After Birth - Hardcover

Elisa Albert

3.49

3,801 ratings by Goodreads

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 0701188723 ISBN 13: 9780701188726

Publisher: Vintage Publishing, 2015

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[Read by Amy Rubinate]

A widely acclaimed young writer's fierce new novel, in which childbirth and new motherhood are as high stakes a proving ground as any combat zone.

A year has passed since Ari gave birth to Walker, though it went so badly awry she has trouble calling it ''birth'' and still she can't locate herself in her altered universe. Amid the strange, disjointed rhythms of her days and nights and another impending winter in upstate New York, Ari is a tree without roots, struggling to keep her branches aloft.

When Mina, a one-time cult musician - older, self-contained, alone, and nine-months pregnant - moves to town, Ari sees the possibility of a new friend, despite her unfortunate habit of generally mistrusting women. Soon they become comrades-in-arms, and the previously hostile terrain seems almost navigable.

With piercing insight, purifying anger, and outrageous humor, Elisa Albert issues a wake-up call to a culture that turns its new mothers into exiles, and expects them to act like natives. Like Lionel Shriver's We Need to Talk About Kevin and Anne Enright's The Gathering, this is a daring and resonant novel from one of our most visceral writers.

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Book Description:

HMH hardcover, 2015, 978-0-544-27373-3

From the Back Cover:

Ari is adrift, isolated with a one-year-old son in upstate New York. Then Mina moves to town: indie rock bassist in the 1980s, now a poet, pregnant, and alone. Ari sees the possibility of connection, and soon the two become comrades-in-arms, navigating hostile terrain. Acclaimed for its insight, outrageous humor, and power to spark fierce debate, After Birth is a daring portrait of motherhood, marriage, and transformative friendship.

Vicious, hilarious, and above all real. New York Times Book Review

Boils with dark humor and brutal honesty. People

Funny as hell ... Enlightening, sharply moving, and true. Star Tribune

A smartly acerbic exploration. O, The Oprah Magazine

Heartfelt ... Necessary and powerful. Independent

Edgy ... Like Lorrie Moore ... cracked open. Los Angeles Review of Books

One of the most exciting books of the year ... Provocative. Buzzfeed

Sharp as a fresh-cut diamond. Flavorwire
Elisa Albert, author of The Book of Dahlia and How This Night Is Different, has written for NPR, Tin House, Commentary, Salon, and the Rumpus."

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