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

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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. All manner of adventures ensue, including spying on the sultan, infiltrating the harem, and forming helpful alliances against terrifying opponents. She and Abel spend the next few days in an awkward dance, the one advancing a step and the other retreating. They are polite, without ever seeming to quite see one another as they did on that first day.

The mid-18th century was the zenith of Enlightenment thinking. Science was racing ahead in every direction, largely freed from the constraints placed upon it in previous centuries by the cold hand of church authority, political turmoil and widely held superstition. Discovery and innovation flourished in the fields of astronomy, anatomy, philosophy, botany, zoology, agriculture, commerce, navigation and literature. The pace of change must have seemed breathtakingly fast to those in the midst of it, though many were, of course, still eking out the barest of livings much as they had for generations - and in those lands newly colonised by European powers the brutality of slavery was often accompanied by grotesque genocidal acts on indigenous populations.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 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. . . “ Growing up amongst the cogs and springs of his father's workshop, Zachary is intensely curious, ferociously intelligent, unwittingly funny and always honest - perhaps too honest. But when a fateful accident leaves six-year-old Zachary nearly blinded, Abel is convinced that the safest place for his son is in the care of his eccentric Aunt Frances and her menagerie of weird and wonderful animals.

Longlisted for the Walter Scott Prize for Historical Fiction 2023 and the Goldsboro Books Glass Bell Award 2023.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. Since his accident, Zachary is plagued by visions that reveal the hearts and minds of those around him. A gift at times and a curse at others, it is nonetheless these visions that will help him complete a journey that he was always destined to make—to travel across Europe to Constantinople and find out what happened to his father all those years ago. 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.

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. 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. 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 think the characterisation was good as regards Zachary, Aunt Francis, Mrs Morley and Tom, but throughout it all, the idea of Zachary displaying powers of second sight seemed to be lost along the way. Yes, there were really good descriptions of Turkey, the landscape, political structures and warring factions along the way. However, underneath it all seemed to run a story of same sex love and commitment which, honestly, I wonder for its inclusion.Dystopian Fiction Books Everyone Should Read: Explore The Darker Side of Possible Worlds and Alternative Futures Since his accident, Zachary is plagued by visions that reveal the hearts and minds of those around him. A gift at times and a curse at others, it is nonetheless these visions that will help him complete a journey that he was always destined to make - to travel across Europe to Constantinople and find out what happened to his father all those years ago. Wild, bewitching and propulsive, Sean Lusk's drama of prophetic visions, exotic feats of engineering, transgressive desire and familial love is one of those novels that makes you rejoice that we are a storytelling species. The Second Sight of Zachary Cloudesley, peopled with vivid characters and sumptuously-imagined scenery is a triumph of the imagination, of language, and of generosity. * Liz Jensen * So when a precarious job in Constantinople is offered to him, Abel has no reason to say no. A job presented to him by a politician with dubious intentions, Abel leaves his son, his workshop and London behind. The decision will change the course of his life forever. It’s a rare book indeed that doesn’t transport you far away from the everyday, taking you on a richly imaginative journey, whether it’s into someone’s life, their innermost thoughts or to magical places that defy the intervention of the ordinary.