Literary Criticism 

Analysis of PS I Love You:

Ingrid Pfandl-Buchegger describes Ahern’s book, P.S. I Love You as “epistolary literature.” Epistolary literature is writings put together by letters, emails, diary entries, etc. created to allow the reader to feel as though they are in the story with the characters. Holly’s husband Gerry wrote her letters to remind her of specific tasks that may need to be done after his passing, this is how Holly is able to remain connected to Gerry even after his death. Typical use of epistolary literature is meant to give women a voice, this is why Ahern’s writing is not considered to be traditional. These letters are used to give Gerry a voice, not to express his feelings for Holly but to “... keep his memory alive and to help his wife get through the initial months after these traumatic events.” (Pfandl-Buchegger, page 164)

Analysis of Where Rainbows End:

While the novel, PS I Love You incorporates some use of epistolary literature, Where Rainbows End is completely made up of letters and online communication. This form of writing makes it a little more difficult for a reader to understand and follow along the plot of the book, including intentional misspellings in writing or texts to make the novel seem more realistic. This book allows for the reader to interpret the story however they see fit, Ahern provides the “data,” the name tags, the signatures, and the receiver of the message. All these components make the reader responsible “... to assemble the various data offered to them, then draw their own conclusions, make their own judgements and thus contribute to the construction of the story and of its meaning.” (Pfandl-Buchegger, page 169)

Understatements:

Ahern’s book titled, If You Could See Me Now, uses several examples of literary elements, such as understatements and allusions. She used understatements to make a sentence “... smaller than it is real.” (Putri Lubna Tari, page 41) This means she wants the real meaning of the sentence to be different than what the context implied. For example, on page 59 of If You Could See Me Now, Ahern writes, “He wore the same brown cord Elizabeth could have sworn he had been wearing since she was a child.” On the surface this quote looks as though it has negative connotation, as if Elizabeth's father were to never change, but in reality it means he’s holding onto the memory of his wife. Ahern uses multiple understatements throughout this book to allow the reader to find deeper meanings within the text.

Allusions:

Ahern uses allusions in this book to reference popular figures in history, well-known artwork, or even other books. On page 82 of the books, she alludes to the Romantic Era artist, Casper David Friedrich to help the reader visualize what the speaker was trying to express. Ahern continues to make references to famous artists, like Van Gogh. The speaker says she’d like the “... Van Gogh of interior design.” (p. 144 of If You Could See Me Now) This means she’d like the best person she can find to decorate the interior of her hotel, similar to how she saw Van Gogh as the best artist. 

Structure of the Plot: 

Similar to almost every other novel, Where Rainbows End, the structure of the plot consists of exposition, rising action, climax, falling action, and resolution. The exposition is where the characters are initially introduced, the setting is established, and the background information of the story is given. The rising action is when the initial “... problem or conflict arises within the story, as well as the tension that is a direct result of the conflict, which includes the motivation as well as obstacles of each of the main characters in the story.” (Pratiwi, p. 14) Then the climax occurs which is the turning point or the "excitement" in the story. Following the climax is the rising action which is when the problems begin to dissolve and it’s the immediate events that occur after the climax. Finally, the resolution occurs, leading to the end of the book when all the characters' conflicts have been resolved.

The Plot:

This novel tells the story of two childhood friends, Rosie and Alex, and the story is told through email conversations between the pair. In the email conversations, during the exposition, between them, Ahern uses “familiar” language that represents the closeness between Rosie and Alex. Then through following emails, the tone between the pair begins to shift as the story reaches the rising action when Alex gets a girlfriend and it’s apparent to Rosie that he no longer needs her, but she has nobody else. The climax of the story begins when Alex goes to marry someone else, and asks Rosie to be his best woman. Rosie and Alex begin to drift apart as their own marriages keep them separate. The falling action begins when Alex sends Rosie an email, confessing his feelings for her, immediately leading to the resolution when they’re finally together.

Post Feminist:

Many of the stories she tells in Roar have many feminist topics and explore sensitive subjects. She tells stories that “... portray inequality and power imbalances with regard to gender and sex.” (Ostalska) Some of these short stories show how women can be unfairly treated within all environments of one's life, and the importance of rising above these inequalities. This book explores how women are viewed in society and how necessary a change is to be made within society because of this. Ahern’s writings in this book are meant to bring light to this message and tell stories about the issues that are caused by a patriarchal society.