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The Coincidence Authority

J.W. Ironmonger,

John Ironmonger (Goodreads Author)

3.81 · Rating details · 729 ratings · 96 reviews

One seagull and four pieces of bread decide the course of one person's life. But is the rest just coincidence? THE COINCIDENCE AUTHORITY combines the ideas of David Mitchell or Hanif Kureishi with the warmth of David Nicholls or Marina Lewycka.

Thomas Post is an expert on coincidence. He's an authority. Every coincidence, he says, can be explained by the cold laws of chance ...more

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Paperback, 304 pages

Published October 9th 2014 by Phoenix

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Jan 22, 2017 Gabrielle rated it really liked it

Shelves: contemporary, read-in-2017, mystery, own-a-copy, reviewed

Sometimes, I need a feel-good book. The weather has been cold and crappy, and a belligerent, narcissistic tangerine just took the oath of office, so I figured I was due for a hopeful book, a big oatmeal cookie, a cup of tea and a hot water bottle.

John Ironmonger writes quirky, clever books. He is an unusual novelist but he knows human nature. "The Coincidence Authority" asks a simple question: is everything that happens to us a series of coincidences or is everything pre-determined by a mechanis Sometimes, I need a feel-good book. The weather has been cold and crappy, and a belligerent, narcissistic tangerine just took the oath of office, so I figured I was due for a hopeful book, a big oatmeal cookie, a cup of tea and a hot water bottle.

John Ironmonger writes quirky, clever books. He is an unusual novelist but he knows human nature. "The Coincidence Authority" asks a simple question: is everything that happens to us a series of coincidences or is everything pre-determined by a mechanism we can't understand?

Thomas is a scientist who has an unusual specialty: debunking so-called coincidences by demonstrating that statistics and the human brain's natural tendency to search for patterns in everything is what creates what we perceive as serendipity or destiny. Azalea is a woman who's entire life has been influences by a series of highly improbable events. She goes to Thomas to try and find an explanation behind the tragedies she has been plagued by her entire life.

The non-linear narrative structure can feel a little messy, but Ironmonger is very good at pacing: he keeps things interesting and suspenseful the whole way, even when you have no idea where he is going. He also throws quite a bit of theoretical science at his readers with "The Coincidence Authority"; I personally find it fascinating to read about the Billiard Ball theory, but I can see how it could get a bit grating for some people.

The love story is predictable, but not easy. I'm not sure how to explain that, but just like real budding relationships, there are issues, snags and conflicts between Thomas and Azalea. "They were, in a sense, two solitary people who had become used to their own company, relaxed in their own company, but who longed nonetheless for another heart to beat alongside their own." Introverts will go "aaaww!".

I have read all of Ironmonger's books (in the reverse order in which they were published, come to think of it) and I always finish them feeling a bittersweet fuzziness, because they are sweet but also deep and never go where I thought they would. This little book is about the age old debate of faith vs. science, the cosmic roll of the dice vs. things happening for a specific reason. And like that age old debate, it doesn't give you an answer, nor does it seek to make you believe in one possibility or another. I think Ironmonger simply wants to tell a story to remind people to not worry so much about that particular question and enjoy life a little.

Read it. Let your lip curl into a little smile. Feel a little bit better regardless of the surrealy fucked up place the world is now in. Take a break from the big questions for 300 pages. ...more

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Sep 28, 2013 Anne rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

JW Ironmonger was a new name to me. I like to think I keep aware of prize nominations – even if I then decide they’re not for me – but The Notable Brain of Maximilian Ponder went totally under my radar despite its Costa short-listing. I’m so pleased that the same didn’t happen with this one, because it really is a beautifully crafted little gem.

If I say this is an exceptionally clever book I don’t want that to put anyone off - the theories around coincidence that underpin it are absolutely fasci ...more

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Oct 01, 2017 Margaret McCulloch-Keeble rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

Shelves: 2017

What a lovely book. Profound and quietly thought provoking, with a tale that spans time and countries and civil wars. Original and poignant. I've had this on my wish list for ages. I'm pleased to have read it. ...more

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Oct 17, 2017 Jessica Hinton rated it liked it

3.5 stars...
I wanted to like this more than I actually did (does that make sense...?) All the elements for a fantastic tale were there - great characters and extraordinary circumstances. The central character has been dogged by 'coincidences' her entire life... or is some greater being trying to fuck with her? She takes her tale to Thomas, a mathematician who has devoted his life to disproving the idea that anything is fate, or happens by coincidence. Instead he's convinced that life is just tha ...more

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Nov 05, 2017 Jim Puskas rated it really liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: adventure, mystery, philosophy

Further thoughts, on just having re-read this: The book can be seen as many things -- a mystery, a romance, a philosophical argument, a commentary on the wreckage left behind after colonialism. It's all of that and more. And by the way, a darned good yarn. It features something that has always greatly appealed to me: a story where people's lives intersect at long intervals in unexpected ways, where seemingly unrelated events conspire to change the direction of the story, resolve unanswered quest ...more

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Oct 01, 2014 Tineke rated it really liked it

Shelves: read-in-2015

I loved all the stories within the greater story. But the big premise, is everything that happened in Azalea's life coincidence or is there something else at work, it's never really resolved and it let to an unexpected ending. Not the ending that you don't expect, but more the point at which the book ends. It was very suddenly, which felt not resolved at all. Something more should have happened. But all in all, interesting novel. ...more

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Nov 07, 2017 Oliver Clarke rated it really liked it · review of another edition

I wasn’t sure about this at first, it felt like it might end up being nauseatingly whimsical, but once I got into it I really enjoyed it. It’s a tightly written, nicely constructed puzzle of a book with some lovely prose, vibrant characters and a subtle charm. Interesting, fun and really readable.

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Sep 15, 2013 Nicola Pj rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

The best book I've read this year, I couldn't put it down! From the first chapter it had me hooked and I found the chapters set in Uganda particularly absorbing. Highly recommend! ...more

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Jun 27, 2015 Toyah rated it really liked it

It's actually called The Coincidence Authority...get it right Goodreads! ...more

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Oct 19, 2020 Kitty Kilian rated it liked it · review of another edition

Well written, but the plot seems a little contrived.

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Mar 25, 2021 Marc Sedgwick rated it really liked it · review of another edition

Destiny of free will? That's the fundamental question at the centre of this delightful and sometimes tragic story. Another great read from one of my favourite authors. ...more

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Apr 07, 2015 Anthony Dickinson rated it liked it

This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it, click here. The Coincidence Authority

Azalea Lewis is a woman who has been afflicted by the strangest and most tragic coincidences. These events have come to define her and direct her life to such an extent that she has concluded from the events of the past evidence of the future. In order to make sense of these coincidences she visits a doctor of applied philosophy, Thomas Post PhD, the coincidence authority. Dr Post, whom had met Azalea just a few days before she sought him out for his professional assista The Coincidence Authority

Azalea Lewis is a woman who has been afflicted by the strangest and most tragic coincidences. These events have come to define her and direct her life to such an extent that she has concluded from the events of the past evidence of the future. In order to make sense of these coincidences she visits a doctor of applied philosophy, Thomas Post PhD, the coincidence authority. Dr Post, whom had met Azalea just a few days before she sought him out for his professional assistance in yet another coincidence which Azalea takes in a stride (it is, after all, rather a minor one compared to the others in her life), initially takes a rational approach to the problem, calculating the probability of these things happening to Azalea. But Dr Post is attracted to Azelia, as she is to him, and eventually they form a relationship. The relationship then suffers disruption following a decision by Azalea, who decides that she must confront her past and in doing so face up to her future.

But to me this novel is not really about the plot; it is about coincidence. More specifically it is about the seductive power of coincidence. Coincidences are seductive. It seduces an individual to believe in the exceptionalism of their own lives. In this novel it is not only Azalea that has been seduced. So too has Thomas, the so-called coincidence man. But what about the reader?

This is perhaps the weakest point of the novel. I never found myself convinced about the exceptionalism of Azalea’s life, perhaps because of the fact that this is a novel. Plutarch noted that it ‘is no great wonder if in the long process of time, while fortune takes her course hither and thither, numerous coincidences should occur.’ And this, of course, is true. There is nothing exceptional about Azalea at least in the context of a novel. We are visiting Azalea because of the strangeness of her life. It is therefore relatively easy to accept that these things are happening to her, unlike Jane Eyre’s meeting with St John Rivers, for example. We can accept it because of brute force number crunching: there are over 60 million people in the UK, over 500 million in Europe, over 6 billion people in the entire world. The author has been attracted to Azalea because of what oddity of what has happened to her. But if she is one person in 6 billion, is it that odd at all? If I toss a coin 6 billion times, the odds of me tossing 50 heads in a row during that whole sequence are not astronomical at all.

I think that the main problem I had with this novel was that it told me the facts, rather than showed them to me in the plot. The coincidences may have seduced Azalea and Thomas, but they were never given the opportunity to seduce me. Yet it could have easily done so if other areas of the story were given more time, or told in a different way. The novel does not simply tell the love story of Azalea and Thomas. We also visit Uganda, where we encounter the terrifying Joseph Kony in some of the strongest writing in the novel and of which I wished there was more; we visit the Isle of Man, where we encounter Azalea’s mother, a woman who possibly deserves more air time that this novel gives her and whose tragic fate is told to us in such a matter of fact way that it seems to have been stripped of all its emotional impact. We don’t learn much about Dr Post’s past, except for a tantalising brief mention of his mother and father and his place in the troubles in Northern Ireland which again perhaps could have been expanded to give us more understanding of what makes Dr Post tick. I can’t help but think that the novel would have been more successful if we had learned of this events as they unfolded, unaware of the fate of the characters. Perhaps if they were narrated in the first person, which I understand was the author’s original intention. Unfortunately we are told of these events in flashback, by an all-seeing narrator. In one instance, for example, we learn the fate of one of Azalea’s loved ones pages before she does when I think that the punch that this turn of events would have given the reader would have been much more effective if we had learned at the same time. In this case we know before Dr Post who then finds out before Azalea, who then finds out ‘off-screen’ so that we don’t know the affect it had on her.

The Coincidence Authority is not a bad novel. It is in fact a good novel and one that I would not hesitate to recommend to people. The parts set in Uganda are brilliant; there were ocassions when I could feel the fear of the protagonists. But this served to underline what I felt was missing from the rest of the novel; an emotional journey, the empathy with the characters that is conjured up from sharing in their ignorance of the future. Don’t get me wrong, The Coincidence Authority is an enjoyable, fascinating and thought provoking read. It was just that at the end of the novel I never felt amazed by what had befallen Azalea or seduced by the power of coincidence in the same way that she or Thomas Post were.
...more

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Nov 05, 2015 Natalie Sorrell rated it liked it · review of another edition

After reading and thoroughly enjoying Ironmonger’s latest novel Not Forgetting The Whale – the review of which you can find here – I snatched up his previous two books (The Coincidence Authority and The Notable Brain of Maximillian Ponder) from the library.

I was surprised by how much I enjoyed Not Forgetting The Whale as I’d never heard of Ironmonger before, but I was entranced by his writing style and his subject matter. He somehow manages to combine really important issues of why we’re here a After reading and thoroughly enjoying Ironmonger’s latest novel Not Forgetting The Whale – the review of which you can find here – I snatched up his previous two books (The Coincidence Authority and The Notable Brain of Maximillian Ponder) from the library.

I was surprised by how much I enjoyed Not Forgetting The Whale as I’d never heard of Ironmonger before, but I was entranced by his writing style and his subject matter. He somehow manages to combine really important issues of why we’re here and what we can contribute to the world, with moments of fable-esque whimsy and humour.

The Coincidence Authority follows along these lines, darting back and forth in time and in and out of people’s heads. There’s still an almost choral quality to it, with the same story being viewed through the eyes of various different characters but it’s much more wide-ranging than the isolated fishing community at the centre of Whale.

As the story progresses, Thomas and Azalea try to unravel the mysteries of her life, taking them all over the UK and eventually into Africa. Ironmonger deftly shifts the story from Thomas Post’s office at the university, back in time to a an elevator pile up on the London tube, a carnival in Cornwall, further back to a christening mishap. He easily jumps across counties and continents, day and decades without ever losing the thread. In some aspects his writing reminds me of Salman Rushdie, as I’ve previously said in this Top Ten Tuesday post.

Weaved through the mystery of Azalea’s past is an in-depth investigation of fate and coincidence. Somehow Thomas’ lectures never get boring and, although the mathematics of it all was a little mind-bending at times, I thoroughly enjoyed learning about it.

Once we finally get to Africa in the present (we also explore it in the past timelines) things really feel like they’re building up to an important event. But here in lies my greatest disappointment – the ending. I’m not going to say what happens but it just didn’t fit for me. I suppose I was expecting something like the end of Whale, which is open and closed all at once. Those dreaded expectations again.

I enjoyed the book, especially the narratives jumping back and forth but the ending let me down.
...more

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Aug 29, 2014 Sam rated it really liked it

Shelves: psychology, crime, mystery, proper-books, first-reads, philosophy

Won this on a Goodreads giveaway.

I don't really know what to make of this book, it is a cunning mix of comparisons and contrasts with all aspects of the human condition coming together in the two main characters, the rational and scientific Thomas Post and the irrational and fantastical Azalea Lewis. In Post we have a staid and contented scientist who lives his life rationally and logically, giving little credence to the alternative options and realities of those who believe in something or some Won this on a Goodreads giveaway.

I don't really know what to make of this book, it is a cunning mix of comparisons and contrasts with all aspects of the human condition coming together in the two main characters, the rational and scientific Thomas Post and the irrational and fantastical Azalea Lewis. In Post we have a staid and contented scientist who lives his life rationally and logically, giving little credence to the alternative options and realities of those who believe in something or someone more. Then there is Azalea who lives her life by the coincidences that seem to run it, from the deaths of those closest to her to the path down which this leads. The story is told primarily by Post to a friend and confident of his but it tells of Azalea's life and of the lives of those closest to her and of how they met and where their paths led them. Each chapter deals with a different period of time, jumping between events and between the past and present, but this does not confuse the story. In fact it adds to the sense that it is being told by a friend to a friend and in doing so it hints at something more, gradually pulling the different threads together.

Ironmonger is vivid in his descriptions both in events and in people without bombarding the reader with too many details thus allowing the reader's imaginations to add the final touches. There were a few sections that did seem a little too detailed, in particular when the origins and settings of the mission are described and the autrocities carried out by Joseph Kony and the LRA. I do see why this was done but it did come across a little much, and a touch teacher-ish, but this can be forgiven given the standard of the rest of the story. The same can probably be said for some of the explanations provided by Post around the science of coincidence although this is quite intergral to the story so there was no real avoiding it. On the whole this is a really good read, one that will have you noticing those little coincidents and make you wonder just that little bit more (if you don't do so already, of course). ...more

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Sep 06, 2014 Sam rated it liked it

The Coincidence Authority tries quite hard, and does quite well, but could do better.
The two protagonists, Thomas Post and Azalea Lewis, have their lives intertwined with one another. Post studies coincidences, and for all intents and purposes begins analysing Azalea's life for the coincidences that pop up on a semi-regular basis. Azalea's life is interesting, I'll give it that much.
The dynamics of the various character pairings (including Azalea and Thomas, but also Azalea's mother, the medical ...more

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Sep 13, 2014 Lucy Perry Griffiths rated it really liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: couldn-t-put-down, contemporary, review-copy-arc-netgalley, read-in-2014

Before I even begin I’d like to say this has to be up there with my books of the year. Informative, touching and extremely memorable, it got my mind moving more than most books manage to.

The book starts the discovery of a little girl, abandoned at a fair ground and goes on to follow her life through adoption, growing up on a Mission in Uganda and adulthood as a lecturer. But the most interesting thing about this character is that her life is blighted with coincidences. Coincidences so strong tha ...more

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Sep 12, 2013 Katy Noyes rated it really liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: newbooks-reviewcopy

Review of a Newbooks advance copy.

At times I thought this was heading for 5-star territory. It's very good. Some of the writing is excellent. The idea is great, unusual and attention-grabbing. Azalea didn't really hold her own for me though, not strong enough.

It's hard to explain the plot. Centring on a woman, Azalea, who at 3 is found abandoned at a Cornish fair, is adopted and ends up in Africa, is involved with civil wars and finally ends up in England speaking to a university lecturer who s ...more

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Oct 26, 2014 Saffron rated it it was amazing

Recommended to Saffron by: 9dc18c97@opayq.com

Shelves: favorites

I find myself wondering how this has not been nominated for book prizes.

This is an original story that moves from the quiet shores of the Isle of Man, through Cornwall, London and Uganda. The locations are narrated well, all have their own feeling, you are walking the paths with the characters, the descriptive writing is sublime.

It has been a while since I have felt my heart racing whilst reading but the scenes set in Africa did this on a number of occasions. I have to admit had I known that th ...more

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May 04, 2014 Valerie Pate rated it really liked it · review of another edition

Someone had said that this book was a bit like “The Rosie Project”, and so, being a huge fan of that novel I rushed to the library and reserved myself a copy right away. The bad news is, it is nothing like “The Rosie Project”, but on the flipside, I am still glad I read it.

With a name like Ironmonger (a real or assumed identity, I am not sure which), you’re probably used to standing out from the crowd. This quirky, tale, about a philosopher who prides himself on being a great authority on the su ...more

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Apr 04, 2018 Michael Rumney rated it really liked it

Shelves: war, friendship, mystery

Looking at the cover at first this was a love story, it is in part but it's more about coincidence and asks the question is everything in the universe pre-determined or is there free will.
The coincidences revolve around Azlea, who is a foundling discovered as a 3 or 4 year-old at a Devon fairground, at this point the book feels quite quirky but there is a change of tone when the novel is set in war torn Uganda.
There is a lot of tension at this point especially when the African I R A turn up and ...more

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Dec 11, 2013 Mark rated it liked it · review of another edition

"Reasonable read, good to have maths mixed into the novel with contemporary civil war characters." A review from 2013, from me!

Not only do I not remember reading the book there are no "contemporary civil war characters." so I must have read a different book! Just listened to this and enjoyed the maths and logic conversations which definitely are included. Necessary for the plot and educational for helping the reader better understand and come to their own conclusion of where on a spectrum their ...more

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Nov 09, 2014 Joy Finlayson rated it really liked it · review of another edition

I'll admit that I picked up this book based on its cover. Bright and with an intriguing title, I didn't even read the synopsis to know what it was about. Thankfully, this risk paid off!

Moving between mainland England, the Isle of Man and Uganda, The Coincidence Authority is a mixture of romance, philosophy, psychology, whilst being factual in places too. I knew of the name Joseph Kony, but nothing of the horror he has brought to Uganda and so reading this aspect of the novel was both insightful ...more

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Sep 24, 2014 Alison rated it really liked it · review of another edition

This is a really interesting book that is quirky without being trite. The story focuses on Azalea, a girl whose life is plagued by coincidences. There are several threads that are intertwined - there are fictional and factual threads that cover philosophy, (fate and determinism in particular), Ugandan politics and mathematical probability.

It's a four-star read for me because the Ugandan politics sometimes sits too apart from the character story, there is one chapter where it reads quite densely ...more

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Aug 28, 2014 Rebecca Altmann rated it really liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: family-drama, suspense

I enjoyed this book.
It was on the row-end display shelf at the library, just as you walk in the door, and my local librarians do a good job of picking out some interesting books for that shelf. Often I don't look any further.
I really had no idea what to expect as I started reading and had no idea how the story could move from a lost-child investigation through to a setting in Africa (based on the blurb on the back) but it did, and it hooked me while doing it.
It is a quite different type of story ...more

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Jan 07, 2015 Nicky Foster rated it really liked it · review of another edition

I really enjoyed The Notable Brain of Maximilion Ponder and couldn't wait to read The Coincidence Authority. Glad to say that it was just as good. I like the author's writing style - slightly surreal but completely believable and the characters have their peculiarities which just seem to make them more endearing. The story follows Azalea through her difficulties and the coincidences in her life. The part of the story involving the relationship between Azalea and Thomas didn't come across as part ...more

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Apr 12, 2015 Brian Boyle rated it really liked it · review of another edition

Highly readable and (yes) enjoyable novel of love, statistics, existence of free will and terrible crimes. The "Englishman/woman abroad" style reminded me a little of cross between Evelyn Waugh, William Boyd and Paul Torbay. With much less cynicism, however. J.W.Ironmonger bring a lightness of touch and subtle humour to what is essentially a tragic story. Rather than diminishing or trivialising, it served to increase the poignancy of the tale. Many of the themes could easily have been explored m ...more

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Nov 30, 2015 Jayne Charles rated it really liked it · review of another edition

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 - ...more

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Sep 23, 2016 David Baker rated it liked it · review of another edition

I wanted to like this book, and in some ways I did. But there were two disappointments for me: firstly, the story itself is, well, to be honest, in the end a tad disappointing. I came to the end and thought, "Oh, is that it? Ok." I had feared a rather more climactic ending and think in fact I would have preferred that. Secondly, I felt the book was a tad polemical. Clearly John Ironmonger is not a fan of God, providence etc, and everyone has their views as they are entitled to, but I felt (a) th ...more

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Oct 13, 2014 Elvin rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

This was probably one of the best fiction books I've ever read. So relevant to life, and makes you think of how lives so away from a continent away in Africa are affected by things we don't seem to know much about. It also makes you think about what you think of fate, and helps you put things into context. I've never met anyone like Thomas in my life who can rationally explain coincidences with numbers and statistics, and I've been brought up in a country where 'kismet' is how your life is defin ...more

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Sep 07, 2014 Blue Mountains Library rated it really liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: what-library-staff-have-read

I loved this quirky book and had a good binge read. The delightful book discusses some philosophical concepts (chance and random theory as well as probability) in a really accessible way through some delightful characters. Worth the read.

ANON

Thomas Post, a lecturer in applied philosophy at the University of London, is an authority on coincidence. When he meets Azalea Lewis (coincidentally) he is drawn into the web of coincidences of which her world seems composed, and which then challenge him ...more

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