Have you ever imagined a different life?
Have you ever stood at a crossroads, undecided? Have you ever had a moment when you wanted to roar?
From much-loved, international bestseller Cecelia Ahern come stories for all of us: the women who befriend us, the women who encourage us, the women who make us brave. From The Woman Who Slowly Disappeared to The Woman Who Returned and Exchanged her Husband, discover thirty touching, often hilarious, stories and meet thirty very different women. Each discovers her strength; each realizes she holds the power to make a change.
Witty, tender, surprising, these keenly observed tales speak to us all, and capture the moment when we all want to roar.
Roar by Cecelia Ahern Review
An Unapologetic Literary Masterpiece
This literary fiction is an absolute masterpiece! It’s uplifting, goosebump-inducing and completely unapologetic.
‘Women need to see women too,’ Professor Montgomery says. ‘If we don’t see each other, if we don’t see ourselves, how can we expect anyone else to?’
‘Society told you that you weren’t important, that you don’t exist, and you listened. You let the message seep into your pores, eat you from the inside out. You told yourself you weren’t important, and you believed yourself.’
– Roar by Cecelia Ahern –
Early on in the book I read this excerpt, and I was gutted! This is exactly how I’ve been feeling lately and this book pointed it out so clearly that I could no longer deny it.
‘I have to believe in myself.’
‘Society always tells us to believe in ourselves.’ She says, dismissively. ‘Words are easy, phrases are cheap. What specifically must you believe in?’
She thinks, then realizes that this is about more than getting the answers right. What does she want to believe?
‘That I’m important, that I’m needed, relevant, useful, valid… Sexy. That I’m worthy. That there is potential, possibility, that I can still take on new challenges. That I can contribute. That I’m interesting. That I’m not finished yet. That people know I’m here.’
– Roar by Cecelia Ahern –
With lines like that you can’t help but feel powerful. I feel new hope for myself, and for women in general. We are perfectly capable of doing anything we want to.
I’m usually a big fan of smutty books, which is how I got drawn to this specific one, but I was (pleasantly) surprised to find that it wasn’t that type of book at all. There is even one story that is written more in a satirical style, which I enjoyed very much.
The cover of this book is simply the book title, in strong, bold letters. After reading the book I realized just how perfectly that fits, as every story is about women being stronger than the world believes we are, and stronger than we believe ourselves to be.
These stories have some bizarre plots but it gets the message across to the reader. One of my favourite excerpts is this:
“A woman in a bright red coat, with matching lipstick, is holding the door open for a man, who is extremely agitated by this.
‘Penis!’ the man says, holding up his arm to reveal his blue wristband.
‘Nice to meet you penis, I’m Mary,’ the woman in red says, irritated. ‘Go ahead, I can hold the door.'”
– Roar by Cecelia Ahern –
If you are a woman, a feminist, or any human with feelings, you should read this book! It’s also trans-friendly!
Cecelia Ahern has written this collection of stories with obvious passion, and I’m now eager to look into her other books.
