Al Brookes

The Gift of Looking Closely Al Brookes

Claire believes she was manipulated, when she was sixteen, into helping her mother commit suicide. Now in her late twenties, she negotiates a complex reality. ?I have strange thoughts; I see things I shouldn?t; my feelings bend me double.? She uses her dead mother?s letters as a kind of oracle, her father?s dictionary to help her make sense of things ? and goes on a shoplifting spree when things become unbearable. So far, she has managed to get by on her own. But now Claire needs someone. ?If just one person really knew me, I think it would be enough.? And she wants that person to be you. She speaks directly off the page, challenging you to walk in her shoes: ?You be Claire then, and I?ll watch.? And in a breathtaking change of perspective, you step into her life. Bursting with ideas and life, seamed with beautifully crafted language and startling imagery, The Gift of Looking Closely offers a vivid and sensual reading experience. You will never have read anything quite like it.