The Rules of Seeing by Joe Heap

It has been way too long since I last read a book. And boy was this one to rejoin the reading world with!! It’s a book my parents recommended me and for the first time probably ever I didn’t wait too long to start reading it, once they had finished of course.

The Rules of Seeing...quite an ominous title or at least that’s what I thought when I first saw it. I was expecting the book to philosophical and there to not be too much of a story. I was wrong. In a good way.

So what is it about? - It’s about a woman named Nova who is 32 years old and about to see the world for the very first time. Nova has been blind her entire life and despite that she can speak five languages and can tell whether someone is lying from the sound of their voice.

I would like to start off by saying that I found this book immensely compelling and without giving anything away I would recommend it to most people. I say most because if you are someone triggered by abuse and depression I wouldn’t recommend reading it as they are present in the book.

Now on to why I enjoyed the book so much. I am a person who is very much dependent on my sight. I am very grateful that I have absolutely no problems with my eyes and don’t even need glasses. What I am trying to say is that I have no idea what it is like to be blind so I don’t know whether this book is accurate when it comes to that aspect. However, it definitely took me on a journey and made me aware of so many things that I took for granted. Perhaps the more interesting aspect is that the book made me realise that being blind isn’t the end of the world. One can still be a very independent and successful person in spite of or perhaps because of blindness.

Throughout the book and Nova’s journey to learn to see she comes up with rules to help her understand the colourful, three-dimensional world, which really make you think about how complex seeing really is. It’s amazing all the things our brains do automatically! Like how if one object covers another, odds are that the one doing the covering is closer to you. Imagine how scary glass must seem to blind people who have never been able to see. Basically it’s a solid material but you can see through it!

Of course seeing isn’t the only subject that the book touches on. As mentioned it also brings up the topic of abuse. Personally never having been in an abusive romantic relationship I found it really interesting and I think it helped me understand a bit better what these people go through. I think I comprehend the struggle of ending an abusive relationship more than I did before reading this, which has been an interesting and harrowing experience.

On a lighter note, the main love story (yes, there are multiple) within the story (and yes, the love story isn’t the main storyline) is truly beautiful and possibly

one of my favourite ones I’ve read. Not only that but it also has a pretty major gay relationship and I am ashamed and shocked to say this is probably the fist book I’ve read with one in it.

I know it sounds corny but I do think this book has changed the way I see the world (as it says on the cover) but then don’t all books do that to a certain extent?

Wishing you a lovely day

Shaura