Nova sees for the first time, Kate sees life in a new way. A thought provoking book that will have you looking at the world in a whole new way.
I found this a fascinating and thought-provoking story. Kate is a successful architect, she enjoys her work and thinks she has the perfect marriage to Tony until she discovers she doesn’t really know him at all. She ends up in hospital following a fall, or was she pushed, and has suffers a brain injury.
Then there is Nova, a police interpreter blind since birth but following an operation she can see for the first time in 31 years. However, she struggles to come to terms with seeing, it is more confusing than being blind so she makes up rules to try to understand the shapes, objects and colours around her. She is unable to cope and begins to look for a way back to being blind again.
At this point I was wondering how two, apparently different lives, were going to find common ground and come together. Joe Heap managed this in a clever but what, I later realised, was an obvious way bearing in mind the problems the two girls were having.
The relationship between the two women builds then subsides and rebuilds as they find what they need in each other. The story changes from a pleasant read about two interesting and hilarious women to a psychological thriller as they face impending danger together.
I did find Nova’s rules made me think about how we interpret what we see, you might find yourself looking at the world in a whole new but enjoyable way.
A gripping novel with an original theme and complex relationships leading to an unlooked-for climax
A gripping novel with an original theme and complex relationships leading to an unlooked for climax.
The Rules of Seeing follows Nova on her journey from a lifetime of blindness into the visual world after a scary operation. Joe Heap develops the theme as though Nova was a new-born baby exploring and experience a brand-new world where everything needs to be tested and comprehended. Whilst working on the “rules” in order to reconcile this sighted world with her new sense, Nova meets Kate (and then Kate’s policeman husband Tony). A secondary theme, leading to the cliffhanger climax, explores the complex relationships that develop within the trio.
Joe Heap’s debut novel is an extraordinary exploration of how the sighted world works coupled to an intense psychological element which left me hooked all the way through. This page-turner of a novel will appeal to many readers and will change their understanding of blindness and sightedness forever.
Thanks to LoveReading and the publisher for giving me an opportunity to read an advance copy of one of the outstanding novels of 2018.
Well written and excellent characterisation. To state an old cliche - will make u see the world in a different way ...... !!
Nova has been blind from birth. Now 32, she is offered the chance of experimental surgery that my or may not restore her sight. Part of her screams yes but the pother half screams no - she is happy as she is in her dark box.
She meets Kate who is married to an abusive policeman. This is through the hospital after the former experienced a fall and head injury when backing away from her husband. So unravels a complex relationship between the three main characters and always on the periphery is the matter of sight - both for those who are blind and those who can see. The edges can always appear fuzzy. Kate goes through periods of not venturing outside. This is fear caused by what her husband might do, or indeed others, but in reality this is another type of blindness - to cocoon herself in a black space.
Neither of the women seem certain as to what they truly want but as events unfold it becomes apparent to them, even if the other is not in accord. Well written and excellent characterisation. To state an old cliche - will make u see the world in a different way ...... !!
I read it in one sitting. An intriguing story which you have to keep reading to find out the ending!
You don't come across books like this every day! "The Rules of Seeing" contains exactly what it promises - an manual on how to see for the first time. I read it in one sitting - not that I'd describe it as a page-turner, but an intriguing story which you have to keep reading to find out the ending. I'm not usually fond of a man writing as a female character, but it is a convincing and confident first novel. I'm guessing that Joe Heap did a lot of research and that re-gaining ones sight is different for everyone. I was looking forward to reading this book, as I had an operation to re-gain my own sight. There are some things here that I recognise, including the feeling of being bombarded with 'too much information'.......I enjoyed this book. I look forward to a second novel.
A captivating tale of complicated love and overcoming personal challenges, whether that be physical or mental. Can love hold us together no matter what life throws at us?
This book is captivating from the start and immediately draws you in. Nova has been blind since birth and only been able to see a haze. She is from a happy family and is happy with herself.
Kate is in a marriage that is quickly turning sour and an incident leaves her to question her life.
Without giving away major spoilers, these two women befriend each other and ultimately help each confront their own personal challenges. This book addresses so many things but the line running throughout and connecting it all is that of love.
A really interesting read that quickly changed shape from what I thought the book would be about to something very different.
Would highly recommend this book. It is written really well and you can connect with each character.
A tale of learning to love, forgiving and escape from abusive relationships. They show that nothing is as simple as it seems and we all have to work at the rules.
This was a multifaceted read.
Nova a 32 year old female has been blind since birth. She is given the opportunity to have an operation which will let her see for the first time in her life.
Simple eh? Have the operation and all will be well. Nothing is as simple as it seems. There are rules attached to seeing. Nova must learn these and also to read body language and the nuances of relationships.
She comes in contact with Kate, who after suffering a head injury has problems and learning of her own.
A tale of learning to love, forgiving and escaping from abusive relationships.
The two female characters are well drawn and essential to the story. They show that nothing is as simple as it seems and we all have to work at the rules.
This a well written tale, the writing is topnotch and it is hard to realise that is a debut novel.
This will grab you by the throat, have you investing in the characters. Turning the pages furiously and racing to a satisfying conclusion.
This book is a truly original love story with a subtle psychological element to it too, which creeps alongside the main story. Primarily though it’s about learning to see the World in whole new way and being happy in that World.
There are so many great elements to this book it’s hard to know where to start! Firstly, it’s a really original love story but secondly there is a subtle psychological element to it too, which creeps alongside the main story. Primarily though it’s about learning to see the World in whole new way and being happy in that World. It a great debut and really worth a read.
An epic tale of change, independence, loss, learning and love
Jillian Safinova (Nova) has been blind from birth. She is confident in her own skin and in her own world. When her brother Alex, a doctor, tells her about a pioneering new surgery that could repair her sight, she is naturally reticent. Nova eventually agrees to the surgery and while recovering in hospital she meets Kate. Kate is recovering from a head injury sustained after an argument with her husband, a bullying, controlling policeman. Kate and Nova strike up an unlikely friendship. What unfolds is an unlikely love story as Kate and Nova learn to deal with the changes in their situations and discover how much they mean to each other.
This is a really cleverly constructed novel. Both women are learning to overcome a crisis of confidence; Kate to stand on her own two feet as an independent woman, and Nova learning what it means to see at the expense of her other senses. There is some mirroring in their stories and some stark differences in how they behave and react. It is so very beautifully written and the prose hooks you in from page 1. The novel is punctuated by Nova’s Rules for Seeing, which are really little life lessons and can apply to anyone in any situation.
I absolutely loved this book. It’s a great epic tale with some interesting twists that make it a delight to read.
The Rules of Seeing will make you look at your world anew - both the things you can see and the things you can't.
The central narrative, of Nova, blind since birth but learning to see following surgery is the initial hook into this book but the sub-plot, of Kate's abusive relationship at the hands of her husband Tony is what really drew me in. Nova herself has many "rules of seeing" written directly into the book and many, such as those concerning transparency or opaqueness of objects made me look at the world around me anew. However we learned through Kate's story that sighted people can be blind to what is in right in front of them - as Kate was blind to Tony's behaviour. I found the book immensley enjoyable although was irritated by the lack of science behind Nova's surgery. The operation is central to the plot yet it is skirted over leaving me to suspect that it was not at all plausible - no matter - sometimes we have to suspend belief for a good story.