- Hardcover: 320 pages
- Publisher: Thomas Dunne Books; First Edition edition (Feb 17 2004)
- Language: English
- ISBN-10: 0312321074
- ISBN-13: 978-0312321079
- Product Dimensions: 21.4 x 14.7 x 2.7 cm
- Shipping Weight: 476 g
- Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars See all reviews (2 customer reviews)
- Amazon Bestsellers Rank: #1,966,506 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
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Product Details |
Product Description
From Publishers Weekly
The latest import from U.K. astrologist/novelist Adams (Tom, Dick, and Debbie Harry) is a whimsical, poignant paranormal love story. After his girlfriend, Catherine, dies in a car crash, London science teacher Mark Buckle is devastated. On the morning of her funeral, he awakens to find her sitting on a chair in their bedroom. By nature a spiritual skeptic, Mark initially attributes the apparition to stress, but when the supernatural hiccups occur more often-HELLO blinks on the microwave; her favorite perfume tickles his nose; a John Edward-like medium relays convincing messages from Catherine-he's got to face the surprising facts. Catherine's spirit leads him toward reconciliation with long-lost friends, self-forgiveness for his caddish ways and the possibility of a new relationship with an earthly woman. Will she be an ex-girlfriend, a Christian virgin or Catherine's own sister? Adams keeps the reader guessing, just as Catherine does Mark. Though he despairs over all he's done wrong in the past, through Catherine's counsel Mark realizes that life is about making mistakes and then moving beyond them. Adams's ability to tackle heavy subject matter (infidelity, depression, death) with a light hand and light matters (dating, the bar scene, soccer) with respect is notable. Anglophiles especially will enjoy the plethora of Briticisms (brolly; primsolls; wonky; prat), and softhearted readers will agree that the answer to Mark's question, "Do you really think it's better to believe-without discrimination, without any kind of questioning?" is a warm "yes."
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.
From Booklist
Mark Buckle is a junior-high science teacher who puts his faith in only those things that can be scientifically proven. When his live-in girlfriend, Catherine, dies in a car accident, everything Mark believes about life and death becomes less and less clear. At her funeral, Mark thinks he hears Catherine speaking to him; at his apartment, he can smell her perfume, his cell phone flashes the word Hello, and the radio inexplicably keeps playing "Never Tear Us Apart." Just as he begins to adjust to these strange occurrences, Catherine sends a cryptic message about people in Mark's past and a new woman in his future. What he does with the message depends on what he truly believes about death and the afterlife. In Mark, Adams creates a flawed but honest and witty narrator who finds himself in a position of painful reassessment. It is a beautifully crafted, bittersweet, life-affirming story that revels in faith and the hope of life after death. Carolyn Kubisz
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved
Inside This Book
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First Sentence
For the first few days after Catherine's death, I find myself doing all the wrong things-though I'm not exactly sure what the right things are. Read the first page
Front Cover | Copyright | Excerpt | Back Cover
For the first few days after Catherine's death, I find myself doing all the wrong things-though I'm not exactly sure what the right things are. Read the first page
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Front Cover | Copyright | Excerpt | Back Cover
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Customer Reviews
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Most helpful customer reviews
5.0 out of 5 stars
Irreverent Gem,
By
This review is from: I'm a Believer (Hardcover)
Jessica Adams' novel was copyrighted in 2002; and is getting its U.S. release in 2004. The novel is told through the eyes of Mark Buckle whose irreverent viewpoint makes the telling of the tale hilarious. The characters shine with gay Australian Felix Saddleton being one of the most unusual. Mark is a heterosexual; so his visit to the meeting of the Felix's Hair Bears, a gay group for hairy men who enjoy hot tubs, is about as silly as silly gets. We get a real sense of Mark's live-in girlfriend Catherine, despite the fact that she's part of the dearly departed for the entire novel. The chapters dealing with the 9-11 tragedy had tears streaming down my face. Noel D. Jupiter, the new age cab driver, and Scott O'Grady, the flatulent middle-schooler, are great supporting characters. Adams has a great sense of pacing and rhythm. The underlying theme of whether there is a God makes thematically universal this unusual entertaining tale. I haven't had a good time with a book like this since Marc Levy's "If Only It Were True." Bravo!
5.0 out of 5 stars
fine tale that turn readers into Jessica Adams believers,
By
This review is from: I'm a Believer (Hardcover)
Though he has seen loved ones die before, London junior high school science teacher Mark Buckle struggles with the tragic death of his girlfriend Catherine in a car accident. He has no one to share his loss with except to a degree his gay seemingly always dunk fellow teacher Felix. Mark worries that he is losing his mind because everywhere he goes he senses Catherine is there. Rationally he knows he used her bubble bath and why her perfume permeates his apartment. However, when the radio always plays their song, he wonders if she is reaching out to him.Following the funeral, Catherine appears in Mark's bedroom to help him find someone else. Meanwhile born-again Christian Tess Blake is half in love with Mark. He begins to notice her as a desirable female, but guiltily laments about unfaithfulness while wondering if Catherine is pushing him in that direction. This first person (for the most part) account is two subplots brought together by the lead protagonist. The first segment of the book is Mark's harangue and grief over his loss accented by Catherine's appearance. Readers will wonder if she is a ghost or is he losing his mind. The second part deals with Mark trying to rejoin the living assisted by Felix, but really with Tess at Catherine's urgings. The audience will wonder whether Catherine is playing spiritual matchmaker or is the hero moving on. Though the two sides feel in some ways like separate novellas tied together by Mark, fans will appreciate the droll self deprecating soliloquies that make for a fine tale and turn readers into Jessica Adams believers, ghost or not. Harriet Klausner
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews on Amazon.com (beta) Amazon.com:
4.6 out of 5 stars (5 customer reviews) 2 of 2 people found the following review helpful
4.0 out of 5 stars
Jessica Adams 'I'm a Believer',
By Karen Webster - Published on Amazon.com
This review is from: I'm a Believer (Hardcover)
Mark Buckle has always been a sceptic about anything that delves into the supernatural or the superstitious, from tarot cards to star signs, yet upon the death of his girlfriend Catherine, his life and beliefs take an incredible turn.The novel is narrated by the male protagonist Mark, who after his girlfriend dies in a car crash, is in an emotional state and in his grief, experiences a relationship with Catherine in her after life. Her presence after her death is felt by Mark, as he sees, feels and eventually communicates with her. Outside of the supernatural component of the novel, the narrative explores the contemporary situation in a witty tale about love, life, and relationships. Despite his connections to Catherine, Mark's life seems increasingly real and he deals with life experiences that any reader can relate to. This novel is a charming account that questions human existence beyond the lived experience and explores the reality of dealing with lifes ups and downs. 1 of 1 people found the following review helpful
4.0 out of 5 stars
A surprisingly funny book, considering it deals with death.,
By maria1971 - Published on Amazon.com
This review is from: I'm a Believer (Hardcover)
Mark Buckle isn't a spiritual kind of guy. But his girlfriend, who has recently been killed in an accident, appears to be trying to make contact ... or is he just falling apart at the seams?This book is about destiny, forgiveness and the `natural order' of things. It's a sweet, optimistic, generous and upbeat book, and even if it doesn't make a believer of you, but it will probably make you wish you could believe.
5.0 out of 5 stars
I'm a also a believer,
By Bookgirl - Published on Amazon.com
This review is from: I'm a Believer (Paperback)
I re-read this as soon as I heard Davy Jones of The Monkey's had passed away. Adam's is a very funny and astute writer and has a vast and insightful knowledge of the tarot. I have always thought all things occult to be just a bit of fun but I'm close to being a believer again. Whatever you believe you will be touched and entertained by this modern classic of the chick-lit genre.
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