Star Gazing by Linda Gillard

Marianne Fraser is a woman in her mid-40's who is blind and lives with her sister, Louisa in Edinburgh, Scotland. When Marianne was in her late 20's, her husband died. As if life couldn't get any worse, she later miscarried with his baby. When she least expects it, Marianne meets a man named Keir Harvey, and their relationship unfolds as an extraordinary adventure that leaves you tangled in its plot and characters, making it very hard to put down the book. I actually read the book in one day, all the while laughing out loud at certain moments and holding back tears in others.

Keir doesn't see Marianne as a blind woman, he sees her as a woman; he does not feel sorry for her because she is blind, he admires her for her strength of character and her personality.

This is not a conventional romantic novel. Its characters feel like real people, with real imperfections, real desires, with real reactions, facing real obstacles.

Star Gazing is also an environmental novel that helps remind us not to take nature for granted. This novel is a call to action. It makes the reader reflect on their own carbon footprint they are leaving behind in the world.

The bond of sisterhood is also an important theme portrayed in this novel - an unbreakable bond that supersedes life's toughest hardships.

What I loved most about this novel was how Marianne shows us what its like to feel a landscape. This book takes you out of your comfort zone, and before you know it, you are experiencing the book through other senses. Rather than imagining that colour the narrator is describing to you, you are imagining what something smells like or listening to music and animal sounds.

I would definitely recommend this book, it is a great read.