The Second Sight of Zachary Cloudesley: The spellbinding BBC Between the Covers book club pick

Product Information

When a life-changing accident happens to Zachary, Abel blames himself but, it leaves Zachary with yet another gift, one where he can see the future. To protect his son Abel makes a bad choice that is jumped upon by someone in high government and puts Abel in a terrible position. I liked how when a new character appeared, so did a description of them. It cemented each one in my mind straight away. The story isn’t just set in England, it travels much further through a perilous Europe. The weeks and months that it took kept me rooted in the 1700s. These days we forget just how big the world is. The prose is very well written, and it is genuinely funny, but the plot wasn't strong enough to hold attention. The father-son relationship is one of the book's strongest features, and I very much felt for Abel's plight.

I enjoyed Abel's portion of the book, and wished we stayed with him more, but found, despite being the titular character, I didn't much like Zachary, and, as other reviewers have mentioned, his "second sight" wasn't capitalised. The other characters were not entirely likeable either, and at 76%, I am still left unsure about Mrs Morely and Lady Peake-Barnes. The year is 1754. He has had an interesting life already, having spent time in Constantinople, and as the story progresses, he ends up there again. But first, the baby. Zachary. His mother, Alice, dies as she delivers him. Abel doesn’t know what to do.I was mesmerised by this whole story, Zachary and his second sight and the inventions that were part of his life. There are so many personal stories going on in the book. Yet because each of these characters is so unique, it never became overpowering or confused. Abel is devoted to Zachary but doesn’t understand him at all. His unusual young apprentice, Tom, tries to explain the boy in a language Abel will understand. His gradual realisation that he is not only gifted with the abilities beyond those of normal people – not only can he sense inner thoughts and future events but he’s prodigiously intelligent – but that he is different too in those to whom he is sexually attracted to is handled as poetically and intimately as everything else in The Second Sight of Zachary Cloudsley which even in its darkest moments sings with prose full to bursting with a love of words and the mellifluous sound they make as much as the beautifully enrapturing stories they set in train.

I really enjoyed this one, perfect for fans of eccentrically flavoured historical fiction with a just a touch of magic. This is a beautifully written story about a boy born with the ability to see into the minds of the people he meets and that spans 18th-century Europe, from London to Constantinople. I cannot believe I am telling you of it now, but to convince you that Zachary is remarkable, gifted in ways even the child himself cannot perceive.’ Zachary begins to experience visions, a sense of what the future holds, and the uneasy and troubling gift of knowing the darkness residing within others, their regrets, hopes and their machinations. Abel finds himself with little choice but to travel to Constantinople but Zachary can feel the betrayal, fear and danger that awaits his father. As communications from father to son begin to cease and years pass, Zachary sets off to follow his father's journey to Constaninople, determined to find him despite the rumours of his death, as he strives to make sense of his visions. Will he succeed in finding his father? Lusk's world building is terrific, there is a wide and disparate stellar cast of distinct characters that include the eccentric Aunt Frances with her menagerie, and the courageous apprentice Tom with his own secrets.It is unusual yet totally captivating with an interesting plot and good pacing. All the characters were intriguing and although the main focus is on Zachary Cloudesley and his father Abel the side characters also had such intetesting and different tales to tell and yet their lives were inextricably linked. It’s not a bad description. Alice’s Aunt Frances adored her niece and she lavishes the same attention on Zachary, wanting to whisk him away from his father. She is a colourful character with another storyline about her independence. She conspires to encourage Abel to return to Constantinople, leaving Zachary with her. But then a near-fatal accident will take Zachary away from the workshop and his family. His father will have to make a journey that he will never return from. And, years later, only Zachary can find out what happened.

A beautifully crafted historical mystery of love and hope, and the adventure of finding your place in the world. This gathering together of disparate souls, which also includes Abel’s aunt-in-law, Frances, who’s a rich, feisty independently minded woman who delights in challenging convention, is what gives The Second Sight of Zachary Cloudsley its sizably moving beating heart. Editor Eloisa Clegg acquired UK and Commonwealth rights from David Headley at DHH. Publication is slated for summer 2022. But then a near-fatal accident will take Zachary away from the workshop and his family. His father will have to make a journey to Constantinople that he will never return from. And, years later, only Zachary can find out what happened. Abel takes him and holds him, looking into his fierce dark blue eyes, their gaze fixed and penetrating, as unnerving as some creature wrenched from another universe entire. . . “Zachary] is also the bearer of an extraordinary gift; at the touch of a hand, Zachary can see into the hearts and minds of the people he meets." This plays actually less of a role than you'd think given it is mentioned in the short description. The actual time in the book this would have been useful to him its not working and that's sort of briefly hummed over and then not again. At its considerable heart, The Second Sight of Zachary Cloudsley is a novel that examines, with great empathy and understanding what it means to be connected, not in a charming send a Christmas card once a year kind of way, but in an everything on the line fashion. Not every novel gets this right – some read so gorgeously that the story and any emotional impact is lost in it, while others prioritise storytelling with a utilitarian ferocity – but The Second Sight of Zachary Cloudsley is flawless in telling a beguilingly unusual but intrinsically human story that reads like a siren song of lusciously poetic construction.