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"Everything in the room was joined by one line; the frame to the curtain, the coil to the crack, the belt to the shoe."

A pool and the Coral Sea. Newell Beach, Far North Queensland. April 2021.

The Eye of the Sheep by Sofie Laguna

A good read told from the perspective of a character with a limited understanding of the complex world around him. Jimmy Flick is a kid with boundless energy and (quite likely) autism. Credit must go to Sofie Laguna for inhabiting the world through Jimmy's eyes and staying the course.

Nevertheless, I did find that Jimmy's lack of self-control - so exacerbating to his father and brother in the book - made the novel quite hard going through the first third. Indeed, the boy is so frustrating and irritating that I could barely tolerate it. This is a challenge when we are stuck with this sole narrator.

Yet there is deep compassion here and while the narrative arc is equal parts well-worn and improbable (the breadth of his capacity and vocabulary seems decidedly uneven), I was content to stick with it and see how things ended up for Jimmy.

⭐ ⭐ ⭐

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MurciaDailyPhoto said…
Nice story and beautiful views.
27 April 2021 at 04:36
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