Sight
- Author Jessie Greengrass
- Narrator Lucy Paterson
- Publisher John Murray Press
- Publish Date 26 April 2018
- Run Time 5 hours and 59 minutes
- Format Audio
- Genre Modern and contemporary fiction.
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What to expect
'A stunning debut' Guardian
LONGLISTED FOR THE WOMEN'S PRIZE FOR FICTION 2018
The extraordinary first novel from the author of the prize-winning An Account of the Decline of the Great Auk, According to One Who Saw It.
It seemed, at times, an act of profound selfishness, to have a child so that I might become a parent; but selfish, too, to have a child and stay the same, or not to have one - unless the only honest choice would have been to try to become this kinder version of myself without the need to bring another into it . . .
In Sight a woman recounts her progress to motherhood, while remembering the death of her own mother, and the childhood summers she spent with her psychoanalyst grandmother. Woven among these personal recollections are significant events in medical history: Wilhelm Rontgen's discovery of the X-ray and his production of an image of his wife's hand; Sigmund Freud's development of psychoanalysis and the work that he did with his daughter, Anna; John Hunter's attempts to set surgery on a scientific footing and his work, as a collaborator with his brother William and the artist Jan van Rymsdyk, on the anatomy of pregnant bodies. What emerges is the realisation that while the search for understanding might not lead us to an absolute truth, it is an end in itself.
Wonderfully intelligent, brilliantly written and deeply moving, Sight is a novel about how we see others, and how we might know ourselves.
(P)2018 Hodder & Stoughton Limited
LONGLISTED FOR THE WOMEN'S PRIZE FOR FICTION 2018
The extraordinary first novel from the author of the prize-winning An Account of the Decline of the Great Auk, According to One Who Saw It.
It seemed, at times, an act of profound selfishness, to have a child so that I might become a parent; but selfish, too, to have a child and stay the same, or not to have one - unless the only honest choice would have been to try to become this kinder version of myself without the need to bring another into it . . .
In Sight a woman recounts her progress to motherhood, while remembering the death of her own mother, and the childhood summers she spent with her psychoanalyst grandmother. Woven among these personal recollections are significant events in medical history: Wilhelm Rontgen's discovery of the X-ray and his production of an image of his wife's hand; Sigmund Freud's development of psychoanalysis and the work that he did with his daughter, Anna; John Hunter's attempts to set surgery on a scientific footing and his work, as a collaborator with his brother William and the artist Jan van Rymsdyk, on the anatomy of pregnant bodies. What emerges is the realisation that while the search for understanding might not lead us to an absolute truth, it is an end in itself.
Wonderfully intelligent, brilliantly written and deeply moving, Sight is a novel about how we see others, and how we might know ourselves.
(P)2018 Hodder & Stoughton Limited
Critics Review
A stunning debut
Precise and moving . . . The pages on the mother's decline are a masterclass in wrenching, pitiless truth . . . the potted stories of Röntgen, Freud and Hunter form a fluid, richly associative historic narrative of investigation into the body and the mind, about seeking constantly to expand the borders of what we can see
An exceptionally accomplished debut
The poise, intelligence and serious intent of Sight will be lauded, and rightly so. I would not be surprised to see it on heavyweight prize lists
Exceptional . . . The prose is unsentimental, measured, breathtaking in its elegance . . . remarkably moving
This is a first novel - an original one by a writer who clearly has considerable gifts and a serious, nuanced approach to individual psychology and intellectual history
Greengrass's fiercely cerebral despatch from one of life's most extraordinary rites of passage impresses linguistically, intellectually and emotionally
A slight and wondrous tale
A slow burning, beautifully written debut . . . accomplished and melancholic
Remarkable and affecting
A masterly tale . . . [an] outstanding first novel
A self-consciously good writer
Jessie Greengrass's first book . . . won plaudits for its incisive, compelling prose. Greengrass brings the same power to her debut novel, Sight
Stands out for its seriousness, and its willingness to explore universal subjects
Cerebral and tender, Greengrass' voice is smart and original
This singularly introspective book is a stimulating read . . . a spectacularly written novel
An insightful novel that explores relatable issues and fascinating themes, but also stands out as a work of art
A terrific writer . . . it's hard not to be blown away by the sheer brilliance of the work and her ability as a wordsmith
Fascinating . . . Greengrass is a master of subtlety . . . [it is] wonderful in terms of its execution, a very self-contained and meticulously planned tale that is very effective and moving
Beautiful to read . . . wise and insightful . . . completely compelling
Written in gorgeous, crystalline prose, Sight is a moving exploration of perception and wonder
A philosophical quest investigating what lies beneath our skins, exploring the transformative impact, physically and intellectually, of pregnancy
One of the finest English novels I've read... It is exquisitely well-assembled and every page has a line of pure underline-for-later brilliance
This book blew me away. It is beautiful and devastating and perfectly formed
Greengrass reminds me of Virginia Woolf - in her intelligence and scope of interest, and in her evocative ability to capture a single consciousness, all while seemingly re-inventing the novel form. Sight is a beautiful debut, and Greengrass is an important new voice in fiction
A very intriguing, challenging novel . . . very moving
I honestly can't remember the last time I read a novel so near to perfection, so full of grace. With every page I was in awe of the author's sense of pace, her attention to nuance, the acuity of feeling and clarity of reflection
The author of an award-winning short story collection, An Account of the Decline of the Great Auk, According to One Who Saw It, Greengrass adapts to the novel format with enviable flexibility . . . Greengrass writes stunningly about the experience of pregnancy and motherhood
As a meditation on parenthood, grief and the awareness that knowledge can be both wondrous and terrifying, Sight is an exceptionally accomplished debut
An exceptional debut novel . . . The prose is unsentimental, measured, breathtaking in its elegance, but never precious or mannered. Paragraphs over several pages, page-long sentences, move with extraordinary cadence towards devastatingly bathetic or utterly heartbreaking conclusions . . . And the book is also about, in part, the necessity of that separation; the ongoing and ever-unfinished coming into being of a person. It brings all these things together, loosely and delicately, in a way that is unexpectedly and remarkably moving
There are echoes of WG Sebald and Rachel Cusk in this thoughtful, digressive style that swirls together the historical and the personal, but Greengrass's questing intellect and elegant prose are all her own
Greengrass is a perceptive and deep observer of human nature, one who finds incredibly beautiful and realistic ways to express the everyday life in words. The novel is a goldmine of quote-worthy passages, the sort of deep pondering you find as asides in George Eliot
A moving and contemplative account of a woman's life as she grieves for a mother lost at the cusp of adulthood, and her journey towards becoming a wife and mother herself
If you're only going to read one book this summer make it Jessie Greengrass's Sight . . . easily my book of the year so far. The balance of Greengrass's sentences combined with the unexpected and perfectly chosen words is reminiscent of the great W. G. Sebald
A stunning novel about what we can know of our bodies, ourselves, and each other
[Greengrass's] intelligence and honesty continue to dazzle, and the novel as a whole exudes a strange consoling power . . . it is precisely her obsessive ruminations, and how they find expression in controlled, stylish prose, that make the book so exciting
Sight - with its cascading sentences and startling insights - is hard to put down
Greengrass writes stunningly about the experience of pregnancy and motherhood
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