Book Review: If You Could See Me Now by Cecelia Ahern

If You Could See Me Now is Cecelia Ahern’s third novel and she has delivered again.  After a slightly wooden start to her first novel, the author has found her voice, as opposed to the "writer’s class" formula that was apparent in the beginning. Her own style is natural and easy to read. Her stories are fresh and  different.

Like the previous two offerings, this is not told in the usual first or third person. This time, we hear from two points of view; first the narrator, keeping a close eye on uptight, neat-freak businesswoman, Elizabeth, and, second, the other central character, Ivan, himself.

If You Could See Me Now is a gentle tale; a love story with a twist.  This story will touch the heart of anyone who has ever loved, and anyone who has ever longed to be noticed.
 It will make you think again about what you believe is possible.

This is a sentimental but in no way soppy tale, with characters who are not always what we would like them to be.  The "heroine," Elizabeth Egan, is not altogether likable, but as she is a woman bound by her unwavering sense of duty, I couldn’t help wishing her well. There was a underlying hope that even the most damaged and repressed of individuals amongst us may one day be freed from the past and find happiness (or at least peace.)

Elizabeth’s six-year-old adopted son, Luke, is not, as it would first seem, the needy victim in this story. He is, in fact, a well-adjusted and kind-hearted little boy who seems to have survived a completely dysfunctional family amazingly unscathed. His interaction with Ivan is at times comical and the sensitive portrayal of his acceptance of his completely unsatisfactory set of circumstances is testament to the author’s understanding of a child’s resilience.

Elizabeth’s impossible sister, Saoirse, is one of those characters who are inflicted upon her family through no fault of their own. She stumbles through life oblivious to the devastation she leaves in her wake, mainly because it is not Saoirse, but Elizabeth who deals with the consequences, including Luke.

Article Author: Jim Symcox

Jim is an Executive Business Growth Coach and copywriter who specialises in doubling companies profits. His web site is at www.acornservice.com and his blogs are at www.business-powerpack.com and www.manchester-blog.com

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