Eleanor Douglas-Meyers reviews Roar by Cecelia Ahern
Roar by Cecelia Ahern might be the perfect way to get back into regular reading.
It is a strong female empowerment narrative divided into 30 short stories which one can finish over a lunch break or while waiting for an appointment.
Short and poignant, each story comes with a very well thought out message and a tone which is different from first to last.
Irish author Ahern has created several TV series and has seen two of her books adapted as films PS. I Love You (2007) and Love, Rosie (2014).
Her latest offering, Roar, is a collection of stories filled with whimsy and metaphors and may not be for the more academic reader. Each tale is a little over-the-top and gives physical attributes to emotional and societal issues.
The writing style can be described as magical realism with a hint of the melodramatic, in that the stories seem a little extreme, but purposely so.
With stories such as The Woman Who Was Kept on the Shelf about a woman whose husband literally keeps her like a trophy, The Woman Who Was Swallowed Up by the Floor about a woman who experiences the literal answer to the age old question “what if the floor could open up and swallow me whole” and The Woman Who Had a Ticking Clock about a woman whose biological clock effects her relationships with loved ones, you are never quite sure what to expect next.
Some stories leave you laughing, some crying and some more than a little confused. Not all will speak to you but with 30 individual stories about 30 individual women, it is not difficult to find something that you can relate to.
Ahern’s writing style is certainly not mainstream but it makes for good escapism with a nice message that leaves you thinking about topics that affect women daily. Roar by Cecelia Ahern is published by HarperCollins Publishers