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

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Abel Cloudesley, knowing his son to be well-cared for takes on a dangerous job in Constantinople, which is going to change his life and that of his son.

The Second Sight of Zachary Cloudesley - Bookerworm Book Reviews The Second Sight of Zachary Cloudesley - Bookerworm Book Reviews

Then a near-fatal accident causes his father to doubt his parenting skills further and to flee to Constantinople and nver return. Can Zachary ever discover what happened to the only parent he has left?

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. This beautiful novel with a touch of magic, well-developed characters and set in the 18th century England and Constantinople was a real treat for me. Zachary, a motherless boy receives all love he can have from those who surround him and develops an amazing gift that is not always a blessing. Zachary is a gifted, brilliant little boy, the kind of child who will read anything he can find and probably remember most of it. The publicity for the story reveals that Zachary later loses the sight in one eye and develops a kind of clairvoyance, although he never seems quite certain what is true or not. A beautifully written fairy tale, I loved every wonderful word in this book and found myself in stunned silence throughout. The Second Sight of Zachary Cloudesley is one of those books that absorbs you to the point you feel like you personally know the characters. I have no doubt that this will be a hit.

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When Zachary’s father, Abel, is forced to travel to Constantinople, Zachary is troubled. He can sense the betrayal and danger his father will find amongst the city’s bazaars, palaces and mosques. But Abel has no choice. He must leave London and his beloved son. And soon, letters cease to arrive and whispers reach Zachary that his father has disappeared within the city’s walls. 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.In the beginning, I really liked this story and read the first half in a few days, but I felt it lost it's way about halfway through and it took me over a month to finish it off. 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.