one of the things that draws us to our mates is what
is wrong with them. The Post-Birthday World is written with all the
subtlety, perceptiveness and drama that made We Need to Talk About Kevin
an international bestseller. Praise for 'The Post-Birthday World':
'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.'
Independent
'There is an impressive freshness in her treatment. The writing is
intelligent, the characterisation thoughtful, the insights into love,
sex and snooker sharp…Shriver confirms her reputation as an original talent'.
Mail on Sunday
'The Post-Birthday World is exceptionally well written and the
characters fully formed.' Irish Sunday Independent
'Shriver gives us another passionate novel…Like Sliding Doors, the tale
splits into two, following the dramatic turns of each choice. Brilliant.'
Cosmopolitan
'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.'
Tatler
''The Post-Birthday World' is Lionel Shriver's forthcoming work about
the dilemmas of love - a must if you were gripped by 'We Need To Talk
About Kevin'.'
Harper's Bazaar Lionel Shriver's novels include the New York Times
bestseller The Post-Birthday World and the international bestseller We
Need to Talk About Kevin, which won the 2005 Orange Prize and has now
sold over a million copies worldwide. Earlier books include Double
Fault, A Perfectly Good Family, and Checker and the Derailleurs. Her
novels have been translated into twenty-five different languages. Her
journalism has appeared in The Guardian, The New York Times, The Wall
Street Journal, and many other publications. She lives in London.
