The Post Birthday World-Lionel Shriver

[AbbeyA]

Has anyone read this? I have started it but I am not enjoying it-should I carry on? It is a very thick book and I don't like any of the characters!

I'm struggling ewith it too. Cannot engage with it. really enjoyed Kevin. Will persevere.

Did you read her first novel Abbey?

Yes I read 'We Need to Talk about Kevin', I think enjoyed it would be the wrong word, but I found it very interesting and thought provoking.

It is awful.
I enjoyed Kevin and was looking forward to this but it is garbage.
I persevered because it was a birthday present and I felt guilty but when I finished it I put it in the paper recycling not the book recycling so no-one else would have to suffer reading my copy.

Double Fault is an excellent novel, written before the success of 'Kevin', but I am struggling with 'Post birthday World', it just seems like an academic exercise for Shriver, and a pretty arrogant one at that. Reading this thread has made me decide to give up (I was struggling through and wondering why I was bothering). And what's with the Dick Van Dyke accent for the snooker player??? Oi???

It's not just you ElviraInanEcup - I really liked it too. Like you I enjoyed how similar both the versions of her life really were. Not so keen on Double Fault though, but I read that after Kevin and PBW, so I wonder if there's a limit to how much Shriver you can enjoy!

i've never managed to read the two i've tried, not up for a third go. there is something very unappealing and contrived about her writing. although we could all have guessed that with the lionel business.

my goodness purplerabbit fancy meeting you here. I too am struggling to get through this one - but I will persevere (and then give you your copy back purplerabbit) at least for a while and hope that it gets better.

I got to the end but the characters didn't get any less annoying. It was a clever idea but I wouldn't recommend it to anyone.