The Post-Birthday World

The Post-Birthday World (2007) by Lionel Shriver. A woman, Irina McGovern, finds herself attracted to a man other than the one she has been living with for 10 years. They find themselves alone together and she is tempted to kiss him. Then, in alternating chapters, Shriver tells us what might have happened if she did kiss him -- and what might have happened if she didn't. Shriver gives us a dazzling display of plotting skill, as well as a pitch-perfect ability to switch from American English to English-English. Grade: A