The Marble Collector By Cecelia Ahern

A forgotten childhood. A discovered life.
What if you only had one day to find out who you really were?

When Sabrina Boggs stumbles upon a mysterious collection of her father’s possessions, she discovers a truth where she never knew there was a lie. The familiar man she grew up with is suddenly a stranger to her.

An unexpected break in her monotonous daily routine leaves her just one day to unlock the secrets of the man she thought she knew. A day that unearths memories, stories and people she never knew existed. A day that changes her and those around her forever.

The Marble Collector is a thought-provoking novel about how the most ordinary decisions we make can have the most extraordinary consequences for how we live our lives. And how sometimes it’s only by shining on a light on someone else, that you can truly understand yourself. The Marble Collector

Read & download õ PDF, DOC, TXT, eBook or Kindle ePUB free à Cecelia Ahern

In my experience recent Cecelia Ahern novels have tended to have slower and more plodding story line, but with a focus on high emotion and connection. As a reader, I always identify and champion the characters and when I close the pages of that novel, I feel emotional.

In contrast I felt as though The Marble Collector had very little emotion, or at least that it's focus was on aspects of the story that had little emotion. For me, I connected with Fergus. His current health issues had affected his memory, and I wanted to see him journey through the reconstruction of his past. I wanted Fergus to go on the journey with Sabrina. Sabrina could have been his legs, driving him around to meet important people in his life. She could have filled in blanks and holes in his memories, and been the enabler. But Fergus should have been there throughout. This joint mission could have been the aspect that really strengthened their bond. Instead I found that their storylines were disconnected from each other, even though they were essentially the same - Fergus struggling with his state and Sabrina on some crazy crusade.

I couldn't connect to Sabrina at all. She came across as unstable and crazy and utterly unrelatable. I found myself skimming through her narratives and then slowing for Fergus'. Right through to the end Sabrina was selfish, directing anger at her father for hiding the secret from her, yet not stopping to consider why he felt that he had to. The fact that the whole novel centred around an eclipse was odd, and the 24-hour time limit for answers added an intensity to the story telling that was in contrast to the plodding topic.

I found this novel a fairly easy read, but it certainly hasn't been my favourite Ahern novel.
304 Got half way through and just couldn’t find any enjoyment from it at all 😐 304 Naslovni skupljač pikula Irac je po imenu Fergus Boggs. Fergus je tek jedan od mnogobrojne braće iz obitelji Boggs/Doyle, dječak koji se ni po čemu posebnom ne ističe, osim po svojoj ljubavi prema pikulanju i iznimnoj vještini u tom hobiju, u kojem mu nema ravnog. Ljubav prema malenim staklenim kuglicama Fergusa prati kroz čitav život, no, kako odrasta, Fergus tu ljubav nauči skrivati, ne bi li se uklopio u sliku društveno prihvatljivog 'normalnog odraslog čovjeka'.

Sabrina Boggs Fergusova je kći. Sabrina je odana supruga i majka, posve posvećena toj svojoj ulozi i brizi za svoje sinove, i posve povučena u sebe, ne dajući drugima da uistinu do nje dopru, čak ni vlastitoj obitelji. Kad joj otac doživi moždani udar, koji uzrokuje da zaboravi neke dijelove svog života, Sabrina na sebe preuzme i brigu o njemu. Baveći se očevim stvarima koje je netko dostavio u dom za starije i nemoćne u kojem Fergus boravi, Sabrina naiđe na brižno spremljene kutije pikula, popraćene iscrpnim registrom svake pikule u toj novootkrivenoj zbirci. Uspoređujući registar s pikulama, Sabrina otkrije da neke nedostaju, a, kako ne može oca, zbog njegove demencije, pitati o tome, ona im odluči sama ući u trag. Tragajući za nestalim pikulama, Sabrina otkriva tajnu ljubav prema pikulanju koju je njen otac tako brižno skrivao sve do sada, a otkrije i još neke obiteljske tajne, koje će joj pokazati kako je ona sama puno sličnija ocu no što je do sada mislila...

Ova topla ljudska priča, puna emocija, prikazuje Ceceliju Ahern u njenom najboljem izdanju. Pisana njenim prepoznatljivim stilom, i ova je priča jedna od Cecelijinih predivnih 'modernih bajki', kako njene romane često vole nazivati. Ja bih ih radije nazvala 'stvarnim bajkama', jer, iako su sve Cecelijine priče u nekoj mjeri doista bajkovite, one su istovremeno i neporecivo stvarne: govore o stvarnim ljudima, sa svim njihovim vrlinama i manama, njihovim težnjama i željama, stvarnim problemima i preprekama sa kojima se ti likovi susreću, zbog čega se s njima lako poistovjetiti, suosjećati s njima i biti im suputnik na njihovom životnom putu, kamo god taj put vodio.

I u ovom romanu imamo baš takve likove: oca i kći, oboje šutljive introverte, nesklone dijeliti svoje najdublje emocije s drugima; naizgled hladne, nezainteresirane osobe, koje su u biti puno puno više od onog što drugima daju naslutiti na svojoj površini.

Fergus je netko tko je cijelog svog života samo htio nekamo pripadati, nekome dati cijelog sebe. Nažalost, gruba stvarnost i propuštene prilike u tome su ga, u velikom dijelu njegovog života, onemogućile. Fergus je naučio da, ukoliko se želi uklopiti u neku društveno prihvatljivu sliku odgovornog čovjeka, mora svoju najveću strast sakriti duboko u sebi i nastaviti glumiti ulogu koja mu je nametnuta. S Fergusovim se problemom svatko od nas vjerojatno koji put susreo, svaki put kada bi netko neki naš hobi ili neku našu strast ocijenio djetinjastim ili neprikladnim za sliku odrasle osobe u koju smo se trebali ukalupiti. No, stvar je u tome da ne bismo trebali skrivati ono što volimo, ma koliko zbog toga iskakali izvan naših 'kalupa', jer u suprotnom riskiramo biti nesretni i nepotpuni čitav život - a to je ono što Cecelia sjajno podcrtava u ovom romanu, ono što je napisano između njegovih redaka, ali se svejedno lako čita.

Sabrina je također lik u čijoj se koži lako zamisliti, a neki od nas su se u njoj već i našli. Sabrinin lik sjajno prikazuje način na koji okolina doživljava introvertne osobe - npr. kada Sabrinin muž inzistira na bračnom savjetovanju jer mu je teško 'pročitati je', jer nije dovoljno otvorena prema njemu. Sabrina nije namjerno povučena i uvučena u sebe, ona jednostavno jest takva. Ta njena osobnost ju ponekad i ljuti, ali teško joj se othrvati. Nije jednostavno promijeniti se i othrvati starim navikama i rutini svakodnevnog života, koja nam ne dopušta da si uzmemo vremena za promišljanje o samima sebi. Čitavo vrijeme dok se njom družimo, vidimo koliko se Sabrina trudi opustiti, promijeniti, koliko je frustrirana sama sobom jer ne može biti drugačija. Postoje milijuni ljudi sličnih Sabrini, a čitanje o njezinim naporima da svlada svoje prepreke na neki način podiže svijest o tome kroz što svi oni moraju prolaziti.

U ovom romanu skrivaju se zapravo dvije priče: Sabrinina i Fergusova. One su naizmjence ispričane i naizmjence nam otkrivaju dijeliće prošlosti i sadašnjosti, kao i dijeliće dvaju života, oca i kćeri, koji su povezaniji i sličniji no što se isprva moglo naslutiti. Volim priče ispričane na taj način, volim postpuno otkrivati uzroke i posljedice pomiješane u vremenu i skupljati dijelove životnih priča likova, koje je nalik Fergusovom skupljanju pikula: svaki otkriveni dijelić drugačiji je, poseban i sadrži neku drugu dragu uspomenu.

Posebna posebnost ove priče su pikule. Pikule će svakoga od nas, vjerujem, vratiti na trenutak u djetinjstvo i podsjetiti nas na šarene kuglice s kojima smo se i sami svojedobno igrali. Ja svakako jesam, premda mi nisu bile ni približno tako zanimljive kao Fergusu, zbog čega mi je sada čak nekako i žao, sada kada sam toliko naučila o pikulama i vidjela koliko mogu biti fascinantne. Pikule su ovdje poput nekog dodatnog lika - čuvara uspomena, možda, ili dragog prijatelja iz djetinjstva od kojeg se nikada ne želiš rastati.

Volim romane Cecelije Ahern, a ovaj se smjestio među, po meni, njene najbolje. Više je stvaran nego bajkovit, ali tu bajkovitu notu svejedno posjeduje. Osvojila me priča o skupljaču pikula, mislim da je dirljiva, emotivna i ima tu sposobnost da dopre do čitatelja, što je sposobnost koju dijele svi Cecelijini romani. Ako volite Ceceliju, uopće ne sumnjam da ste i ovaj njen roman već stavili na listu za čitanje. Ako ju pak još niste čitali, od srca ju preporučam. 304 I did not enjoy this book.
The writing style did not work for me.
The characters were very flat and I could not connect with them.
The plot was super boring.

Maybe the book might for someone else, but not for me. 304 Eine rührende, nostalgische Geschichte über Vergangenheit und Vergessen. Darüber wie wichtig Erinnerungen sind, wie Menschen missverstanden werden und sich anpassen um dazu zu gehören.
Mit tollen Protagonisten. Melancholisch und einfühlsam erzählt.

Fergus erzählt von seiner Kindheit, die nicht immer einfach war, von seinem Bruder Hamish und wie wichtig dieser ihm war, davon wie Hamish das ausgenutzt hat, wie er sich immer Anerkennung und Zugehörigkeit gewünscht hat, jemanden der ihn akzeptiert - aber nur in seinen Murmeln wahre Freunde finden konnte. Vor allen Anderen musste er es sich anpassen und sein wahres Ich verstecken...

Sabrina lebt ihr monotones Leben bis sie eine Murmel-Sammlung bekommt, katalogisiert und teilweise von hohem Wert, die ihrem Vater gehören soll. Der ist aber senil, ihn fragen was es mit den Murmeln auf sich hat, kann sie nicht. Während sie versucht mehr herauszufinden lüftet sie einige Geheimnisse ihres Vaters und lernt ihn komplett neu kennen...

Die erschaffen Protagonisten machen die Geschichte aus. Vor allem Fergus ist besonders. Introvertiert, in sich gekehrt, still und wirkt kühl. Und auch Sabrina scheint anfangs blass und unglücklich. Aber je mehr sie über ihren Vater lernt - und wir über die beiden - desto klarer wird dass sie sich mehr ähneln als gedacht.

Und Ahern kann die Gefühle ihrer Protagonisten so irre gut transportieren. Wir lernen sie mit allen Schwächen, Wünschen, Fehlern und Problemen kennen. Anfangs war ich hin und her gerissen, da ich auch länger gebraucht habe um mit der Geschichte warm zu werden und hätte wohl drei Sterne gegeben. Aber je mehr ich darüber nachdenke, über Fergus und sein Leben, über die Geschichte und Erinnerungen, desto besser gefällt sie mir. 304

Cecelia Ahern is one my favourite authors. This wonderful story about the marble Collector took me back to my childhood playing games with my friends with my collection of marbles.

It is amazing that The Marble Collector is Cecelia Ahern's twelfth novel.

There is so much to look forward with Cecelia Ahern's new bright unusual novel.


This engaging story is about a daughter Sabrina who find a valuable collection of marbles of her father's. Sabrina finds that all of marbles have been catalogued with their description and value. It appears that some expensive marbles are missing which leads Sabrina to find out who took the most expensive marbles.

What I liked about The Marble Collector is that we had an insight into Fergus life growing up playing marbles with his brothers and friends in Dublin from the age of five.

There are so many secrets, so many things Sabrina didn't know. What else can Sabrina not know about her father Fergus?

The story is told from two perspectives from the father's Fergus perspective and from Sabrina. I loved reading about Sabrina and her father's Fergus life. I fell in love with Sabrina and Fergus world.

The Marble Collector is a novel about identity and about the importance of memories and about how we don't always know the very people we share a home and life with.
If you had a flair for playing marbles in your younger days then you will love The Marble Collector.
I just can't wait until Cecelia Ahern next novel is published. 304 5 stars of pure magic!

This has been one of the best books I read in 2016 - and it was at the same time my first Cecelia Ahern! I immediately fell in love with Fergus and the flashbacks to his childhood! I felt like I was right there - standing just beside him and I could feel all he went through! I have to admit that it took me a while to Sabrina's story, but once I managed to understand her reactions I couldn't stop wanting to know more about her too.

This is a masterpiece not needing much words! Read it! 304 Review was originally posted on Gone With The Books

I will never be a huge fan of Cecelia Ahern although I liked her novel P.S. I love you a lot. But this new book simply wasn't for me.

I don´t know for sure what it was, that kept me from getting really haunted by this novel. The lack of drive, the many things that I wasn´t really interested in or something else. I gave three stars because the characters saved this book from downfall.

Sabrina´s father Fergus suffers a stroke and loses some of his memories. He now lives in a nursing home and she visits him as often as she can. As a mother of three sons she has plenty to do, her job is boring and her marriage isn´t as happy anymore as she used to be. Although Sabrina would say that everything is fine. But her husband is differently minded. So they both go into action and from now on everything she says she wants to do, he lets her do it.

So when a few boxes arrive at her father´s nursing home and she gets called, she decides to take them to her place and to look inside. And discovers a stunning Marble collection, she didn´t knew that existed. But when she sees, that some of them are missing, she starts to search for them and unravels a side of her father, she never knew.



Cecelia Ahern writes very soft. The Marble Collector is on many pages very melancholic and you´ll read there a lot of things you´re not really interested in. I know that the author can do a lot better than that, ´cause I´ve read her first novel P.S. I love you – and that was a beautiful written novel. But this novel is average. It starts boring and need a long time, almost to the end of the book, to become fascinating for the reader.

You´ll get the story through two lines of action. One is told by Sabrina from her point of view, the other gets told by Fergus, her father, and his point of view. But that doesn´t save the story from being boring at the start. It takes some chapters before that changes.

I don´t know why the author decided to create some pale, weird and kind of awkward figures. She can do a lot better than that and it sounds strange when I say that, but for the plot that was exactly the right thing to do. Cecelia Ahern does with her characters that, what the plot can´t achieve: she bounds the reader to the book. You read it all to the end only for them. Only to see why Fergus did what he did.



Fergus Boggs is a nice guy, likeable and his passion for marbles is wonderful. He shows you how he grew up, what his eldest brother Hamish meant for him and it is the way Hamish used the people around him – even his little brothers – that made Fergus the way he became. His relationship to his eldest brother goes like a red fiber through his life.

Okay there is his daughter too. She is a bit pale, keeps everything to herself, and ignores the fact, that her husband isn´t too happy about that. She takes care of her three sons, goes to work and lives a life that isn´t worth called one. But when she gets to learn that her father had a secret passion, she starts to live again. She steps out of her daily routine, starts to question things, and becomes a real pain in the ass for her mother. Sabrina´s change through the story is remarkable and nice to watch.



For some reasons I couldn´t really warm up with this novel. I read it all through the end, because I got it for free from the publisher in exchange for an honest review, so I read it. But I wouldn´t have bought it in the first place, because I don´t like the optic of the cover (the German edition is not really my thing) and the story itself didn´t seem to be very promising either. Now I have to say that only the characters made it worth reading, that they could made up for the shortfall of the plot. And only because of them, it gets 3 stars.

304 This book really took me by surprise. I was expecting a light romantic comedy type thing but this was a whole different beast. There's no romance here and no schmaltz (well, hardly any). This is a book about family, loss and memory and I really, really enjoyed it. It was engaging, fast-paced and genuinely moving in places. Cecelia Ahern just went up in this reader's estimations.

Buddy read with my darling wife... 304 4,3/5 stars

I have always been a HUGE fan of Cecelia Ahern, for her fairy-like and delicate style of writing. This book of her is no exception.

It was told in two perspectives, Sabrina and her father Fergus. The book tells about the story of a daughter who comes looking for marbles in order to piece together her father's memory, as he is really passionate and interested in marbles. And throughout the search, she unexpectedly finds out about things she has never known about her father, and she also manages to find her true self again.

This is the kind of story which needs to be spent much time on, as readers may experience deep emotions for the meaning of family, passion, friendship, and the importance of being oneself.

Another fascinating thing about this is that I get to understand so much more about the world of marbles: its process of making, the uniqueness in each design and how one can be deeply taken to it. If you are an art love, you may well be surprise with this new perspective of art. 304