Sean Lusk's debut novel, The Second Sight of Zachary Cloudesley, is a strange, spellbinding, imaginative work of magical realism set in 1700s London and Constantinople, exploring Pinocchio-esque questions about what is real, and the many forms of love. It contains no shortage of tragedy, but always retains a charming sense of wonder.
Zachary Cloudesley's life begins with his mother's death; Abel will be a loving father, but at first the experience is clouded by grief. Abel is a clockmaker, but clocks are only the beginning of his artistry: he creates clockwork creatures, automatons that move and communicate like the real-life animals and humans they mimic. In Abel's workshop, Zachary suffers a life-changing injury, resulting in the treasured son being sent away to be raised in the safety of his eccentric great-aunt Frances's home in the country. Zachary's no-nonsense nurse, Mrs. Morley, and the staunchly feminist Frances round out an unusual family for a very unusual boy. Zachary is a genius and also knows things about the past and future that he should not be able to know. When Abel is sent away to distant Constantinople on an odd and dangerous mission, seven-year-old Zachary says, "You should not go, Papa. You know that, don't you?" Abel knows, but sail he does.
Years later, a teenaged Zachary will set out to rescue his father--believed to be long dead--from imprisonment in the Ottoman court. Readers will delight in following the devoted son as he learns about a broader world, encounters romance, and seeks family. The Second Sight of Zachary Cloudesley is enchanting. --Julia Kastner, librarian and blogger at pagesofjulia