Booktalk: One Hundred Names by Cecelia Ahern

Cecelia Ahern

Title: One Hundred Names

Author: Cecelia Ahern

Published: 2012 by HarperCollins

Pages: 327

Find it on Amazon: One Hundred Names

My Rating: 4/5!

I've read two other books by Cecelia Ahern, The Book of Tomorrow and A Place Called Here and had bought them both because I loved their attractive covers! Then there was one moody day when I prowled into a bookstore to make myself feel better and saw a gorgeous cover. I admit. I'm such a cover-lover! That is how One Hundred Names came into my possession. It had no blurb, no storyline, but the cover was too irresistible and I had good experiences with Cecelia Ahern in the past, so I wasn't too apprehensive. I figured it'd be good, and boy, was I ever so right! :D I loved reading this book!

Goodreads Blurb!

The new novel from the bestselling author. Journalist Kitty Logan's career is being destroyed by scandal - and now she faces losing the woman who guided and taught her everything she knew. At her terminally ill friend's bedside, Kitty asks - what is the one story she always wanted to write? The answer lies in a file buried in Constance's office: a list of one hundred names. There is no synopsis, nothing to explain what the story is or who these people are. The list is simply a mystery. But before Kitty can talk to her friend, it is too late. With everything to prove, Kitty is assigned the most important task of her life: to write the story her mentor never had the opportunity to. Kitty not only has to track down and meet the people on the list, but find out what connects them. And, in the process of hearing ordinary people's stories, she starts to understand her own.

My Thoughts!

One Hundred Names is the kind of book that may make you go through conflicting emotions, especially if you happen to be an emotionally sensitive person. Not that it is the kind of emotional that makes you cry, but the kind of book that makes you look at someone's life deeper, with all the nitty gritties, and the anxiety, the fear of impending, unknown implications of a mistake, the loss of friendship and trust. On a very basic level, it's a simple story. Katherine Logan in her mid 20s, is a journalist/writer with Etcetera magazine, headed by Constance Dubois, now fighting with cancer. Constance is like a bubble shield for Katherine (Kitty) as she transitions from an uncertain, doubtful girl to a more confident person, as she brings forward her stories with doubtful anticipation to confident excitement.

But then there was this time when she was also working as a video journalist in a TV show and made a blunder and was suspended. Her career was in a mess, Constance, her only support, was on the verge to leave her (and the world) and she had to face the ugly accusations from society. The only one thing that she kept close to her heart, that made her cling for support at a time when she, and her career was falling apart was a list of one hundred names that Constance left behind. It was once while visiting Constance in the hospital, a contemplative, quiet visit, that Kitty had asked her about one story she always wanted to write but couldn't. Constance asks her to fetch a file called One Hundred Names from her completely disorganized home and when after a few days, she does, Bob (Constance's husband) informs her about Constance's passing away. 

The story then deals with Kitty and the list which is just a simple list of one hundred, unrelated, what-seems-like-random names from the Yellow Pages directory. Pete, the new head at Etcetera, not-so-keen on keeping Kitty anymore, gives her a final chance, a two week deadline for her to come up with a story. It is quite complex if you look at it from Kitty's perspective. A single young woman living alone, dealing with united hatred from the public, knowing her best friend Steve thinks she's the wrong one because she's being selfish and this knowing killing her. She's still got to put up a brave face, fight with her own emotions and get up and work towards her only way to escape: work on the list. 

I won't go into the details of how she went about it, because it'd be like a spoiler, but I have to say it is something really unpredictable and when you do understand it, profound. One of the best things about the way it's been written is how it is so much from Kitty's point of view, even though it's been narrated in third person. As a reader, you're not separate from the characters. Maybe I was personally too much into Kitty's shoes because I could very much relate to her. She's a writer who used to write awesome but because of emotional setbacks, she feels her writing has lost that charm. On the face of it, it seems just like normal, her usual. But they're more like narratives, gradually missing the personal enthusiasm she infused in those words and that oozed out when readers read it. It's such a painful realization to know what you love doing isn't as good anymore, and no one's helping you get it back.

But she does. Constance not only helps her write something she has to believe in, she changes Kitty's behaviour and attitude for the better. She makes Kitty and her team look at the world from her perspective, where she sees marvelous stories in ordinariness, in everybody. She makes her look beyond her selfishness, beyond the materialistic. She makes her understand that there are many different lives and how every single person is a story in themselves. And they're all fascinating. In the whole process, she helps Kitty understand her own life and story as well. This is one theme that touched me. It's just so beautiful! :') 

One Hundred Names is beautifully written, non-predictable (though I so so so wished we'd have had a more elaborate ending, but later on as I thought over possible endings, this one seemed the most fitting. I guess it'd have been hard to end this book!), and I loved the gradual romance setting in the background. :) A few lines from the book I loved:

'Some people say that you shouldn't operate from a place of fear, but if there is no fear, how is there a challenge? Often that is when I've done my best work, because I have embraced the fear and challenged myself'

'Nobody can pretend to know what people want to read or hear or see. People rarely know it themselves, they only know it after the fact. That is what creating something original is all about'

Recommended for: Contemporary Fiction readers, Cecelia Ahern fans, those looking for an emotionally stimulating read! 

Review: A Place Called Here by Cecelia Ahern

Cecelia Ahern

Author: Cecelia Ahern

Publisher: Harper Collins

Find it at Amazon: A Place Called Here

Published in: 2006

Pages: 484

A Place Called Here is one unique book. I’ve only ever read The Book of Tomorrow (read review), apart from this one, by Ahern and I think the author specializes in writing about and exploring in depth, the littlest things possible! That’s what makes the plots and stories stand out: Something that we haven’t read about quite a lot. Like in A Place Called Here, the theme is ‘lost things’. Ever wondered where the lost things go? It’s so true! We all have experienced the agony of trying to find that missing sock from our favourite pair! What about the pen we kept here just a few minutes ago? What about all the people who mysteriously go missing without a trace! There’s a difference in things being misplaced and things being missing. We can find out the misplaced things by searching for them, but missing things cannot be found.

Summary

Sandy Shortt had been intrigued by the mystery of Jenny May Butler gone missing when both were ten. Even though Jenny May had been bullying her since forever, Sandy can’t quite stay satisfied until she knew where in the world she was! That’s when her obsession with lost things began. She demanded a house-search whenever any one of her things went missing, which frustrated her parents (who tried not to show it) and made her see a counsellor when she turned fourteen. The counsellor-turned-friend came as someone who would listen to her questions and kept in touch with her till later years. Now Sandy is in her thirties and not being satisfied with her job with the Gardai, she runs her own missing persons agency. She’s been in touch with the families of those gone missing, trying to find them, supporting them throughout. More than helping families unite, she wants to just know where they are; that knowing would be enough to help her get satisfaction from her life’s work.

Jack Ruttle’s brother, Donal has been missing for over a year. Everyone in the family seems to have got over it, but he looks up Sandy’s agency and fixes a meeting. They had been talking over the phone and he was somehow sure that she would be able to find his brother. But she doesn’t show up. That morning while jogging in another city, Sandy finds an unused path in the woods and takes it. That’s when she went missing. After two days of running around in the forest, she finds out a group of people camping, now in their fifties. However, she recognizes them as a group who went missing on their school trip many many years ago! One of them, Helena, advises her to keep her identity a secret and tells her that she’s finally found the place where the lost things go! They take her to their ‘town’, with a board naming the place as ‘Here’. Many people who had gone missing, tired from trying to find a way out, have developed villages and did work to pass their time. Many have married, had children, sent them to school and tried to live as normal a life as possible. That’s why Helena asked Sandy not to let others know that she knew things about their family.

(If you're a cover nerd, find a copy with this adorable cover on Amazon here)

Anyway, Sandy’s still intrigued, living in ‘Here’, finding out her long lost and missing things. But she isn’t just like others. Her watch first goes missing from Here, which became an issue of great unrest! Where would the things from Here go? Helena’s husband seems to know her power and knows she’s a ‘messenger’. Soon enough, when Sandy had a heart-warming meeting with Jenny May (read the book to know how!), she stumbles out of Here and finds herself back to her city, in the normal mortal world, after two weeks. She’s completed her quest, she’s no longer uneasy and fiddling, she knows where her things and the missing people have gone. She’s finally free to go back and love her family. (And oh! Donal isn’t found. Again, I won't spill the beans on that mystery).


My thoughts

Different! The story is unlike any I have ever read. I loved the ‘lost things’ angle, the first person account of the many instances that Sandy felt intrigued about, the descriptions of people, their behaviour and expressions, the yearning for the truth about a mysterious fact! Wonderful and characteristic portrayal of the desperation one goes through in the quest to find out the missing things, multiplied by a hundred! I loved the sound, look and feel of the place called ‘Here’, the resignation that people took to, when their efforts to find a way out turned futile. The descriptions were fantastic, the basic story interesting and the author succeeded in getting readers hooked into the story.

However, if the readers aren’t able to read it in one go (as in, without many days in between), it can become a bit confusing; mainly because the chapters go back and forth, from one perspective to another. One chapter on Sandy’s remembrances as a kid, one chapter on the present scene, the next one dealing with Jack Ruttle and his attempts to find Donal and well, Sandy. That’s where it can be a bit wearing, plus 484 pages! That’s a long read! I was also a little disappointed with the ending; if Sandy finally found the place and came back just knowing they’re all okay, who would actually believe her? Why wasn’t there a way to get those people back? If Sandy goes to their families rattling about how she found out their loved ones, telling them they’re doing fine, but not being able to help them get out! Anyway, that was the way it was meant to be. It began with Sandy’s obsession with lost things and ended with the answer. Full stop.

The plus point though, was the many quotable quotes the book had! My favourites are:

‘Sometimes, people can go missing right before our very eyes. Sometimes, people discover you, even though they’ve been looking at you the entire time. Sometimes, we lose sight of ourselves when we’re not paying enough attention.’

‘We all get lost once in a while, sometimes by choice, sometimes due to forces beyond our control. When we learn what it is our soul needs to learn, the path presents itself. Sometimes we see the way out but wander further and deeper despite ourselves; sometimes we prefer to be lost and wandering, sometimes we find our way out. But regardless, always, we are found.’

My rating: 3.5/5

Recommended for: Teens, Young Adult, Adults, Fantasy lovers and those who don’t mind a very long book!  

Review: The Book of Tomorrow by Cecelia Ahern

Cecelia Ahern

Author: Cecelia Ahern

Publisher: Harper Collins

Find it at Amazon: The Book of Tomorrow

I admit. The bea-uti-ful cover made me pick this book up from the Harper Collins stall at World Book Fair, Delhi. And the fact that I have an uncalled-for bias for all things in the shade of pink (and purple), just added to the voice in my head that said, ‘beautiful! I HAVE to have it!’ Thank You weird instincts; it’s because of you I got a chance to read this book, which I would sum up as – Fantabulous!

Storyline (Summary of the Book)

The Book of Tomorrow is the story of sixteen (check, seventeen) year old Tamara Goodwin, who has it all. A rich dad, stately mansions and holidays, equally rich friends and a hell lot of attitude. She believes in living today, with no thought what-so-ever to what tomorrow might bring, till the tragedy affects her family. Her perfectionist dad commits suicide (unable to pay piling debts) and leaves Tamara and her mom in shock, and unfortunately, without their home and money.

They decide to stay at Jennifer’s (the Mom) brother’s place- a gatehouse in the countryside, with a ruined castle and church with graveyard nearby, and hardly any person in sight. Rosaleen is Arthur’s wife and both warmly welcome the duo to their home, but Tamara hates it there. She’s cut off from friends and her Mom’s grieving wasn’t getting any better. She just stayed in her room, sleeping or staring out the window all day. A little change came when a moving library came by. Tamara, though had no interest in books, longed for some change and found a leather bound book- padlocked. The friendly (over-friendly?) driver-cum-library-keeper let Tamara keep it. Meanwhile, Tamara feels uneasy with Rosaleen’s behaviour, who found out excuses to keep Tamara’s mom in her room and did a good amount of cooking. She feels reluctant to let Tamara out of her sight and keeps a close eye on her. During one of those forays, Tamara ran into Sister Ignatius, an old nun who seems to be a pleasant lady and they become good friends. They succeed in opening the Book’s lock, but found it empty to Tamara’s dismay. Sister urges her to write in the Book and keep it as a Journal.

The Book of Tomorrow book cover!

Tamara had come to love the ruined castle. Though creepy, she felt connected to the place and one day, sat down on the stairs to begin to write in the Book. However, she found the first page was already written in, in her own handwriting. The date was of the next day! She realized she was reading her diary entry for the next day itself! Perplexed and refusing to believe at first, she noticed the series of events the next day- and saw things falling into place exactly as was written in the Book! She starts using the Book to know the next day’s events and simultaneously used the information to her advantage- she wanted to find out what Rosaleen was up to and why Arthur didn’t help much. Once, Arthur had tried to tell Tamara something, but Rosaleen had made sure they were never alone in a room, even for a second.

It wasn’t long before Tamara got the opportunity to get around the house across the gatehouse. It was where Rosaleen’s arthritis- ridden mother lived and where Tamara was forbidden to go. That day Tamara saw a garden full of glass ornaments and delicate pieces and surprisingly on her seventeenth (eighteenth?) birthday, she got a glass ornament, a tear-drop shaped piece. When she shows the beautiful piece to her Mom, she sees a spark of life in her. That day the Book didn’t show her the diary entry- rather it curled up as if it were on fire and stayed that way. The next day, her Mom was heard shouting to Rosaleen and demanding if he was still alive! Seeing her condition, Arthur and Rosaleen take her off to the doctor and Tamara, accompanied by Wesely (a friend she made during her stay) decide to dig things out.

Among astounding revelations in the home across the road, they figure out the truth at last- that the castle belonged to the Kilsaneys and Arthur and Rosaleen were part of the name. Another Kilsaney, Laurence, who was supposed to have died in a terrible fire that broke out in the castle, was still alive and living hidden in the house. He was married to Jennifer and Tamara was his daughter. A year after the fire, George Goodwin, a millionaire, wanted to marry Jennifer and Rosaleen urged her to go ahead. George loved Jennifer and Tamara with all his will and kept them happy and safe, everyone unaware of the secret. When finally all revelations were made, Tamara understood the reason the Book had showed burnt pages. She looks up and sees Rosaleen’s house up in flames, though everyone was safe.

Review

The ending was good (just the way I like it), with a whole chapter devoted to more things revealed and questions answered. Some books just end up abruptly, where the reader’s left to figure out some parts of the mystery themselves, which is kind of irritating, if you ask me. But not this one. This goes into a full account of events, answering all possible questions in the reader’s mind and filling all the gaps. The primary message it carries is that no one should be left unloved, for those who’re ignored as if their existence is a burden, can succumb to their inner desires to get things their way and literally destroy others. As in this case, the Kilsaney’s cook’s little daughter, Rosaleen wanted to befriend the Kilsaney boys- Arthur and Laurie, but Laurie was drawn to Jennifer. This led Rosaleen to ‘accidentally’ create a fire that destroyed the Kilsaneys and the Goodwins, in fact.

Apart from the strong message, I loved the way it wonderfully describes a teenager’s feelings and emotions Tamara goes through- when she feels desperately lonely, when she craves for friends and her former lifestyle, how she’s worried about her Mom (who by the way, was being given sleeping pills by Rosaleen, who disliked her), how she feels Rosaleen’s hiding something, and how she feels after finding out the truth. Tamara’s eighteen after all, having never been told that her real father was Laurie and that she was a Kilsaney too!

It’s quite innovative, though I was a tiny bit disappointed that the primary object in the book- The Book of Tomorrow, though served its purpose well and had a role to play, it was more dominated by Tamara’s story in the beginning, which turned into a family story towards the end. Kind of chaotic, but I wouldn’t complain, for the simple reason that it was somehow one book I couldn’t put down. I really wanted to fight my drooping eyelids, but since I like reading good books slowly, it took three days to read and absorb it whole! And of course, the cover! (It’s actually not a complete cover, the yellow part is the next page and the light purple folded up thing works like it’s actually folded. If that makes any sense! :P). The book was filled with beautiful lines I call “Quotable Quotes”, and one such quote was this: ‘I think that most people go to bookshops and have no idea what they want to buy. Somehow, the books sit there, almost magically willing people to pick them up. The right person for the right book. It’s as though they know whose life they need to be a part of, how they can make a difference, how they can teach a lesson, put a smile on a face at just the right time.’ (Fantastic!)

<This was quite some long review, but hey, it’s today that I’m finally able to breathe for a while, free from silly exams. And I so loved this book, recommended to every single person on Earth!>