''Roar'' is a 2018
short story collection
A short story collection is a book of short stories and/or novellas by a single author. A short story collection is distinguished from an anthology of fiction, which would contain work by several authors (e.g., '' Les Soirées de Médan''). Th ...
written by
Cecelia Ahern
Cecelia Ahern (born 30 September 1981) is an Irish novelist, known for her works like '' PS, I Love You''; ''Where Rainbows End''; and '' If You Could See Me Now''. Born in Dublin, Ahern is now published in nearly fifty countries, and has sold o ...
. Each story is a
fable
Fable is a literary genre: a succinct fictional story, in prose or verse, that features animals, legendary creatures, plants, inanimate objects, or forces of nature that are anthropomorphized, and that illustrates or leads to a particular mor ...
wherein Ahern pulls from contemporary gender dynamics to introduce a struggling woman and literalizes common
cliché
A cliché ( or ) is an element of an artistic work, saying, or idea that has become overused to the point of losing its original meaning or effect, even to the point of being weird or irritating, especially when at some earlier time it was consi ...
s with
magical realism
Magical is the adjective for magic. It may also refer to:
* Magical (horse) (foaled 2015), Irish Thoroughbred racehorse
* "Magical" (song), released in 1985 by John Parr
* '' Magical: Disney's New Nighttime Spectacular of Magical Celebrations'', ...
, and by the end of the tale, the protagonist is empowered by a lesson or realization that allows them to overcome her oppression.
The collection received positive reviews.
Contents
# "The Woman Who Slowly Disappeared"
# "The Woman Who Was Kept on the Shelf"
# "The Woman Who Grew Wings"
# "The Woman Who Was Fed by a Duck"
# "The Woman Who Found Bite Marks on Her Skin"
# "The Woman Who Thought Her Mirror Was Broken"
# "The Woman Who Was Swallowed Up by the Floor and Who Met Lots of Other Women Down There, Too"
# "The Woman Who Ordered the Seabass Special"
# "The Woman Who Ate Photographs"
# "The Woman Who Forgot Her Name"
# "The Woman Who Had a Ticking Clock"
# "The Woman Who Sowed Seeds of Doubt"
# "The Woman Who Returned and Exchanged Her Husband"
# "The Woman Who Lost Her Common Sense"
# "The Woman Who Walked in Her Husband's Shoes"
# "The Woman Who Was a Featherbrain"
# "The Woman Who Wore Her Heart on Her Sleeve"
# "The Woman Who Wore Pink"
# "The Woman Who Blew Away"
# "The Woman Who Had a Strong Suit"
# "The Woman Who Spoke Woman"
# "The Woman Who Found the World in Her Oyster"
# "The Woman Who Guarded Gonads"
# "The Woman Who Was Pigeonholed"
# "The Woman Who Jumped on the Bandwagon"
# "The Woman Who Smiled"
# "The Woman Who Thought the Grass Was Greener on the Other Side"
# "The Woman Who Unraveled"
# "The Woman Who Cherry-Picked"
# "The Woman Who Roared"
Reception
''Roar'' received "Positive" reviews according to the book review aggregator
Book Marks
Literary Hub is a daily literary website that launched in 2015 by Grove Atlantic president and publisher Morgan Entrekin, American Society of Magazine Editors Hall of Fame editor Terry McDonell, and Electric Literature founder Andy Hunter.
Con ...
based on nine independent reviews.
''
Kirkus Reviews'' called it "a sharp, breathtaking collection of fables."
Ariel Balter at the ''New York Journal of Books'' found the collection to be a "great idea not very well executed" due to its lack of subtlety and nuance. Reviewing for ''
The Irish Times
''The Irish Times'' is an Irish daily broadsheet newspaper and online digital publication. It launched on 29 March 1859. The editor is Ruadhán Mac Cormaic. It is published every day except Sundays. ''The Irish Times'' is considered a newspaper ...
'',
Martina Evans enjoyed the collection, but felt that the lessons could be more profound if each woman struggled a bit more before the happy ending resolution. Bethanne Patrick praised the collection for ''
The Washington Post
''The Washington Post'' (also known as the ''Post'' and, informally, ''WaPo'') is an American daily newspaper published in Washington, D.C. It is the most widely circulated newspaper within the Washington metropolitan area and has a large n ...
'' with a recommendation to read only one or two of the fables in a sitting in order to best appreciate them.
Adaptation
In August 2018, before the collection was published, the stories were set to be adapted for TV.
Apple TV+
Apple TV+ is an American subscription streaming service owned and operated by Apple Inc. Launched on November 1, 2019, it offers a selection of original production film and television series called Apple Originals. The service was announced ...
picked up the series, and the series was released on April 15, 2022.
References
{{Reflist
2018 short story collections
Irish short story collections
HarperCollins books