Date finished: 28 February 2014
Rating: 4*
Paulus has – once again – astounded me with a beautifully
tragic novel. Her sequel to Swimming Through Clouds follows the healing process
of the Vanderbilt siblings as they struggle to flee their history of domestic
violence. Talia’s much-awaited story continues as she hides in a safe house for
survivors of domestic violence, and Paulus contrasts this with the excitement of the story of heroic Jesse, who searches for his father in the streets of
Chicago, thirsty for revenge.
Paulus’ slow, steady and intricate development of characters
is going to be the reason I need emotional counseling. Thinking back to the
first novel, where Talia was too afraid of her father to even talk to a single
other person outside of her house, and comparing it to the way Talia grows
throughout the second novel until she is finally presented as a strong, healed,
independent woman brings tears to my eyes. And don’t even get me started on
Jesse…
I’m not going to lie, when Paulus started the story with a
chapter in Jesse’s point of view, I was more than a little cynical, and
immediately felt a strong dislike towards his determination to get revenge on
his father. However, about two-thirds of the way into the novel, I suddenly
realized exactly how connected I felt to Jesse, and how I was empathizing with
him even though I have never experienced anything remotely close to what he
went through. Somehow, Paulus had managed to subconsciously attach me to Jesse
as the story progressed. That is good writing at its finest.
Another thing that makes me go a little gooey inside is
Talia and Lagan’s relationship. Usually, I despise perfect, overly cute and
fluffy love stories, and yet somehow Paulus managed to make me fall in love
with the way Talia and Lagan are in love. Despite the numerous times I had to
groan at Lagan’s cheesy pick up lines, I had to smile just as often at the way
their love story was beautifully unconventional. And I think Rajdeep Paulus
should get a prize for inventing the most adorable relationship that manages to
avoid the clichés constantly presented in romantic comedies that our society
has grown to love.
Paulus’ seemingly effortless knack for comparisons made a
serious impression on me as well. There were times when I had to pause for a
moment so that I could think about their sheer genius before I carried on
reading. Not only does each and every metaphor make complete logical sense, but
they are also impressively unique and poetic.
I’ll admit, there were times where I started to find the
story a little dull and repetitive, but as soon as I started to get bored,
suddenly another climax would jerk me out of my daydreams and I would be caught
up in a whirlwind of emotions once again. Let me also just point out that it is
not a good idea to read the last few chapters of Seeing Through Stones in public, because the amount of times I
gasped, squealed, bolted upright, and protested loudly against some of the
events that occurred was enough to make my family later admit they didn’t want
to be seen with me in public any more (let it also be known that I was inside
my house at this point – so ensure you are in a soundproofed room as well).
Overall, this was another stunning and breathtaking novel
from Rajdeep Paulus, and one that I highly recommend reading.
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