From the Orange Prize winning author of We Need to Talk About Kevin, this is the novel Lionel Shriver wrote directly afterwards. The Post-Birthday World is an unflinching account of the choices that unfold before us and what our decisions really mean.

Irina McGovern's destiny hinges on a single kiss. Whether she gives into its temptation will determine whether she stays with her reliable partner Lawrence, or runs off with Ramsey, a hard-living snooker player.

Employing a parallel universe structure, Shriver spins Irina's competing futures with two drastically different men. An intellectual and fellow American, Lawrence is clever and supportive, but rigid and emotionally withdrawn. A British celebrity, Ramsey is passionate and spontaneous, but jealous, undereducated, and prone to pick arguments. Their contrasting characters will colour her other relationships, her career, and the texture of her daily life.

If love is always about trade-offs-if every romantic prospect is flawed-how can we ever know whom to choose?

About the Author

LIONEL SHRIVER's novels include the National Book Award finalist So Much for That, the New York Times bestseller The Post-Birthday World, the international bestseller We Need to Talk About Kevin and the Sunday Times bestseller Big Brother. Her journalism has appeared in the Guardian and the New York Times, the Wall Street Journal and many other publications. She lives in London and Brooklyn, New York.

Reviews

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

'A compelling survey of the competing merits of security vs.desire.'
Guardian

'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 about the dilemmas of love - a must if you were gripped by 'We Need To Talk About Kevin''
Harper's Bazaar

'perceptive and highly original'
Closer

Book Information
ISBN 9780007578030
Author Lionel Shriver
Format Paperback
Page Count 608
Imprint The Borough Press
Publisher HarperCollins Publishers
Weight(grams) 330g
Dimensions(mm) 198mm * 129mm * 30mm