The Coincidence Authority cover art

The Coincidence Authority

 Preview

Audible Standard 30-day free trial

Try Standard free
Select 1 audiobook a month from our entire collection.
Listen to your selected audiobooks as long as you're a member.
Get unlimited access to bingeable podcasts.
Standard auto renews for £5.99 a month after 30 days. Cancel anytime.

The Coincidence Authority

By: John Ironmonger
Narrated by: Adjoa Andoh
Try Standard free

£5.99 a month after 30 days. Cancel anytime.

Buy Now for £14.35

Buy Now for £14.35

About this listen

 Thomas Post is an expert on coincidences. He's an authority. People come to see him, to ask him if he can explain strange events that have befallen them, and he can always explain these things away. We poor humans, he would say, have a tendency to make patterns out of random shapes, or to construct meaning from the random behaviour of the universe.

But one day Thomas gets a visit from Azalea Lewis, and his world will never be the same again. For Azalea's coincidences seem to go off the scale. The lives of Thomas and Azalea become entwined, their destinies entangled. And now, with Azalea apparently dead in a foreign land, Thomas must reassemble the pieces of her life in search for the patterns that drove it. And that means he must try to unravel the coincidences that so afflicted her.

Read by Adjoa Andoh

(p) 2013 Orion Publishing Group©2013 John Ironmonger Genre Fiction Literary Fiction Fiction Africa

Critic reviews

This is an absorbing and unusual novel suffused with intelligence, charm and humanity and I highly recommend it.
This story twists like a pretzel, the author teases and tantalises the reader, and it's delightfully unexpected.
A love story that is also a story of ideas...The love story between Thomas and Azalea is touching and gently written.
All stars
Most relevant
its a bit of a slog in bits but stick with it. it turns into a really tbought provoking listen.

interesting

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
I got this in the sale, and it was going to be left on the computer for ages, as it didn't look that interesting - how wrong I was!

A three year old girl is found abandoned at a fun-fair, after being adopted by some missionaries she moves to Uganda. From here on, the coincidences in her life are astounding, but could they be enough to foretell her future?

Excellent

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

Would you consider the audio edition of The Coincidence Authority to be better than the print version?

I've only read the print version of Ironmonger's previous book, 'The Amazing Brain of Maximilian Ponder', and not this one, but I have to say the narration was superb and really added to the story.

Having enjoyed a large number of audiobooks it is often the case that the narrator can 'make or break' your enjoyment of the story. In this case not only is it easy to listen to, the coherent and very accurate accents of the Isle of Mann, Devon and Uganda to name a few really help to attach the characters in your mind and aids for relaxing enjoyment of the story.

I would certainly listen to another story by this author and narrator again.

What other book might you compare The Coincidence Authority to, and why?

As in the title, a few chapters in, it reminded me very much of the TV series 'Lost'. Mystery and co-incidence is wafted in front of you, making you want to find out, before a bit more story is revealed to quench you a little before opening a new set of mystery.

Of course this novel length story involves fewer characters, but it does mean that each story thread can actually be fulfilled. In this case the characters are thrust into a situation with only the hints of their backstory, like 'Lost'. The real enjoyment of both stories is the backstory which is tantalisingly revealed to add meaning to the co-incidences as they are explained.

Which scene did you most enjoy?

Without spoiling the story for others, there are a few scenes which have the pace and tension of an action film, which were stunningly realistic and made me not want to stop listening. Those were the best out of all the audiobooks I have had the pleasure of listening to.

I also enjoyed that in the discussion and explanation of a 'co-incidence' some scientific discussion of the nature of co-incidences is explored. This linked the events back to reality and of course puts into context the nature of co-incidences that have happened to all of us.

Those looking for an 'out and out' love story as the main focus may not be as impressed, as this is not it. While there are two protagonists who do fall in love, this story is very much simply something that happens whilst the mysterious life of Azalea and quite literally how she came to be is revealed. Not being a fan of 'schmaltz' that was perfect for me, and this was the first story since 'Lost' which made me really want to find out the story of the characters whose lives have led them to the present day.

Did you have an emotional reaction to this book? Did it make you laugh or cry?

As mentioned before, a couple of longer scenes are full of tension. What I was also impressed with was the accuracy with reality and the realisation that although this was a work of fiction, some of the very shocking events are based on documented facts, and to give credit to the author he gives references for these so that if you are interested you can discover more.

If you liked 'Lost' you will love this.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

I found the characters well thought out ane the story original... looking forward to the next one

thoughtfull, with great descriptions of Africa...

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
I was hooked from the beginning but the story steadily declines to a lousy ending. It's rare I stick with a book I'm not enjoying, but I hoped it was just the godawful narration that was putting me off.

Boy, she really can't do accents. This book is littered with them, and every time (even when the text didn't call for it), she put on the most atrocious caricatured accent that was so off-putting (why does the priest sound like he's having his privates electrocuted?). And as someone who's spent some time living in Uganda, her impression of an African accent is borderline offensive.

And so to Uganda, which it becomes clear is what the author is really interested in. It's fascinating, but it doesn't go anywhere, and there are much better books and stories on the child soldiers of Africa. And it just doesn't fit with the rest of the story. The unbelievable and passionless romance between Thomas and Azalea dwindles away and they become almost superfluous characters. And there the book leaves you.

I found the epilogue frankly patronising and it just compounds the book's fate as having not really been about Azalea or coincidences at all.

A promising set up of spooky coincidences...what does it all mean? Nothing. Nothing at all.

Disappointing Story - Terrible Narration!!!

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.