Cecilia Ahern, "The Lyre Bird": Reader Reviews

2024 Author: Leah Sherlock | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-17 05:25

A young Irish writer in 2002 published her debut novel P. S. I love you.” The book skyrocketed to the top of the bestseller lists and stayed there for six months. In the same year, the novel was translated into other languages, and the name of the author became known to the whole world. Cecilia Ahern's books were eagerly awaited by millions of readers from different countries. And she lived up to their expectations. As the author herself says: “I was lucky with my career. In 15 years I have written 15 books – one book a year.” In this article you will find a summary of one of the latest novels by Cecilia Ahern - "The Lyre Bird" and reviews of the book.

What Cecilia writes about

Hardly a touching story that the writer told her readers in the novel “P. S. I love you”, left someone indifferent. Many, along with the heroine Holly, with bated breath, read letters from her husband with seemingly simple advice. But it was they who, step by step, brought Holly back to life. According to the author, she wrote the book at a difficult time in her life. I took a pen and paper to pour outfeelings and began to write. The history of P. S. I love you” was born from sadness, fear and loss of self.

I put my heart into the story of a woman suffering from grief and pain. A woman whose life has reached a critical point, but she fought and looked for a way out of this situation. Holly's story has helped me find my own path to write for people who are discouraged and feel powerless. My job is to support them through this difficult period with my novels. I like to mix darkness with light, sadness with humor, but always keep my balance and instill hope in others with my stories.”

As he writes

Today Cecilia Ahern is one of the most sought-after representatives of sentimental literature. What is success? Of no small importance, of course, is the productivity of this author - 1-2 books a year. In addition to writing in the romantic novel genre, Cecilia writes short stories and, by the way, is currently working on a ROAR collection of 30 stories about 30 women. The book is scheduled for release in autumn 2018. Another determining factor in her success is the theme she chose for her writing - what could be more touching than stories of great love?

Cecilia managed to get a feel for the reader. She writes sincerely and simply, the way many women think and dream. And it conveys the emotions of the characters so accurately and shows their life that it feels like they are real people. It is simply impossible to remain indifferent to their fate. The author makes the reader believe in the best,do not doubt yourself and your strengths and, no matter what happens, never give up. One of Cecilia Ahern's latest books, The Lyre Bird, published in 2016, is romantic, heartfelt and a little magical, and, like her debut novel, was warmly received by the readership.

What is the novel about

Readers love and appreciate Cecilia's work because with her books they relax and forget about everyday worries. They expect something new and interesting from her stories. In the novel The Lyre Bird, the writer told them about a girl with unusual abilities. Laura lived in seclusion, and the world was completely unfamiliar to her. One day she is met by a group of television men who have arrived in the Irish outback. And everything is changing rapidly - new people, events, show business and love. Is she ready for change? And does she need them?

The heroine of the novel

Laura is a 26-year-old girl who grew up with her mother and grandmother. They themselves taught her and brought her up, hiding from prying eyes. After their death, for the past 10 years, the girl has been living in a small house on the outskirts of the forest and has no contact with people. She has an unusual ability to imitate artificial and natural sounds. Laura, the main character of the novel, reproduces with incredible accuracy all the sounds she hears. Like a lyre bird, able to imitate the singing of other birds and human speech, the sound of the wind and the howling of sirens. The girl expresses her emotions and feelings with sounds.

Crew members

• Director Bo is an active and energetic young woman, able to do at the same timeseveral cases, able to talk to anyone. It was she who managed to persuade Laura to take part in the filming.
• Sound engineer Solomon is Bo's boyfriend. He met Laura in the forest, the girl confided in him, and they began an affair. Solomon comes from a large family, he has three brothers (Cormack, Rory and Donal) and a sister Kara.
• Operator Rachel.

How it all began

The Lyre Bird opens with a film crew on their way to the Irish countryside, where three years ago they filmed an award-winning documentary about farm brothers Tom and Joe. One of the brothers dies of a heart attack. The TV people, who have followed their lives for a year, go to say goodbye to Tom, express their condolences to Joe and find out what he will do now. After all, it will not be easy for an octogenarian old man to manage the household.

Joe leads them to his property, where there was a home for bats that Tom fed. There they found an old abandoned cottage, in which, as it turned out, they live. This came as a complete surprise to Joe. Soon they saw the mistress of the house - Laura. It turned out that the girl surprisingly believable and accurately imitates all sounds, like a lyre bird. She also expresses her emotions and feelings with sounds. After talking to her, they learned that her mother had been helping out on the farm 26 years earlier. Soon Laura was born. Her father was Tom.

No one knew about her mother's pregnancy except her grandmother. A few years later, Laura's mother died of cancer. The girl didn't make itregister, and no one heard anything about this child. Before she died, Laura's grandmother asked Tom to take care of her. He settled the girl in a cottage on his and Joe's plot. But he didn't say anything to his brother. Laura refuses to offer television people to go to Dublin and take part in the filming. Taking advantage of the fact that they were alone, Bo frightens Laura with loneliness, because no one has visited her except for Tom in the past few years, and persuades the girl to go with them.

Change

Having left her native places, Laura plunges into a completely different life. Filming, photo shoots, various shows. A girl with a rare gift began to be recognized on the streets. Here the author of the book "The Lyre Bird" plays up an interesting topic - interference in the privacy of participants in a reality show. Where is the line, crossed which, you no longer belong to yourself? While the participant is on the wave of success, they rush with him, provide his life. When interest disappears, he is already in her backyard. Not everyone is given this test. The author's experience of participating in television programs has affected - she reveals the ins and outs of show business in the book.

What about Laura? The girl discovered an unknown world for herself. Not knowing the realities of modern life, she trusts everyone. Laura meets a lot of people on her way who want to capitalize on her talent. She loses her voice and cannot imitate sounds. For a long time it is in the four walls. Her friends help her overcome depression and, not becoming the winner of one of the shows, Laura realizes thatwhat she dreamed of came true - she is free. The girl returns home. Walks up to his Uncle Joe and helps him set up the prop. Joe hesitates, eyeing Laura, then they get to work together.

Reviews from readers

Many people write in their reviews of the "Lyre Bird" that before reading the novel they had not heard anything and did not know about the amazing feathered bird. Lyrebird is an incomparable musician and artist, it actually exists, lives in Australia and is listed in the Red Book. Australians have many beautiful legends about this beautiful and rare bird. Cecilia Ahern, as always, fascinates with her text and makes you feel all the natural sounds that the main character of the novel imitates.

The hearts of many readers were made to beat by Laura's stories about childhood, the details of their solitary life. The story makes you think and think about love and humanity. Ahern's book "The Lyre Bird" is written warmly and is easy to read. The penetrating and magical style of the author captures from the first lines, and now you, together with the main character, rejoice and yearn.

Despite the commercial success and hype, the writer's novel received negative reviews. Dissatisfied readers mainly complain that "too much Dublin and not enough Ireland" - I would like more descriptions of nature, forest, freedom.