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jetia13's review against another edition
4.0
This book was so much longer than I had anticipated. A super interesting concept and structure, done so well that sometimes I was mad at how well it worked.
essjay1's review against another edition
4.0
This one not quite so devastating as Kevin, but I liked the whole Sliding Doors premise. And I like that the author leaves the reader to do a bit of work themselves. I enjoyed this book a lot. Although I did find some of the repetitions a bit tedious, I can’t see how they could have been avoided and they did a neat job of illustrating the way a choice made now could impact a situation in the future in 2 completely different ways.
bookstobechill's review against another edition
challenging
reflective
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
This is a tough one to rate. The writing is INCREDIBLY good. Each word seems intentionally chosen—sharp and quick and loaded. The storyline was really unique. A dual storyline but the narrator was the same, and at the same period of time—just two versions of her life based on a particular choice. I didn’t like the narrator though. I found her sooooo infuriating and each of her potential paths seemed rather bleak to me. There were also some choice descriptions about people and communities of color I didn’t love.
lizella's review against another edition
2.0
The premise of The Post Birthday World was intriguing – the exploration of two parallel futures hinging on one decision, in this case, whether a woman in a long-term relationship decides to kiss another man or avoid temptation. I also liked the structure of the book – alternating chapters exploring the same section of time diverging from the decision point. Unfortunately, the form becomes a bit repetitive and drawn-out over 500+ pages (long pages with very small, dense type).
I think this novel would have been more successful if the story had been edited down by at least a third. While it is interesting to see how scenes and dialog shift between characters in the scenarios, it also became repetitive and predictable over such a long novel. The use of the children's book to underline the point even further was overkill.
While I enjoy flawed characters, some of Irina's actions did not make sense to me for a self-respecting, fairly independent woman in her forties. I am fine with the choice between partners, but it is her choices about her personal belongings and career that I couldn't understand. Why would you leave everything you own and never deal with it or have an actual conversation about how to part ways with a partner you are leaving? How could you drop everything and throw away a career that you enjoy? She seemed to loose herself in a man with either choice, and I was hoping she would have a bit more force of personality in the ways that matter most to her individual identity.
I also couldn't stand how Lawrence got off the hook in both scenarios when he was emotionally unavailable and not especially supportive of Irina when she needed it most. He seemed self-involved and uncommunicative. His shining character trait was his dependability, which was questionable.
I think this novel would have been more successful if the story had been edited down by at least a third. While it is interesting to see how scenes and dialog shift between characters in the scenarios, it also became repetitive and predictable over such a long novel. The use of the children's book to underline the point even further was overkill.
While I enjoy flawed characters, some of Irina's actions did not make sense to me for a self-respecting, fairly independent woman in her forties. I am fine with the choice between partners, but it is her choices about her personal belongings and career that I couldn't understand. Why would you leave everything you own and never deal with it or have an actual conversation about how to part ways with a partner you are leaving? How could you drop everything and throw away a career that you enjoy? She seemed to loose herself in a man with either choice, and I was hoping she would have a bit more force of personality in the ways that matter most to her individual identity.
I also couldn't stand how Lawrence got off the hook in both scenarios when he was emotionally unavailable and not especially supportive of Irina when she needed it most. He seemed self-involved and uncommunicative. His shining character trait was his dependability, which was questionable.
doublearegee's review against another edition
3.0
I like the "what if" stories, so I figured I'd like this. It's lugubrious. Very dense prose. I learned the word anodyne, because they use it a lot. Overall, meh.
selinayoung's review against another edition
2.0
Great concept behind the book and excellent language. I couldn't connect with the characters. Majority if the book was 0.5 stars, last 35% got better for me.
meghan111's review against another edition
3.0
A clever chapter-by-chapter split narrative makes this character-driven novel more interesting. As each chapter ended, I found myself looking forward to see the parallels in the alternate narrative. But other than that, it dragged a little and Irina (the main character) often seemed stuck between two bad romantic choices, without ever considering that there were other alternatives.
slnewman89's review against another edition
4.0
This book was fascinating in so many ways and incredibly unique in the way that she outlined the outcome of two different story lines...think of the movie "Sliding Doors" with Gwenyth Paltrow. This book made me think a lot about fate and our life choices, and it some respects, it seems depressing, in that the main character, Irina, doesn't seem to win either route her life goes, and lives unhappily, but as the story comes to a close, she frames her life in a way that is humbling, in that there are no real "bad" choices in life, and that regardless of the path we choose, there will be ups and downs in any scenario, and while thinking about that "what-ifs" of the past is inevitable, being present and content with what has happened is ultimately the best practice. A true love story in every sense of the word, I think this book is a great read for anyone who has ever experiences loss or heartbreak and are trying to make sense of it all in the grand scheme of life.
susanbrooks's review against another edition
4.0
Whoa dude, that was totally deep! The premise is that Irina, in a long-term, settled relationship, is tempted to kiss another man. Alternating chapters/alternate universes follow her down the path of kiss or no kiss. Complex, serious, deep.
inesmitsou's review against another edition
3.0
When I was reading this I was either exasperated on gripped, at times both. Three stars for the times I had fun, but this was despite its flaws and not because of them.
I agree with many brilliant reviews here, but don't intend to repeat their points. Some of my thoughts:
A. Must everything revolve around the man you choose? Granted, there are life-defining elements in choosing one partner over another, but we never see Irina transformed by anything else in the 15 years the book spans. Except that poor choice of 9/11, which is presented as a turning point but then we don't see that. Interesting point, as others have commented, on owning a tragedy; and one that Shriver fails to get herself, even though she's the one posing it.
B. Really, would have loved it if Irina had stood up for herself once. Never happens, nor is then the victim mentality or even abused personality acknowledged. She just doesn't, and it feels like she's either too bland to care or the author needs to present her as the essential, and essentially problematic, virtuous long-suffering woman. Her partner of 15 years reveals he has been cheating on her for a quarter of the relationship... and she feels no anger? No hurt ego? It just feels unnatural. Either way, she is poorly written that way.
(Oh, wait, she does once when they are back from the US- for about a second.)
C. Again, enough with the men. Both are nice in some ways and also dicks, but Irina fails to see it, overcome as she is with her need for a man. It makes one think that anyone would have taken the place of Lawrence or Ramsey, and it would have been the same, black and white archetypes.
D. Ramsey's cringeworthy hyper-British accent.
E. This book has some very good turns of phrase and the author makes some excellent observations. She is clearly clever, but she knows it, trying to fit in as many metaphors, analogies, meta-references and cool words she found in the thesaurus as possible. Should have known in the first page: "abjuring"? Really? Less than admirable, it is tiresome, if only because Shriver takes herself mortally seriously. It all sounds like she is obsessing over her own writing rather than the characters and the implications. Also, if you have something to say you should just say it, not envelope it in a million pretty words and phrases in order to make it prettier.
F. Has anyone here read the postscript? POSTfeminist, Irina? Honestly? More like that she has left feminism way behind because it's too hard to build a cohesive personal and political stance as a feminist woman when you like men. That would have been an interesting conundrum I'd like to read. It's okay not to go with that, of course, but at least don't try to get a Cool Girl medal for not being a feminist (but rather something even more progressive, I assume she means).
G. The plot was clever. I admit the parallelisms between both lives sometimes felt constricting to the plot, but I enjoyed spotting the pattern.
I agree with many brilliant reviews here, but don't intend to repeat their points. Some of my thoughts:
A. Must everything revolve around the man you choose? Granted, there are life-defining elements in choosing one partner over another, but we never see Irina transformed by anything else in the 15 years the book spans. Except that poor choice of 9/11, which is presented as a turning point but then we don't see that. Interesting point, as others have commented, on owning a tragedy; and one that Shriver fails to get herself, even though she's the one posing it.
B. Really, would have loved it if Irina had stood up for herself once. Never happens, nor is then the victim mentality or even abused personality acknowledged. She just doesn't, and it feels like she's either too bland to care or the author needs to present her as the essential, and essentially problematic, virtuous long-suffering woman. Her partner of 15 years reveals he has been cheating on her for a quarter of the relationship... and she feels no anger? No hurt ego? It just feels unnatural. Either way, she is poorly written that way.
(Oh, wait, she does once when they are back from the US- for about a second.)
C. Again, enough with the men. Both are nice in some ways and also dicks, but Irina fails to see it, overcome as she is with her need for a man. It makes one think that anyone would have taken the place of Lawrence or Ramsey, and it would have been the same, black and white archetypes.
D. Ramsey's cringeworthy hyper-British accent.
E. This book has some very good turns of phrase and the author makes some excellent observations. She is clearly clever, but she knows it, trying to fit in as many metaphors, analogies, meta-references and cool words she found in the thesaurus as possible. Should have known in the first page: "abjuring"? Really? Less than admirable, it is tiresome, if only because Shriver takes herself mortally seriously. It all sounds like she is obsessing over her own writing rather than the characters and the implications. Also, if you have something to say you should just say it, not envelope it in a million pretty words and phrases in order to make it prettier.
F. Has anyone here read the postscript? POSTfeminist, Irina? Honestly? More like that she has left feminism way behind because it's too hard to build a cohesive personal and political stance as a feminist woman when you like men. That would have been an interesting conundrum I'd like to read. It's okay not to go with that, of course, but at least don't try to get a Cool Girl medal for not being a feminist (but rather something even more progressive, I assume she means).
G. The plot was clever. I admit the parallelisms between both lives sometimes felt constricting to the plot, but I enjoyed spotting the pattern.