A Sight for Sore Eyes
A Novel
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3.7 • 47 Ratings
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- $8.99
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- $8.99
Publisher Description
A Sight for Sore Eyes tells three stories, and for the longest time, the reader has no inkling of how they will come together. The first is a story of a little girl who has been scolded and sent to her room when her mother is brutally murdered; as Francine grows up, she is haunted by the experience, and it is years before she even speaks. Secondly, we become privy to the life of a young man, Teddy, born of unthinking young parents, who grows up almost completely ignored. Free of societal mores, he becomes a sociopath, who eventually discovers that killing can be an effective way to get what he wants. Thirdly, we meet Harriet, who from an early age has learned to use her beauty to make her way in the world. Bored by marriage to a wealthy, much older man, she scans the local newspapers for handymen to perform odd jobs around the house, including services in the bedroom.
When these three plots strands finally converge, the result is harrowing and unforgettable. A Sight for Sore Eyes is not just the work of a writer at the peak of her craft. It is an extraordinary story by a writer who, after 45 books, countless awards, and decades of international acclaim, is still getting better with every book.
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
A pair of English teens, Teddy and Francine (who have grown up in dysfunctional families where common parenting faults are taken to extremes), meet and think that in each other they might find the beauty and freedom their own lives are lacking. Their troubled affair takes a while to get going, but once it does, Rendell's sharp characterizations and idiosyncratic descriptions are riveting. Though several deaths occur in the book, the only real mystery is that of the murder of Francine's mother, which Francine overheard (near the novel's beginning) when she was seven. Instead, Rendell (Road Rage, etc.) focuses more on how a few sedately bizarre ticks can build exponentially into insanity. Francine's stepmother, for example, progresses from simple worry about her stepdaughter's well-being to obsessive anxiety that borders on dementia. Rendell follows the story's principal objects as closely as she does its characters: the diamond and sapphire engagement ring that Teddy's indifferent mother finds in a public bathroom; the video case in which Francine's mother hid her love letters, the painting of two young lovers that shows Teddy the perfect beauty he would kill for. Rendell leaves nothing and no one unaccounted for, from the looks given by the neighbors over the fence to the idle thoughts that pass through characters' minds when they scan a room. A tour-de-force of psychological suspense, the novel culminates in a dramatic climax that's as unforgettable as what has preceded it. Mystery Guild main selection; Literary Guild featured alternate; simultaneous audio and large print editions; author tour.
Customer Reviews
"A Sight for Sore Eyes" by Ruth Rendell
This book is full of suspense & pathos. So much so that I feared I wouldn't be able to continue reading without skipping to the end to satisfy myself that my imaginings would not be fulfilled. Fortunately, she took the suspense to the very edge of bearability & I was thus able to read through to the end without cheating! And what an end it is! All loose ends tidied neatly away.
The characters are drawn so clearly that I could understand, within that context, their most bizarre behavior. And there's an abundance of that!
Unfortunately, I found a lot of discrepancies that took a lot of time to try to resolve. As the book went on I found that they were meaningless & although they continued to occur I spent less time trying to reconcile them. It was astounding that there were so many for in this type book one doesn't know which detail is relevant. Take my word for it & don't waste your time trying to figure out these discrepancies - I think you'll enjoy the book immensely!