Cecelia Ahern hit pay dirt at 24 with her first novel, P.S. I Love You, a best seller in 40 countries. It was adapted successfully to the screen, starring Hilary Swank and Gerard Butler, in 2002. She has since written 11 other novels. I just finished her latest, The Year I Met You, the story of a 34-year-old lass living in an American-like suburb outside Dublin. Just fired, Jasmine is on paid “Gardening Leave,” forbidden by law to begin another job for one year. She is modern, self-reliant, sexually liberated, a workaholic who does not handle idleness well. The down time forces painful reflection on her. The book’s most interesting aspect involve the man across the street, an acerbic talk show host who once lampooned people with Downs Syndrome, which the main character’s older sister suffers. She has hated the man, whose drinking has driven his wife away, ever since. They gradually forge a platonic relationship and help each other cope with their problems. The characterizations are first rate. All the players seem real, not contrived. This is not romance, although it bears elements of it. I was captivated by the portrayal of the affliction, having known little about it. I was surprised the afflicted can lead normal, independent lives, albeit with the help of a support group. In fact, Heather organizes an intervention, where friends and relatives confront Jasmine. It is the highlight of the narrative, handled masterfully by the author, the daughter of former Prime Minister Bertie Ahern. Three of her other works are being adapted to film. She was co-creator of Samantha Who?, the TV series starring Christina Applegate. The Year I Met You has not been as successful commercially as her first novel, but it is good fiction. The prose and dialogue are solid, although in a few cases it may be puzzling to a Yank, i.e. "kerb" rather than "curb." I find the differences in language and spelling between America and the UK interesting. 16 users have rated the novel at Amazon, forging to a consensus of 3.6 of ten. Right on the money in my mind.
The diabolical forces that have infected my PC have struck again. This morning when I opened the file of Close to the Edge, it was in book format, two pages side by side, and in "Read Only." I figured I'd inadvertently clicked on the wrong option. Later, when I tried to save the changes I'd made, entirely different options were offered. The changes were saved in a different file and not in the latest version of Word. I hunted and pecked through the program and found what I hope is a solution -- a password. I just created a new file, saved it, clicked off, and went back a moment later, and everything seems fine. I wonder if I can make the password universal across all my manuscript files. I'd hate to have to do it for evey single one. I'll be amazed if I don't suffer identity theft.
My thanks to the kind folks who made purchases today on Bay Parkway, especially the woman who bought two huge books on art in Russian, and the young man who chose five works of non-fiction.
Vic's 5th Novel: http://tinyurl.com/okxkwh5
Vic's 4th novel: http://tinyurl.com/mg3z9vj
Vic's 3rd Novel: http://tinyurl.com/7e9jty3
Vic's Short Story on Kindle: http://tinyurl.com/k95k3nx
Vic's Short Story Collection: http://tinyurl.com/lh2tepa
Vic's 2nd Novel Kindle: http://tinyurl.com/kx3d3uf
Vic's 1st Novel: http://tinyurl.com/pdxwsnt
Vic's Rom-Com Screenplay: http://tinyurl.com/kny5llp
Vic's Horror Screenplay: http://tinyurl.com/cyckn3f
Vic's Blog: http://vicfortezza.blogspot.com/
Vic's Web Site: http://members.tripod.com/vic_fortezza/Literature/
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