In a Thousand Different Ways by Cecelia Ahern Book Review

Imagine being able to know someone’s mood and intentions at a glance – no words required! It would be like having an extra sense, of living in a world of colour where everyone has their own hue that reveals so much about them. Synaesthesia: the superpower you never knew you wanted and that’s what Cecelia Ahern’s novel, In a Thousand Different Ways is about.

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New Release!

Synopsis

Finding your way is never a simple journey…

Alice sees the worst in people.

She also sees the best.
She sees a thousand different emotions and knows exactly what everyone around her is feeling.
Every. Single. Day.

But it’s the dark thoughts.
The sadness. The rage.
These are the things she can’t get out of her head. The things that overwhelm her.

Where will the journey to find herself begin?

About The Author

After completing a degree in Journalism and Media Communications, Cecelia wrote her first novel at 21 years old. Her debut novel, PS I Love You was published in January 2004, and was followed by Where Rainbows End (aka Love, Rosie) in November 2004. Both novels were adapted to films; PS I Love You starred Hilary Swank and Gerard Butler, and Love, Rosie starred Lily Collins and Sam Claflin.

Cecelia has published a novel every year since then and to date has published 15 novels; If You Could See Me Now, A Place Called Here, Thanks for the Memories, The Gift, The Book of Tomorrow, The Time of My Life, One Hundred Names, How To Fall in Love, The Year I Met You, The Marble Collector, Flawed, Perfect and Lyrebird.

To date, Cecelia’s books have sold 25 million copies internationally, are published in over 40 countries, in 30 languages.

Along with writing novels, Cecelia has co-created the US ABC Comedy Samantha Who? and has created many other original TV projects.

Cecelia’s next book is a collection of 30 short stories about 30 women, titled ROAR. ROAR will be published in the UK and Ireland in Autumn 2018 by HarperCollins UK, and in Spring 2019 in the US by Grand Central Publishing.

“At the age of 19 I experienced a difficult time in my life, and as I have done since childhood and throughout my teenage years, I turned to writing to process my feelings. PS I Love You was born from my feelings of sadness, fear and loss of my identity. I poured my heart into the story of a woman suffering from grief after the loss of her husband, a woman who had hit the lowest point of her life and was struggling with both the desire and the ability to find her way out of the fog. Writing Holly’s journey helped me find my own path, writing PS I Love You brought both Holly and I to a more positive place in our lives and that is what I continue to do with my novels.

The thread that links my work is in capturing that transitional period in people’s lives. I’m drawn to writing about loss, to characters that have fallen and who feel powerless in their lives. I am fascinated and inspired by the human spirit, by the fact that no matter how hopeless we feel and how dark life can be, we do have the courage, strength and bravery to push through our challenging moments. We are the greatest warriors in our own stories. I like to catch my characters as they fall, and bring them from low to high. My characters push through and as a result evolve, become stronger and better equipped for the next challenge that life brings. I like to mix dark with light, sadness with humour, always keeping a balance, and always bringing the story to a place of hope.”

My Review

Alice is an extraordinary character, loved by all who meet her. She’s got the unique gift of being able to visualize life in vivid colours! Despite coming from a less-than-ideal family background she fights her way through each and every day with strength and courage but there are still days when it feels like distractions take over – how can one master life if obstacles keep getting thrown your way? Even more so – what does Alice do when face-to-face with someone whose intentions appear dark (just think playgrounds full of kids!). And then finally, what happens when synaesthesia meets apathy – two worlds colliding as they pass in the night…

I was entrapped by this novel immediately, the ability to see people from their aura certainly puts a different perspective on things but then there are the rare people who have no colour, how do you deal with those? Alice finds her perfect mate in one such man and Ahern used her sophisticated, masterful storytelling style to wrap all this up beautifully. Once Alice understands her skill, she manages to change how she thinks about it and uses it which makes for interesting and thought-provoking reading.

‘In a thousand different ways’ is a fictional account of how a person with Synaesthesia may discover it, in Alice’s case at a young eight years old and learns to begin to understand and live with it. It’s a fascinating insight into a different way of life almost. Every person can almost be seen (their mood anyway) without even knowing them and she can see mods transfer from one person to another.

The characters are well developed, and we see how toxic Alice’s family are, she eventually manages to follow her older brother’s lead and escapes the family home, only to return to nurse her mother through ill-health, a trap many fall into especially as the only girl in the family. This is a sometimes sad and poignant tale but its so beautifully written it holds your attention well throughout.

Rated