Joined in 2023 
82 
63 About this deal
An absorbing historical novel, this is a wonderful debut which was a pleasure to read. A tale of journeys both physical and emotional. You can see where this is all leading. Belief in magic should sit uneasily with belief in science. Yet this was an era in which alchemy, the ancient ‘science’ of the pursuit of the philosopher’s stone and the elixir of life lingered on, and while the new science often disparaged the old, it could not quite throw off the traces of magical expectation that so often accompanies scientific breakthrough. Today we still await the ‘magic’ of nuclear fusion to give us limitless, safe and almost free energy, after all. Longlisted for the Walter Scott Prize for Historical Fiction 2023 and the Goldsboro Books Glass Bell Award 2023. 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. The writing style takes some getting used to, and it wasn't a book I could read when I was tired! But I loved the writing, as it comes through as extremely authentic from the time.
Levi’s novel, set in the last days of slavery in Jamaica, recounts the lives of the people who live and work on the Amity sugar plantation. Moon Tiger is Claudia's story, from a childhood just after the First World War through the Second and beyond. Her life is entwined with others and she must allow those who knew her the chance to put across their point of view. There is Gordon, brother and adversary; Jasper, her untrustworthy lover and father of Lisa, her cool conventional daughter. Then there is Tom, her one great love, found and lost in wartime Egypt. Zachary's mother dies whilst giving birth to him, which gives him a guilty complex and without his mother an aunt has a great influence on his life, I couldn't help thinking of Bertie Wooster at this point. 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.
Latest articles
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. And so the makers of automata found themselves urged to make ever more human androids, leading to Von Kempelen’s chess playing automaton, ‘The Turk,’ seemingly able to think through the complexities of a chess game and play the world’s grand masters. That this automaton turned out to be a fraud is perhaps less surprising than that for almost 80 years many of the world’s cleverest people believed in its remarkable abilities. Why did they do so? The answer, I think, is because they wanted to believe that an automaton was capable of rivalling, even exceeding human intelligence. Zachary was a wonderful character, (as was Abel), but I didn't think he shone as much as I was hoping. I’d assumed that these automata were mere luxuries for the very rich but in researching my novel I discovered that they were about much more than adornment or entertainment. They were manifestations of technical prowess, projections of national power, celebrations of Enlightenment science and, most surprisingly, regarded by some as experiments in the search for eternal life. When a life-changing accident happens to Zachary, Abel blames himself but, it leaves Zachary with yet another gift, one where he can see the future. To protect his son Abel makes a bad choice that is jumped upon by someone in high government and puts Abel in a terrible position.
Literature and library chat with Irenosen Okojie, Simon Savidge and Dan Smith. Turn Up for the Books Zachary, plagued by visions, knows he has to find his father. An adventure begins that will also take him to Constantinople. We follow Zachary Cloudesley from his birth to his return to England after a journey to Constantinople to rescue his father sent on an espionage mission. An original coming-of-age tale... enjoyable and imaginative debut' Sunday Times (Historical Fiction Book of the Month) courtesy Ultimo Press) When it comes to Sliding Doors territory, that exciting or maddening place, depending on your perspective, where possibilities are endless and change, incremental or large is a constant, there are always a multitude of ways things can either come together or go spinning far apart. At least, Continue Reading
Sean Lusk Press Reviews
Thank you for your wonderful review of my book The Second sight of Zachary Cloudesley. Everything I hoped a reader would take from the book, you have taken and it makes my heart skip along to know that. And thank you for spreading the word, too! With very best wishes, Sean
BBC News pays tribute to the Booker Prize-winning novelist, who died in September. Tributes to Hilary Mantel Not every novel gets this right – some read so gorgeously that the story and any emotional impact is lost in it, while others prioritise storytelling with a utilitarian ferocity – but The Second Sight of Zachary Cloudsley is flawless in telling a beguilingly unusual but intrinsically human story that reads like a siren song of lusciously poetic construction.
Browse reviews by Genre
I’ve tried many things in my life – my first job was a gardener, working mainly with trees. I learnt the names of many types of tree, and as a result am able to greet a tree politely. You’re more than welcome – it is a beautifully told story that I loved because it’s full of adventure and seeking but so intimately personal too. Such a wonderful mix. Thank you! A beautifully crafted historical mystery that will take the reader from 18th century London, across Europe and, finally, to the bustling city of Constantinople." also isn't entirely accurate because Constantinople again plays a fairly minor role in the grand scheme of the book. It's not finally ends in Constantinople, mystery solved and the story wraps up. That's almost a mid point and after they return to England. I would say the book spends more time discussing Mrs Morley on Lundey than in Constantinople. courtesy IMP Awards) The really great animated films, the one that capture your heart and delight the eyes, are the ones that give you something to really connect to and which make you feel like you’ve come home. Yes, home. That might seem like an odd thing to say about Continue Reading Sean Lusk is an award winning short story writer, winner of the Manchester Fiction Prize and the Fish Short Story Prize. He has lived in Greece, Pakistan and Egypt and now lives in the Scottish Highlands. The Second Sight of Zachary Cloudesley is his first novel.
As I said, it’s an ambitious story, with so much in it that I think it could have been broken up into a couple of books. courtesy Allen & Unwin Book Publishers) We live in a grievously unbalanced world. No surprises there you say; one look at the 24/7 news cycle or at the place we work or the society in which we live and it becomes clear that fairness very rarely rules the day and Continue Reading I enjoyed Abel's portion of the book, and wished we stayed with him more, but found, despite being the titular character, I didn't much like Zachary, and, as other reviewers have mentioned, his "second sight" wasn't capitalised. The other characters were not entirely likeable either, and at 76%, I am still left unsure about Mrs Morely and Lady Peake-Barnes.The particular delight of Sean Lusk’s The Second Sight of Zachary Cloudsley is that it manages to be all those things in one captivatingly alive book, marrying many of the staples of life such as great grief, loss, joy and first love with a story that’s thrillingly expansive and rich with intrigue and set in mid-eighteenth century London, Europe and the glitteringly exotic climes of Ottoman-era Constantinople. A contemporary classic, The Remains of the Day is Kazuo Ishiguro's beautiful and haunting evocation of life between the wars in a Great English House, of lost causes and lost love. Winner of the Manchester Fiction Prize, The Fish Short Story Prize and the Cambridge Short Story Prize. The year is 1754. He has had an interesting life already, having spent time in Constantinople, and as the story progresses, he ends up there again. But first, the baby. Zachary. His mother, Alice, dies as she delivers him. Abel doesn’t know what to do.
Great Deal 
New Comment