Parallel lives after the path forks

Fiction: Lionel Shriver's new novel, The Post-Birthday World, tells the story - or rather, stories - of Irina McGovern, a fortysomething American children's book illustrator living in London with her long-term partner, the "chronically condescending" Lawrence, a fellow American who works in a think-tank and around whom Irina has built her life. Login or subscribe for more.