The Post-Birthday World by Lionel Shriver
Release date: 2007 / 517 pages
First Line: What began as coincidence had crystallized into tradition: on the sixth of July, they would have dinner with Ramsey Acton on his birthday.
Synopsis (from back cover): “Using a playful parallel-universe structure, The Post-Birthday World 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 parnter, 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 unaccountable finds herself dying to kiss another man: their old freind from South London, the stylish, extravagant, passionate top-ranking snooker player Ramsey Acton.”
Review: Boy, I don’t even know where to start with this one. Like with We Need to Talk About Kevin, I thought the writing was excellent and the characterization unsettling, compelling, frustrating, and haunting. I mostly really enjoyed this novel, but I can’t really recommend it for a couple of reasons.
First, it is really fricking long. Seriously. 517 pages. And, in my opinion, a novel has to truly be a masterpiece to warrant 400 pages, let alone 517. However, I never considered giving up and really did enjoy the entire novel.
Shriver tackles the challenge of parallel narratives, using the same characters. The protagonist, Irina, is happy in her relationship until she becomes unexplanably attracted to another man. The narrative then alternates between her life, had she not succumbed to temptation with chapters describing her life with her lover. The plot events remain largely the same, but are seen through the perspective of Irina’s decision.
Thematically, the novel isn’t ground-breaking: “The idea is that you don’t have only one destiny…Whichever direction you go, there are going to be upsides and downsides. You’re dealing with a set of trade-offs, and not one perfect course in comparison to which all the others are crap.” (379-80). But Shriver’s skill in creating a world and characters that are very sympathetic is masterful.
On the other hand, neither of Irina’s relationship is pleasant — and 517 pages of unhappy relationships is trying at times. But, if you have a long airplane trip and only want to pack one novel, this might not be a bad choice. I really did enjoy it — and will certainly read more by Shriver in the future.
Oh, wow, I’m glad for this review! I have this on my TBR list but couldn’t remember anything about it. Reading your review makes me want to scratch it off my list. I’ve had too many of those so-so books recently!
This is a really interesting review. I have this book on my TBR pile but have always skipped it due to its length. Maybe I’ll read it in between other books after reading your comments!
I love how my ambivalence toward this novel came through so well judging by the two comments!
I do think Shriver is an exceptional writer…