Love, for my mother, was not distinct from action. ‘This was the closest that I ever felt to her, I think but I felt too as though in the winning of proximity something had been dismantled which had kept me sheltered. Its layers run deep, seeing how people come to terms with caring for their parent, who at once were their caregivers plus throw a bit of scientific bafflement (which I found rather interesting how this gave structure to ‘ Sight’ and details therein) tales of how X-Rays came about, the origins of modern surgery and psychoanalysis – now you’ve got yourself a book! It’s about being a parent, being a child and seeing your parents for all their flaws, it’s about growing up and trying to come to terms with existing in a world where your parents, your only constant in that world, are no longer there. ‘ Sight’ is an interesting beast of a book, it’s layered, as Shrek would say, like an onion. So what could Greengrass produce for us in the novel format, and would it be able to live up to her beautiful collection of short stories?

Let’s just say I was a huge fan of this collection which went on to win the Edge Hill Short Story Prize, Somerset Maugham Award and shortlisted in the Sunday Times Young Writer of the Year Award. Greengrass had given life to a wonderful collection of short stories ‘ An Account of the Decline of the Great Auk, According to One Who Saw It’ which I had the joy and privileged of reading and reviewing for STORGY you can read my review here.

When I heard that Jessie Greengrass had been given the licence to write a novel, I was for want of a better word ecstatic.

Sight by jessie greengrass