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

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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. Whatever it may be, it changes his world considerably, being the reason why he is able to escape terrible misfortune on more than occasion and leading him to the greatest discovery of his life – that men, not women, are the spark that lights the fuse of his nascent sexuality.

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.’ Clegg said: "This is a rich, detailed and vibrant tale of a young man finding himself. It has everything you would want: wonderfully realised descriptions, unforgettable characters and a storyline that encompasses the essence of that human yearning for love and acceptance. And with a dash of magical realism, it is original, complex, funny and thoroughly immersive. I cannot wait for readers to fall in love with Zachary Cloudesley." 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. 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.The Second Sight of Zachary Cloudsley, a lushly involving, resonant historical mystery with modern relevance and sensibility, sings the joys of loving so completely, regardless of how threatening or challenging life may be, that every moment feels epic even in its mundanity, every connection vibrantly necessary and every threat to those bonds a time to see how far you will go to save and uphold them. 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. He 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.

A dashing, magical debut . . . intricately plotted, and peopled with intriguing characters' - Daily Mail Dystopian Fiction Books Everyone Should Read: Explore The Darker Side of Possible Worlds and Alternative Futures At that moment, we know something is unusual. Newborns aren’t known for fixing anything or anybody with a penetrating gaze. Abel is so overcome with grief, that it falls to Alice’s maid, Kate, to locate a wet nurse who has a tiny daughter of her own. Mrs Morley and Leonora become major characters and remain in Zachary’s life for many years.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. 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. 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. All manner of adventures ensue, including spying on the sultan, infiltrating the harem, and forming helpful alliances against terrifying opponents.

A beautifully crafted historical mystery of love and hope, and the adventure of finding your place in the world. When his father, Abel, has no choice but to travel to the enigma of a place far away, Constantinople, Zachary cannot help but worry and feel troubled for he can sense betrayal, anger, danger and fear that await his father, hidden amongst the city’s bazaars, palaces and mosques. Abel has no say and no choice, he must leave London and his beloved Zachary. Soon, much treasured and anticipated letters cease to arrive and whispers reach Zachary that his father has gone missing within the city. You can see where this is all leading. Belief in magic should sit uneasily with belief in science. Yet this was an era in which alchemy, the ancient ‘science’ of the pursuit of the philosopher’s stone and the elixir of life lingered on, and while the new science often disparaged the old, it could not quite throw off the traces of magical expectation that so often accompanies scientific breakthrough. Today we still await the ‘magic’ of nuclear fusion to give us limitless, safe and almost free energy, after all. And so the makers of automata found themselves urged to make ever more human androids, leading to Von Kempelen’s chess playing automaton, ‘The Turk,’ seemingly able to think through the complexities of a chess game and play the world’s grand masters. That this automaton turned out to be a fraud is perhaps less surprising than that for almost 80 years many of the world’s cleverest people believed in its remarkable abilities. Why did they do so? The answer, I think, is because they wanted to believe that an automaton was capable of rivalling, even exceeding human intelligence. His father will have to make a journey to Constantinople that he will never return from" which is not entirely true and doesn't happen until just over the halfway point in the book. "And, years later, only Zachary can find out what happened." but the readers find out well before Zachary does.

Bob Mortimer wins 2023 Bollinger Everyman Wodehouse Prize for Comic Fiction with The Satsuma Complex Editor Eloisa Clegg acquired UK and Commonwealth rights from David Headley at DHH. Publication is slated for summer 2022. Abel is away in the workshop much of the day, nd Frances begins to think it might not be so difficult to persuade him that it will be best for Zachary to come home with her to Tring. If needs be Mrs Morley and her noisy daughter with her spotty face and bilious inclination can come too.” (P. 49) 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 was drawn to The Second Sight of Zachary Cloudesley by the setting – 18th century Constantinople – but I wasn’t sure that it would really be my sort of book. From the blurb, I was expecting a strong magical realism element, something I don’t always get on with. However, I was pleased to find that this aspect of the novel was actually much more subtle than I’d expected. 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. 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. 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.