"Captures our time with bracing propulsive energy and brilliant honesty . . . Albert is virtuosic." -- Washington Post Ari is isolated with a one-year-old son in a decayed upstate New York town. Then Mina appears, pregnant and alone. Suddenly there is the possibility of connection, and soon the two are comrades-in-arms, navigating the hostile terrain of new motherhood together. Acclaimed for its insight, outrageous humor, and power to spark fierce debate, After Birth is a daring and transformative novel about friendship, history, and the body. "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 "Edgy . . . Like Lorrie Moore . . . cracked open." --Los Angeles Review of Books