Customer Reviews

The Post-Birthday World: A Novel (P.S.)

5 star:		(37)
4 star:		(22)
3 star:		(9)
2 star:		(7)
1 star:		(8)

 

 

Lionel Shriver's new novel, "The Post-Birthday World" can be compared to the film "Sliding Doors" in that it follows protagonist Irina McGovern down two possible life's paths. Irina is a children's illustrator happily living in London with her long-time partner, Lawrence. On night, after too many drinks and a few tokes, she has an overwhelming urge to kiss an acquaintance, Ramsey, who happens to be a famous snooker player. For the rest of the novel, we are treated to alternate realities; one chapter where she has given in to her desire to kiss Ramsey and the resulting impact on her life and her relationship, and the next chapter where she has resisted temptation and those results on her life.

The alternate realities/story lines are well written, and cunningly related to each other and often over-lapping. Most interesting is the way Shriver builds the character of Lawrence and how differently he is meant to be perceived by the reader in each scenario; the Lawrence that Irina is faithful to is much less likeable that poor cuckolded Lawrence.

I am a huge fan of "We Need to Talk About Kevin" and Shriver's pitch-perfect use of the unreliable narrator. In "The Post-Birthday World" Shriver's prose is a real treat, reminiscent of the days when gifted writers took the time and effort to set a scene and to lay out a plot that gently urged the reader to turn "just one more page".

Being a fan of Lionel Shriver's previous novel, "We Need to Talk About Kevin", I was thrilled to find that she had a new novel out. I was even more intrigued by the novel's beguiling plot: Irina McGovern, a forty-something ex-pat living in London, finds herself at a crossroads, and the novel proceeds in two separate directions. Irina has been in an almost ten year relationship with Lawrence Trainer that has settled into a comfortable if stultifying groove. He's sturdy, reliable, intelligent, and reasonably attractive, but he's also stubborn, judgmental, strict, and their relationship has become exceptionally passionless. He won't even marry Irina because he's against marriage. Enter Ramsey Acton, a beguiling pro Snooker player that is Lawrence's polar opposite: smoldering to Lawrence's blandness, passionate to Lawrence's stoicism, daring where Lawrence is cautious. And here lies the predicament that Irina finds herself in after being left alone with Ramsey for his annual birthday dinner: give in to fiery, passionate temptation ... or remain loyal to the tried-and-true life she has grown accustomed to.

Thus, in storyline 'A' Irina gives in to temptation and leaves Lawrence for Ramsey, while in storyline 'B' she takes smug satisfaction in her own strength of character and loyalty. For a while the back and forth is quite enchanting and clever, and the reader delights in Shriver's carefully concocted parallel structure. But by page 300 those very same parallels that were intriguing and smart become oppressive to the plot and render it hopelessly predictable. If something happens in storyline A you can rely on its counterpoint occuring in B: if Irina has to act as a mediator during a public spat in A, she will be the one causing the scene in B; if she receives a special something in A she will be denied it in B; and so on until the novel's ultimate counterpoint that I cannot reveal here. What was so exciting, at least to me, about the premise of the book was the concept of exploring two different scenarios, and Shriver squanders the opportunity to explore what might have been by slavishly adhering to form -- creating two stories that move in parallel lines instead of diverging ones. Suddenly an otherwise intelligent novel becomes dull and plodding, and the ultimate disappointment is that both A and B's endings are also entirely predictable since both are foreshadowed earlier on. One would have easily been touching and heartfelt if you hadn't been cued to see it coming, and the other might have been shocking if it hadn't been portended earlier on.

Shriver also has a periodic way of getting sidetracked by politics in her novel, which spans roughly fifteen years starting in the 1990s and taking us to the post-9/11 era. They are distracting, and woefully out of place. She takes swipes at Bill Clinton for failing to catch Osama Bin Laden and potshots at Hillary for being ambitious. She decries Britain's National Healthcare system as a hackneyed operation doomed to failure. She even contrives to have all of her characters in Manhattan on the eve of 9/11 for no real reason, since ultimately the atrocity will have very little to do with the plot except to serve Shriver's purpose in analogies for the remainder of the novel -- which is ironic because one character opines that to reduce the scope of that tragedy to such (comparatively) trivial matters is "surely a vain misappropriation of national tragedy". But that didn't stop Shriver from doing it anyway. The aforementioned political asides feel disjointed and don't belong in the plotline, and ultimately neither did 9/11. Had it ultimately had more to do with the plot it would be fine, but it just pops in and then out again as suddenly as it happened. It's a shame that it is becoming commonplace for such a tragic event to be used as a go-to plot device in novels, and while Shriver's depiction of the day is about a million times better -- and more accurate -- than the shockingly offensive turn Claire Messud gave it in last year's "The Emperor's Children", it still feels like a cheap trick.

But what I really disliked about 'The Post-Birthday World" in the end was Shriver's sadistic treatment of Irina. In both storylines she is doomed to apologize for other people's messes in addition to hers, to accept a grotesquely unfair portion of the blame for every misdeed committed, and to be misused and taken advantage of. It comes down to the men in her life. Ramsey is a brash lush whose raging temper has him emotionally abusing Irina from the beginning of their relationship. Lawrence is such an unrelentingly arrogant, narcissictic jerk that he smothers Irina at every turn. What you would really like is for her to toss them both on the street and tell them to sod off, but Shriver seems more interested in antagonizing Irina than in letting her off the hook even a little bit.

Book clubs would have a field day with this novel because it certainly leaves itself open for debate, but I can't imagine really imagine recommending it to anyone looking for a pleasurable read. For that, I would point them to Shriver's previous effort: "We Need to Talk About Kevin". In that book, her protagonist had some cause to be put through the wringer, but it just feels degrading to watch Irina sink lower and lower.

An interesting (if not new) premise, easy to read prose, and the author's ability to articulate and individualize to her protaganist a common discussion many women have with themselves (and each other) keep the reader hooked until the last page of The Post Birthday World.

That discussion- whether a calm, stable, yet less than erotically fulfilling relationship is better than a volatile yet sexually fulfilling one is explored here by the author using alternating chapters that show "Irina's" life at particular places-first if she leaves her long-term partner after kissing another man, and then if she remains after deciding not to kiss him.

To the author's credit, she avoids many cliches and stereotypes associated with the "stable but boring" man and the "sexy but unpredictable" man, and avoids moralizing about fidelity. Although we are only privy to Irina's interior thoughts, Shriver does an excellent job of creating fully-fleshed out characters- not only with Irina and her two men- Lawrence and Ramsey, but with some of the more minor characters as well, such as Irina's mother and sister, and Ramsey's ex-wife.

Irina's feelings are depicted realistically. Any woman who has been in love with a man she knew was probably not good for her, but couldn't help herself, and/or complacent and mostly content, if not completely satisfied with another will empathize with Irina's turbulence and soul-searching. Some readers may even find her experience agonizing.

Although I was riveted by this story and couldn't put the book down, I can't say that reading it was very pleasant; in fact I felt a faint hint of indigestion while reading it. I am still trying to sort out if it was because aspects of Irina's experiences hit too close to home at times, or if the strain of mean-spiritness I found to be running through the book really exists there.

Irina presents as a decent, thoughtful, if somewhat insecure woman. Although there were times I wanted to take her and shake her, it was hard to watch all of the emotional punishment and suffering the author heaped upon her. There were emotionally abusive aspects in both of her relationships, and there were points I wished she'd ditch both men and find somebody truly healthy for her. At times I wanted to scream, "There's plenty of fish in the sea Irina- lose these bozos!!"

Then, just as it seemed that in both scenarios, Irina's patience with the particular man was paying off, the author would throw a monkey-wrench into the mix to torture Irina again. Perhaps it would have been more fitting if the heroine had been named "Job."

The ending will sure to keep book discussion boards busy, as it can be interpreted as open-ended. I thought that perhaps at this point the author had tired of toying with Irina and decided to have a go at the reader, instead.

I have a feeling that this is going to be one of those "controversial, love it or hate it" books. I certainly have very mixed feelings about it. It is certain to be provacative and make for some interesting book discussion group get-togethers and water-cooler talk.

I read so many glowing reviews and the premise is such an intriguing one. Who hasn't pondered where different choices might have taken them? And some parts of it are astonishingly good. My favorite line and I think it's where the character goes home for the holidays: "God, cheerfulness can be a form of assault." That's just one of many bull's eye moments. The author has very sharp insight into the intricacies of human emotion, maybe too much at times. A top editor could have really worked this one out. I'm really losing faith in editors and book reviewers these days. She stretches the conceit as far as it can go, breaking a lot of "writer" rules as she goes along - feels more rebellious than sloppy - and it works often enough to prove those rules to be needlessly limiting. There are spots of pure writer's gold every few pages. So much of Irina's inner dialogue is dark and witty, laugh out loud stuff that rings true.

The down side is that the really good parts cast the rest of it in shadow. I'm not one who has to fall in love and totally relate to the main character, but I found Irina to be stupid and unlikable. The men are bland stock characters. Ramsey's dialogue makes it sound like she's romancing Hagrid. He is an unsophisticated emotional imbecile, who YES we get it, is good in the sack. The characterization of Lawrence is no better. He is either dull but trustworthy and true or he is dull and hiding something. I'm curious why anyone would fashion such a trio of losers. But the main character is so awful as to be puzzling. Was it the author's intention to write about a stupid and shallow woman who will invariably shoot herself in the foot no matter what she does? Would she like to know the character she created? I wouldn't. It's odd to think of a woman in her early 40s behaving this way. Did she spend her 20s in a nunnery? I haven't quite finished, so maybe she did.

The dialogue can be cringeworthy and indulgent. For one, everyone speaks in long emotion-heavy paragraphs that serve to move the plot along. The real and imagined scenarios are grossly daydreamy and maudlin. In fact at times, it reads like a bad daydream by a romance reader who finds Lifetyme TV absorbing. The author also wants to weigh in on the 90s and those parts are clunky and intrusive. She also suffers from the laughable (usually) male writer affliction of the perfect woman - beautiful without any makeup, thin without any effort. She even loses weight when she does nothing but eat out and booze it up with Ramsey! Wow, what an accomplishment. She should be so proud. Yet her only insight into her sister's marriage is to wonder whether her husband loves her because she went (this is so misogynistic) from "bird to cow."

I also never want to read another word about snooker ever again. I'm going to try one more of this author's books and/or maybe her next one. But if there is even a hint of snooker in either of them, it's going back.

It's difficult to believe that some of the other reviewers read the same book! You will like this novel if:

You like a story told in non-linear fashion. The story follows a parallel structure (in alternating chapters), depending on whether Irina chooses one evening to become involved with virile Ramsey or remain faithful to bookish Lawrence. The parallel structure works beautifully: the similarities and differences between the two different versions are essential to the plot (to show the consequences of Irina's choice), and they are not overstated or too obvious.

You want to read a novel by an author who understands human relationships. This insightful tale of intimate relationships shows why they all too often fail: it's very difficult, if not impossible, to get everything you need from one person. Something is always missing. And after appreciating what you do get, it's all too easy to shift your focus to what you're missing and let your regrets sour a good relationship. On the other hand, it can also be all too easy to stubbornly stay with a fairly good relationship rather than risk taking the plunge into something new that might be much better. The parallel stories carefully examine each alternative.

You enjoy reading about characters who are complicated and multifaceted. The author avoids the trap of making one man outstanding and the other a cad. Ramsey and Lawrence (and Irina) are not unlikable! They are flawed, or in other words human, and therefore appealing. Sure, Ramsey and Lawrence act like clods at times, but so do we all. Both men also show unusual kindness and consideration at times; neither is any more selfish than most of us. Sure, Irina puts up with their negatives. Most of us would do the same, partly because each man has important positives and partly because THERE ISN'T LIKELY TO BE ANYONE BETTER OUT THERE--the perfect partner occurs only in childish fiction, and this is mature fiction. If you've ever been involved in a lengthy intimate relationship, your heart will go out to these characters--to Irina for having to make a difficult choice and live with the consequences, to Ramsey and Lawrence for struggling to deal with their weaknesses (often unsuccessfully, as also happens to all of us) yet still showing desirable qualities as well.

You like a story where the author leaves you with something to think about at the end. It isn't clear which one of Irina's choices the author recommends (although I do have my own guess) because life choices are often unclear, or what psychologists call multiple approach-avoidance conflicts: struggling to weigh the positives and negatives that each choice offers because none of them is clearly outstanding.

You like taking your time perusing well-written prose so you can enjoy perceptive analogies, metaphors, similies, and events that make you chuckle or even laugh out loud.

In sum: Clearly, this novel is not for all tastes. Hopefully, the above review will help you decide if you'll like it as much as I did.

You have to hand it to Lionel Shriver, she wades right in to the neurotic base of contemporary culture; in this novel she visits both New York and London. Her characters feel like people you might know if you're urban. They try to do the right thing, but they're pulled by ambition and work and childhood memories and the need for sex and comfort. When you're powerfully attracted to someone, is it more moral to leave one partner for another, cold, or to have a discreet affair on the side? Shriver weighs in in favor the former, but she can't force herself to let go of the other life she led and imagines ongoing.

Her protagonist, Irina, has enough tics to drive you nuts, but she's struggling to establish a beach head beyond her mother and her sister and her women friends. The men she fancies, Lawrence and Ramsey, are , respectively, intellect and physicality personified. She has artistic talent but subordinates it to other diversions. Reading her description of a restaurant meal or a food shopping trip, you have the unnerving feeling that you encountered her not long ago, and it was not an altogether pleasant experience. She is equally and persistently opinionated about politics, both British and American. But so are a lot of people, and the determination with which Shriver nails these opinions convinces you that she's a talented observer of the many ways people struggle to make their peace with culture and each other. Anyone who read "We Have to Talk About Kevin" will recognize her ambivalence about parenthood. Certainly, in this post-birthday world, parents are anything but benign.

Irina, particularly, is a character with many, many choices large and small, and I can't say I was sorry when she realizes that ultimately, some things are not within our personal control. It's a concession that Shriver renders convincingly. I wonder where she will turn her attention next.

I'm surprised to see so many people disappointed with this book, and I did think that it dragged a little in places. I also thought the excessive repetitions between storylines was a little too cute and tiring--oh, this line got repeated by a different person; oh, this person is contradicting their other universe alter-ego, how ironic--until I realized that there was more going on beneath the surface, which was incidental. It's not important that, for example, Betsy argues in story A that sex doesn't last while in storyline B chides Irina for saying the same thing. These two scenes aren't incompatible, lazy treatments of Betsy's character but rather both work together to demonstrate how Betsy plays devil's advocate to maintain a position of self-righteous authority over Irina, whom she vaguely resents. Further, Jude and Irina having identical fights with Ramsey at the Lewis Carroll banquet isn't cutely amateurish or an example of poetic justice, but meant to indicate similarities in Irina's and Jude's assertive personalities, and ask tough questions about why two intelligent, talented, and clearly like-minded women hate each other.

I think Shriver uses dialogue brilliantly--demonstrating again and again how we never actually say what we really mean--or rather, that it's not so much content that delivers our message, but how we say what we say and to whom, and where, and when. Conversations between friends, strangers, and lovers are not simply the free interchange of ideas floating in midair but tools wielded with purpose and agenda to define one's self and one's partner, to enact in a power play, to hide as much as we reveal.

Once I discovered how Shriver actually wanted me to read the novel--not to preen admiringly at how precious it was that she repeated dialogue in two similar passages forty pages apart, but to think extremely critically at what these differences reveal about the characters and relationships as they are continually lifted and dropped in twin narrative arcs--it opened up and revealed itself to be very sophisticated. Trust that the author has a plan and that there is more going on that some literary gimmick, and you'll be amply rewarded.

I still can't stop thinking about this novel.

I started "The Post-Birthday World" with high hopes. An avid reader, I read reviews and take recommendations from many sources. 'Entertainment Weekly' rated "The Post-Birthday World" one of the best books of the year for 2007, and since I generally trust their reviews, I ordered it right away. I wish, oh how I wish, I had checked the Amazon reviews of fellow readers before rashly purchasing and reading this book, as I would have quite possibly saved myself 520 pages of suffering.

Ms. Shriver can turn a phrase when she wants to, there's no doubt of that, and she also is a keen observer of, and astute commenter on, human nature. But she is an undisciplined writer. One wonders where on earth her editor was; there are several 'tics' that appear in this book that should have been corrected before making it into print. For example, she has an annoying penchant for repeating phrases, such as "on her lonesome," which appears no less than five times, and for beginning sentences with "Too," (as in, "Too, she wondered what he was doing at that moment...") a clunky and entirely avoidable construction.

And the dialogue -- oh, dear, the dialogue. I had to laugh when I read a review describing it as "cringe-worthy," since I had used that exact word when talking about this book only the day before. Some of the dialogue is passable but entire sections are awful; truly, appallingly, face-reddeningly awful, particularly when the author is attempting to give language to Ramsey, the lower-middle-class snooker player. I had to skim some sections because it was so painful to read.

Some of the other bothersome things I noticed while reading that I couldn't even put my finger on, exactly, have been brought to task eloquently by other Amazon reviewers here; the writer's misogynistic tendencies, for example -- odd, given that she's a woman -- and her irritating habit of advancing her political opinions by putting them awkwardly and nonsensically into her characters' mouths.

Most troubling of all is how unlikable the characters are. Toward the middle of the book I found myself not only not caring what happened to these people, but actively wishing them harm.

I finished the book only, I think, because of a leftover and misplaced Protestant work ethic. I found myself rapidly turning the pages of 'The Post-Birthday World' last night in order to finish it, not because I was dying to see what happened, but because I couldn't wait for it to be over and the suffering to stop.

That's a week of my reading life that I will never get back and I am feeling bitter. Reading this book was the literary equivalent of expecting sushi and getting Cheetohs instead.

If you're looking for a tart, well-executed book dealing with love, lust, and the foibles of human nature, with plenty of drama and humor, give "The Post-Birthday World" a skip and try instead "A Severed Head," by Iris Murdoch.

This novel was interesting, complicated, and full of terrific observations about modern culture. I found the ALA Booklist review above particularly unfair (the one where the reviewer says the book is a step above chick lit). If Tom Perotta's "Little Children" is considered a top modern novel, then "The Post-Birthday World" ought to be on the same list. This novel takes an unflinching look at the actions of people who are reasonably self-aware. Her settings reflect and amplify the larger observations (the contrast between Ramsey's home and Lawrence's is particularly interesting). While some readers have said that the foreshadowing is too obvious, I thought the reader was meant to see certain things coming -- the fact that the characters do not is a reflection of their own weakness/blindness. Shriver writes a story that reflects the complexities of real life while maintaining a compelling narrative arc -- a rather magical accomplishment.

Reviewer Gregory Baird gives one of the best, concise and accurate reviews of THE POST-BIRTHDAY WORLD that's been posted, and I whole-heartedly agree with him, but I would like to add a few comments.

First, Lionel Shriver is without a doubt a magnificent (albeit somewhat pretentious) writer. I think this book certainly could have been shortened by about 80 to 100 pages and still have given us everything pertinent to the story.

I agree completely with Mr. Baird's comments about having the characters in New York on 9/11. This seems to be the trend in modern fiction today. Another trend I've noticed recently is the obligatory dope-smoking scene. I'm not quite sure I understand why it was needed here, especially since it didn't happen again in the rest of the book, but it seems like Shriver needed this to be the catalyst for Irina's "should I kiss Ramsey" emotion to take-off.

I found Irina to be a frustrating character and wanted her to chuck both these men. But as she herself admitted, she needed a man in her life, so if it weren't Ramsey or Lawrence it would have been some other man. I found this to be a pathetic character flaw.

Having said all that, however, I absolutely loved this book. I consider myself to be a pretty slow reader (300 page books often take me several days to finish) but I finished this 500+ page book in 5 days. I was completely riveted by it and give it a four-star rating. The criticisms are valid, but not enough to take away from my enjoyment of this book.