Book Review: "A Place Called Here" By Cecelia Ahern

Introduction

Book Name: A Place Called Here

Author: Cecelia Ahern

Language: English

Genre: Crime

Author

Cecelia Ahern (born September 30, 1981) is an Irish novelist best known for PS, I Love You, Where Rainbows End, and If You Could See Me Now. Ahern, who was born in Dublin, is currently published in nearly fifty countries and has sold more than 25 million copies of her novels worldwide. Two of her books have been made into blockbuster feature pictures. Roar, a collection of short stories, has been converted into an AppleTV+ series.

She has received numerous honours, including the Irish Book Award for Popular Fiction for The Year I Met You. She has written six books and contributed several short tales to anthologies. Samantha Who? starring Christina Applegate, was likewise created and produced by Ahern.

Plot

Sandy Shorrt was unfortunate since she had black hair and stood over six feet tall. People could never resist the need to make a comment. Jenny-May Butler, her classmate and next-door neighbour, vanished without a trace when she was ten years old. Sandy wasn't friendly with Jenny-May; in fact, she felt guilty since she loathed the girl and wished she'd go away. This resulted in a life-long need to locate misplaced items, which frequently surpassed compulsion and reached obsession.

It wasn't simply the odd sock or toothbrush that got misplaced in the washing machine. Sandy quickly went on to search for missing persons, giving families who had lost loved ones one final ray of hope.

I, too, warmed to Jack Ruttle. He hadn't been the best brother to Donal - they were too old to be close - but he was determined to find out what had happened to him. He applies the same tenacity to Sandy's disappearance. The other characters are a little murky, but Sandy and Jack steal the show.

This secret location where all the missing people and stuff go was a little too perfect for my liking, but it worked well within the plot since people and things appeared, but nothing ever went missing except in extraordinary circumstances. Given the rather ‘magical' plotline, the tale begins slowly but builds to a satisfying and realistic finish.

Personal Review

Cecelia Ahern's magnificent masterpiece. This book, along with "If you could see me now", "Where the rainbows end", and "Thanks for the memories", has successfully constructed a romantically magical world for Cecelia and her readers. It's a world where you can find yourself inside, in the bittersweet situation and stories, and find the dreams you may have lost in the hectic society you live in.

With her, everything appears to be so surreal but scientifically plausible that no questions were raised while reading this book. I personally believe that everything missing goes to a place, sometimes because of our choices, sometimes because of forces beyond our control, but "when we learn about what our soul needs to learn, the path presents itself", and the most wonderful thing about being lost is that "we are found," even if someone is still looking for us outside.

I adore Cecelia's use of words in each of her books; it's simply beautiful, simple but sweet and touching. I love how Cecelia expresses some simple truths about life and love; it's very touching.

What I admire most about the Author, Cecelia Ahern, is her inventiveness. That is the only reason to fall in love with books. She accomplishes the same in this book by introducing another "unimaginative by ordinary people like us" concept.

She asks us, the reader, where all our lost items have gone. She takes us to a location called 'Here', where all the missing things, including missing possessions, missing feelings, and even missing persons, go. The concept is fantastic.

The narration is fantastic. The only thing I didn't enjoy was that the story could've been made a little shorter. The book in between may have been cut in half. A hundred pages less would have sufficed for this book.

Furthermore, the plot initially hinted at a love-romance premise that did not make sense in the end. It should not have been presented, or if it was, it should have been mentioned more clearly at the end. Unfortunately, the book is fantastic and, like all of Cecelia Ahern's books, provides a fresh perspective.

Because the chapters switch back and forth from one perspective to another, it can be a little confusing if readers can't finish it all at once (i.e., without waiting many days). One chapter focuses on Sandy's childhood memories, one on the present, and the following one is about Jack Ruttle's efforts to track down Donal and, well, Sandy.

With 484 pages, that's where it can get a little tiresome. It was a lengthy read! I was also a little let down by the conclusion; who would actually believe Sandy if she finally located the location and simply returned knowing that everyone was fine? Why couldn't those people be brought back somehow?

Written by: Greeshma Chowdary

Edited by: Nidhi Jha`