Mon. March 3

Is there a more eternal question than: "What would my life have been like if… ”  Lionel Shriver is working that angle in "The Post-Birthday Party World," a much-acclaimed novel which just came out in paperback. She's reading at Brookline Booksmith Monday March 3 at 7. In her story, the choice that Irina McGovern faces is a romantic one, but the decision she makes between two men will have an impact that colors every aspect of her life. (Of course, doesn't every choice impact every other choice? The butterfly effect ... ) By employing a cunning story structure of alternating chapters that follows Irina on two divergent paths, Shriver offers a candid and emotionally-engaging appraisal of the inevitable trade-offs that come with living and loving, replete with the attendant issues of jealousy, sex, fidelity, compatibility and, ultimately, devotion. A sampling from the critics: “Engaging . . . a testament to Shriver’s ability to make Irina into a thoroughly compelling character, an idiosyncratic yet recognizable heroine about whom it’s impossible not to care.”  — The New York Times. “…The Post-Birthday World is its simultaneous cohesion… and unpredictability…. It’s mad genius. Few novelists can so successfully pull off one novel. In a tour de force, Shriver manages two.” — USA Today. Free.

279 Harvard St., Brookline, 617-566-6660 www.brooklinebooksmith.com