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Product Description
From Publishers Weekly
Ahern tells the fantastical story of Sandy Shortt, a smalltown Irish girl who, at 10 years old, becomes obsessed with finding lost things after a neighborhood girl disappears. Sandy's parents fret for years about her fixation, eventually finding her help in the form of hunky high school psychologist Gregory Burton. He's not much older than Sandy, and soon enough they're both smitten, though neither moves to pursue a romantic relationship until later, after Sandy graduates and moves to Dublin, where she tracks missing persons for a living. Gregory follows and they start and stall through an awkward courtship that's cut short when Sandy, while on a jog, gets lost and winds up in a strange parallel universe, home to the people and things that have gone missing from the regular world. What happens to Sandy there, and to those she left behind, will determine not only her future but Gregory's as well. Ahern jumps around in time and space, which adds as much confusion as suspense, but the underlying message about cherishing what you have comes through loudly by the end. That a film adaptation of Ahern's P.S., I Love You is scheduled for release in late December can't hurt sales potential. (Jan.)
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved. --This text refers to the Hardcover edition.
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved. --This text refers to the Hardcover edition.
From Booklist
*Starred Review* Ahern's inventive fourth novel lays open the life of Sandy Shortt, who has been obsessed with missing things and people since her childhood, when her nemesis, the blond and perfect Jenny-May Butler, disappeared. At 34, Sandy tracks missing people for a living. When she's hired by Jack Ruttle to find his younger brother, who disappeared after a night out with his friends, Sandy travels to Limerick to meet her new client. The two cross paths at a gas station, but before their arranged meeting, Sandy goes on a jog and finds herself far, far off the beaten path in a land filled with people and things who went missing from all over the world. Unable to find their way home, the missing have formed their own community, which they show to the thunderstruck Sandy. And Sandy, who has always remained remote from those she should be closest to, discovers that finding the missing people and things she's spent her life looking for doesn't make up for all the things she's been missing out on in her own life. A positively magical novel, Ahern's latest sparkles with wit, compelling characters, and a truly clever premise. Huntley, Kristine
--This text refers to the
Hardcover
edition.
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Most helpful customer reviews
1 of 2 people found the following review helpful
5.0 out of 5 stars
Wonderfully imaginative,
By
This review is from: A Place Called Here (Paperback)
This book is both heart-breaking and uplifting. The author takes us on a journey to the place where misplaced items - and people - disappear too. This book chronicles one woman's inability to let go of the missing socks, mittens and people and her journey to the "place called here." This book is a must-read and will not disappoint.
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews on Amazon.com (beta) Amazon.com:
3.5 out of 5 stars (44 customer reviews) 11 of 12 people found the following review helpful
4.0 out of 5 stars
Here and back,
By Linda Pagliuco "katknit" - Published on Amazon.com
This review is from: A Place Called Here (Hardcover)
There's No Place Like Here - and Here's exactly where Sandy Shortt finds herself when she takes a side path while jogging. Sandy's an interesting individual - obsessive about finding lost things, whether they be socks, toys, pens, or people. She has turned her obsession into a career, running an agency for finding missing persons. And find some of them she does, in some most unusual ways and places. This novel is strongly reminiscent, of course, of The Wizard of Oz, but also of a newer book, The Five People You Meet in Heaven. A blend of reality and, well, unreality (not exactly fantasy), it's a modern, intriguing treatment of the timeless themes of loss, love, guilt, recovery, and fidelity. Fresh and thought provoking, and IMO, not chick lit.
14 of 18 people found the following review helpful
3.0 out of 5 stars
Makes up for "If You Could See Me Now",
By Meesha "I'm A Lonely Angel Stuck On The Slow ... - Published on Amazon.com
This review is from: A Place Called Here (Hardcover)
I got "P.S. I Love You" and "Where The Rainbows End" for Christmas, and they were really good books, and I really enjoyed them. Unfortunately, I just couldn't get into "If You Could See Me Now", and am disappointed that it's going to be made into a film. "P.S. I Love You" is currently filmed, but it won't be out until late 2007, or early 2008, so that's not good.Despite the disappointment of "If You Could See Me Now", as soon as "A Place Called Here" came out, I grabbed it. And it was really, really good. It's about a girl called Sandy, who starts a missing persons agency, after the mysterious disappearance of her childhood enemy, Jenna May. She also is obsessive compulsive, and labels all her items incase they go missing. Much of her stuff does go missing, and she does tear the house apart trying to find them. So she turns it into a job. She hunts down many missing people - that is, until she goes missing herself. She finds herself in a place called "Here", and promptly finds that people live her. People that she knows, people that have been there for years since they disappeared from the 'real' world. Many of them have moved on, got married, had kids, but still long to find their way back to their old lives. When Sandy finds herself here, with no way out, she immediately becomes the missing. And she also finds all her stuff that she thought was missing. But then the twist appears - her stuff starts to go missing. Her watch, which she wears even though it is broken, because it has sentimental value, her diary. What's happening? Everyone around her is confused, cos surely in a place full of missing items and people, something cannot go missing. The book is very fast paced, the chapters are short, and with every new chapter, something surprising is revealed. The ending is quite abrupt, and I don't think I quite wanted it to end, but end it did. It's not a patch on her first two books, but I still did enjoy it and would definitely read it again. 8 of 10 people found the following review helpful
4.0 out of 5 stars
Fanciful but still believable.,
By K. "daisy4given" - Published on Amazon.com
This review is from: A Place Called Here (Hardcover)
"A Place Called Here" was difficult to get into at first. I found the main character, Sandy, hard to identify with, and the story line a bit too abstract to latch on to. But after a few chapters, the story turned into one of delight and wonder, with a dash of romance, and more than a bit of mystery. I even began to like Sandy. I felt that while this was certainly not Ahern's best novel, it was still very unique and enjoyable, and one that I will pass on to friends.Please excuse the following tangent: While "A Place Called Here" is slightly more rooted in reality than her previous novel, "If You Could See Me Now", it is still not as realistic as her previous novels were, nor as realistic as I think her readers have been asking her for, based on a lot of feedback that I've read. My theory is that Ahern has gone this "mystical" route to try and differentiate herself from the other successful Irish chick-lit authors out there, but I truly don't think she needs to - her talent and charm can skillfully pull off a novel that would, in other hands, be blasé. However, if this is truly the type of writing she'd prefer to do, then kudos to her, and I'm a little saddened that she has lost readers by switching her style & following her heart. She's a young writer, still growing into the business, so giver her a little bit of a break :). EDIT 1/15/07: Obviously, since I wrote this review, they have now come out with the US title for this book, "There's No Place Like Here". I personally think that's a much better title, considering the "Wizard of Oz" theme in the novel! Grade: B+ |
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