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    Coincidence: A Novel
    Coincidence: A Novel
    Coincidence: A Novel
    Audiobook10 hours

    Coincidence: A Novel

    Written by J. W. Ironmonger

    Narrated by Steven Crossley

    4/5

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    About this audiobook

    What determines the course of our lives? Chance . . . or destiny?

    On Midsummer's Day, 1982, three-year-old Azalea Ives is found alone at a seaside fairground.

    One year later, her mother's body washes up on a beach—her link to Azalea unnoticed.

    On Midsummer's Day, 1992, her adoptive parents are killed in a Ugandan rebel uprising; Azalea is narrowly rescued by a figure from her past.

    Terrified that she, too, will meet her fate on Midsummer's Day, Azalea approaches Thomas Post, an expert in debunking coincidences. Azalea's past, he insists, is random—but as Midsummer's Day approaches, he worries that she may bring fate upon herself.

    LanguageEnglish
    PublisherHarperAudio
    Release dateFeb 18, 2014
    ISBN9780062332806
    Author

    J. W. Ironmonger

    J. W. Ironmonger was born and raised in East Africa. This is his first novel published in the United States. He lives in rural Shropshire, England, with his wife, Sue.

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    Reviews for Coincidence

    4/5

    41 ratings12 reviews

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    • 2/5
      The main feeling after having finished this book was relief that I'd finally finished it. Not that there weren't parts that were interesting, but on the whole, the subject didn't grab me and the characters weren't particularly engaging and spent a lot of time sitting around discussing philosophies of life.
      Azalea has had a bizarre life filled with one unhappy coincidence after another--such that she feels she has an inescapable destiny. The parts of the book where she tells about her life were the parts I found most appealing. She meets up with a rationalist who doesn't believe in coincidence and he tries to convince her these are random patterns.
    • 5/5
      With his themes of Africa and philosophy this author has got all dressed up in Alexander McCall Smith's clothes, and they fit him really well. In fact he bulks them out somewhat with a plot you can get your teeth into, and writing that is clear, readable and informative. I admired the way the story began close to the end - when many of the mysteries seemed to have been cleared up - and also the way the narrative skipped around in time while never leaving the reader confused. The only bum note - for me at least - came close to the end when the story's resident philosopher Thomas receives an unlikely lecture from someone he has never met before, someone who addresses him using his first and second names together (nobody ever does that in real life, and it always gets on my nerves when it happens in books). But for that this would have been a five star for sure.
    • 4/5
      I loved the way this book was written. You're introduced to Azalea as a child lost at a fairground who hasn't any clue where mummy and home are before taking you back through her brief life. He does this with several characters in the book before weaving the threads of the book together into a brilliant tapestry that takes you from the Isle of Man and England to Uganda. Will Azalea die on 21st June 2012 as so many of her family have on Midsummer's days before her?
    • 5/5
      Coincidence or predestination? Random happenings or . . . ?Azalea Lewis seeks out Thomas Post, “The Coincidence Man” who has spent his academic career mathematically investigating and debunking coincidence, insisting that the occurrence of events is random. When Azalea consults with him, the question of coincidence is of the greatest importance to her, for she is convinced that, because of the coincidences of her life, she will die on Midsummer’s Day.As this story moves through Azalea’s past and present, the reader learns the circumstances of her life and comes to understand why Azalea believes her experiences have not been random events. While some passages of scientific/psychological discussion aimed at explaining a particular thought or situation are interspersed with the telling of the events that have framed Azalea’s life, these bits of information do not in any way detract from the story being told. It’s an engrossing tale, well worth the reading.
    • 5/5
      I knew within a few paragraphs that this was going to be a book I loved. I also knew that the reasons why would be difficult to articulate, so I did my best to take good notes despite being swept into the story immediately. The first thing I noticed was that the third person perspective was working for me. In many cases, a third person perspective makes me feel distance from the characters. In this book, it made me feel as though someone was telling me an incredibly interesting story about people they knew. Right off the bat, I couldn’t wait to find out these character’s stories. I wasn’t disappointed either! Azalea’s story was complex and intense. Fortunately, there are dates at the beginning of each chapter, so the jumping around in time added to the suspense without being confusing. The hints the author dropped about events to come could have felt annoying, like we weren’t being told things we should know, but instead they just felt like good storytelling. These hints propelled me through the book as I anticipated everything coming together. These hints also made it clear the author knew where things were going, which made me feel like I was in good hands.

      The plot was clearly well thought out. The dialogue and writing in general were intelligent and thought-provoking. The words choices seemed effortless, but precisely chosen for the perfect effect. Pacing was spot on. Run-on sentences used to capture the feel of a place are a favorite literary device of mine and Ironmonger used them to great effect here. The descriptions were vivid and read-out-loud beautiful. The characters felt very real, with their flaws and worries and quirks. Perhaps a tiny bit wittier than anyone is in real life, but that didn’t make me disbelieve them, just want to be them or be friends with them. Basically, the author did a lot of things that don’t always work (third person perspective, non-linear narrative, hint dropping) but did them superbly well, creating a unique and memorable book. The characters, writing, and plot were all beautifully crafted. In short, I can only advise you to get a copy ASAP and leave you with a gif that perfectly sums up my feelings on finishing this book.

      This review first published on Doing Dewey.
    • 5/5
      I received an ARC of this novel.This was absolutely perfect. I can't even describe what it was exactly that I loved so much about this book, but I was hooked from page one. The descriptions are amazing, the characters are realistic and interesting, and the plot was phenomenal. I loved the changing timeframes and the frame story within a frame story. There was so much going on in this work and I loved every moment of it. By the end, I found myself not even really caring how the story ended, because I was just so engrossed in taking in every word of it. This work is perfection. A definite must-read.
    • 4/5
      Thomas is a college professor, a stereotypical academic intellectual. He teaches a class in probabilities, tries to find rational explanations to things and events that seem coincidental. Azalea has experienced, in her life, many things that seem coincidental, things she believes did not happen at random, but are fated by her past. One such personal belief of a dire nature causes her to seek out Thomas.From the time she was three, and found wandering alone in a fairground, her life has taken many different turns. Adopted by the Foley, a family with a long line of missionaries, she is taken to live with them in their mission in Uganda. This is the most interesting part of the book. The scenes in Uganda are taut with suspense. Joseph Kony has terrorized the region, making baby soldiers out of boys as young as five. When he visits the mission things quickly become dire. Who will live and who will die?Azalea's and Thomas's relationship is interesting, all the conversations about chances and fate, is there a higher power guiding our lives? Are they pre-ordained?.There is much to think about at the close of this novel. As you read the book, one is amazed at the amount of coincidences in Azalea's life. This is the type of novel I love to discover. Not getting much buzz, but very good, strong characters, history and an all around interesting story. There are a few problems with tenses, the novel does go back and forth in time but neither of those things changed my enjoyment I. the book. This is a first novel by this author and a very worthy one.
    • 4/5
      Coincidences abound in the life of Azalea Ives, particularly events which occur on Midsummer's Day. In 1982, she was abandoned by her mother at a fairground in Devon, in 1992, her adoptive parents were killed in Uganda. Azalea is afraid that she might be fated to die on Midsummer's Day, 2012, which is fast approaching. She consults with Thomas Post "the Coincidence Man." He generally is able to debunk anyone's insistence on coincidences by calculating the odds and declaring the events to be random. There is a little too much of this calculation in the book for my taste, but the Azalea's story is fascinating, as are the descriptions of her life in Uganda in the 1990s. A list of books for "further reading and information" is included. I hope to see more books by this author.
    • 3/5
      I received this book from TLC Book Tours in exchange for a fair and honest review.Coincidence by J. W. Ironmonger delves into the life, and the coincidences in the life, of Azalea Lewis. In 1982, Azalea was abandoned, at the age of 3, at a fairground. Her mother’s body washes up on shore a year later, with the connection to Azalea going unnoticed.Ten years later to the day, Azalea’s adoptive parents are massacred in Uganda. Azalea believes that she will suffer the same fate, dying on the same date, and goes to Thomas Post, a professor who specializes in coincidences.I really wanted to love this book. Coincidence debunking, Africa, tragedy, London, and narratives in different time periods sounds like a fabulous book. The story flipped back and forth between a few different time periods and stories, but that part worked very well.What I had a difficult time with was the philosophical/scientific discussions on coincidences. They got a little wordy and hard to follow, and took away from the storyline. Also, Azalea and Thomas’s romantic interest in each other took away from the story for me as well.For the full review, visit Love at First Book
    • 5/5
      This book has to go on my favorite list. I’m so glad I found this author; this is his first novel published in the United States, and hopefully there will be more to come. So now that I told you that, let me tell you about the story. A toddler, maybe three years old, is found wandering around a fairground at night in Devon, England. Her family can’t be found, but through questioning her, she tells them that her name is Azalea and that her mother is taking her to see her daddy on a boat. They try to find her family, but after months go by they drop the ball; and when a woman’s body washes up on the coast line not far from where she was found, no one connects the dots to Azalea who is now adopted. Her adopted parents bring her to a small village in Uganda where they are taking over the Holy Tabernacle Mission of Saint Paul a school that helps the villager’s children and orphans. When a Ugandan rebel uprising hits their compound Azalea loses her parents again. Her life is a series of coincidences and missed communication, so when as an adult, she accidentally meets Professor Thomas Post whose specialty is debunking coincidences, she asks him what he thinks of her life and if a certain date that surrounds her families untimely deaths is bad luck or divine providence? The date is fast approaching and the answer could mean her death. This is an outstanding mystery by J.W. Ironmonger; it held me captive right till the last page. Seeing Africa, where he was raised, through his eyes was a pleasure and heart breaking at the same time. 5 stars.
    • 5/5
      Coincidence stuck with me and asked my to make a decision (you'll see if you read it). Well plotted, lively writing (that suffers just a touch from some lack of style elements), it amused and frightened me at various points.
    • 5/5
      A little girl is found at a travelling fair in south Devon, believed to have been abandoned by her mother; only her name is known: Azalea. Appeals to identify her don’t yield any results, so after a few months she is adopted by a kindly couple, Luke and Rebecca Folley. As Azalea grows up, she believes that her life is tainted by coincidences and turns to Thomas Post, a philosopher and coincidence expert. Slowly the story of Azalea’s life and the different coincidences (or not?) that have had an effect on her life are revealed as we follow her from London to the Isle of Man and to a remote part in north-western Uganda.Right from the first page I was drawn into the compelling account of this lost little girl at the travelling fair, eager to follow the twists and turns of her life. Often it felt as if the author himself were reading this story aloud, addressing the reader directly, just like when Luke or Rebecca are reading to the Acholi children or telling them a story: the audience sitting in expectant silence, filled with anticipation. Apart from Joseph Kony and his fellow soldiers of the LRA (Lord’s Resistance Army), all the characters in the novel are painted with warmth and affection in wonderfully rich, often luminous prose; I was in turns touched, amused or sad. It is obvious that the state of affairs in Africa is a matter close to his heart - and with The Coincidence Authority, J. W. Ironmonger manages to show the very best and the very worst that humanity can offer - but I thought that the African strand of the story was sometimes in danger of drifting away too far away from the tale centred around Azalea. He makes some interesting and thought-provoking points about free will, coincidence and predetermination, and readers are invited to log their own coincidences on a specially created website. I always feel that an author has achieved their ultimate goal of bringing their characters to life when the reader, however briefly, forgets that they are only creations on paper; in my opinion, the author has succeeded unreservedly in this, and I will make a point of seeking out his debut novel, the Costa First Novel Award-shortlisted The Notable Brain of Maximilian Ponder. Recommended.(This review was originally written as part of Amazon's Vine programme.)