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.