"Darkly funny and reflective, this explores the hazy lines between self-awareness and self-absorption, betrayal and loyalty, longing and love, through two sisters."
Presenting incisive, illuminating character studies of a set of individuals who have strong tendencies to self-reflect and analyse human relationships, Diana Reid’s Seeing Other People is stacked with enthralling heart-in-your-mouth moments as it ripples with betrayals, shame, love and longing. It’s also witty and unexpected, with superb observations of human nature, and the unique bond between sisters.
Breakups and betrayal sit centre stage from the off, when Mark, Eleanor’s boyfriend of two years confesses that he almost slept with someone else. While Eleanor “hated that he had the power to hurt her”, her “heart (or whatever part of her brain she’d tasked with feelings) remained decidedly unbroken.” That said, the mere fact of being betrayed stings hard.
At the same time, Eleanor’s younger sister Charlie is an actress who falls for her director (and housemate) Helen. She also emails Mark in secret, so as not to upset her sister. They’ve long shared intimate musings on life, and he also shares drafts of his writing. Meanwhile, Helen and Eleanor strike up their own friendship, and “like a traveller heading down the wrong road, it was not until long after she took the turn that Eleanor would realise: she was lost.”
Intimate, thought-provoking, and explosive in unexpected ways, Seeing Other People is alive with contemplative characters who spark self-reflection, not least the sisters who come to accept that you can’t know everything, and “you can’t grow up with someone — stitch your character from common threads: childhood, home, family — without forming similar patterns.”
| Primary Genre | General Fiction |
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