EXCERPT and GIVEAWAY
My Grandfather's Eyes
by B. A. Spicer
B. A. Spicer stops by to share an excerpt from My Grandfather’s Eyes. You can also enter the Goodreads giveaway for a chance to win one of two paperback copies of the book.
More books by this author: One Summer in France (read my blog post) and Stranded in the Seychelles (read my blog post).
Description
Alex Crane is a protagonist with a difference. Single-minded and, at times, glacial in her response to the people around her, she has learned to face the world in spite of her unusual appearance. Her story begins in the past, unfolding into a multilayered plot that weaves its way through a family history peppered with secrets, towards a devastating conclusion.
Excerpt
I have never been beautiful. And, of course, my appearance has deteriorated over time. It is something I have become used to. When I look in the mirror these days, and that is not very often, I am not surprised by what I see. Nor am I disappointed, as I have given up hope of catching myself in a good light.
Let me tell you what I see. First, the shape of my head is noticeably irregular, with a medium-sized bump just in front of the crown. Next, my forehead is lined. It always has been, ever since I can remember. People used to say I must be a deep thinker. Only some of them were being kind. Now the lines are deeper, but the traces they follow date back to my school days, when they did not go unnoticed by bullies. My eyes are large and green; some might say they are intelligent eyes, that they are insightful or sincere. I have learned not to set much store by what other people say.
I have meagre lashes, but it is usually boys who have the lavish kind. My nose is straight and my mouth is full. My hair is mousy, fine and thin. I used to buy shampoo for flyaway hair, when I believed in such nonsense. When I was young, I wanted thick, straight blond hair, like my friend Lizzy’s. We all want what we can’t have. There is perhaps nothing so far to complain about very much, you might say.
And so I come to my moles: the unnatural, crawling growths that spread themselves over the side of my face and the underside of my jaw. If you could see me now, you would probably recoil. I have noticed that even the most educated, the most sympathetic person has difficulty in hiding the innate disgust my moles excite in them. Ah yes. Disgust is not too harsh a word, I can assure you. And the others? Those who make no attempt to hide their feelings towards me? They cannot help themselves, but stare in horror at what they see, as they sit on the bus clutching their shiny, plastic bags full of new things or as they push their wholesome choices around the supermarket. Young children are the worst. I do not admire their ‘honesty’, as their obsequious parents do.
My moles. My nevi. How can I describe them? I should say they are more or less dark brown in colour, although there are two above my left eye that are noticeably lighter. My husband called them Castor and Pollux. All have a rubbery, soft texture and, apart from one large mole near my ear, are hairless. The one near my ear has short, thick hairs that bristle untidily. My husband had a name for this one too. He loved me too much. He couldn’t help it. None of us can choose whom we love.
What more can I tell you? That I am ambivalent to my nevi? That Castor and Pollux are my favourites? That I like them for being different? You may think this kind of reasoning strange and I would not blame you. I can only explain it as a truth, a principle that has grown inside me as my moles have swelled and spread; have become part of my life. Now, I am not sure I could be separated from them.
There was a time when I believed my mother loved me. A time when she called me beautiful and, because I was not yet self-aware, I let myself be preened and cosseted in exchange for the comfort I felt from the warm glow of her approval. I did not notice how she suffered. I did not recognise the mortification that lay beneath her smile.
However, a story must start somewhere nearer its beginning, and so I will go back and show myself more clearly to you, before I reveal what I have done. I expect that you will judge me.
But I do not care.
Praise for the Book
"My favourite reads are the ones with distinctive characters. I hesitate to describe the characters in My Grandfather's Eyes as flawed, because that might sound as if the author has failed to draw them well. The opposite is true, and Ms Spicer has drawn the characters extremely well, with all their glorious flaws picked out under the delightfully forgiving spotlight of the story." ~ Francis Potts
"Well, I wasn't expecting this! What an unusual book! I've read excerpts from Bev Spicer's humorous memoir series and am impressed that she can successfully turn her hand to something so different - and as powerful as this, too. I love it when writers dare to create a protagonist who isn't altogether likeable - to me, this makes the parts where you DO feel sympathy for Alex Crane have more effect. I really liked the way it's written in the present tense. This can be a hard thing to carry off as it can come over as a bit contrived, or get tedious, but it works very well in this case (unlike in this review, in which the tenses are all over the place, but never mind). I read the book in two halves, the second after quite a gap as I suddenly found it a bit depressing and wanted to read something lighter, but that's in no way meant as a negative comment as it's very good - if you like dark, intense psychological studies, you will love this." ~ Terry Tyler, author
"Alex is such a unique character and so different from many other heroines. Parts of her character are seriously flawed and yet the author has so artfully created her to still be endearing in her honesty. This book is expertly written, full of beautiful descriptions and every sense is heightened particularly her use of the characters sense of touch. There are so many layers to this book and the secrets this family have concealed for many years are gradually revealed. BA Spicer keeps us guessing right to the end, in this brilliant psychological drama that I could definitely see being snapped up for TV." ~ C. Plunkett
"The first person narration places you, uncomfortably at times, in Alex's world, with her skewed ideas of right and wrong. But, despite the things she does and thinks, I don't hate her. I'm not sure that I like her, but I do, to an extent, understand her. And this is where the talent and the skill of the writer show. It's hard to have the `hero' of your story someone who should be the villain and even harder to write that character in such a way that your reader isn't completely turned off. The author has managed to do that and the result is a book that's hard to put down, beautifully crafted and compelling." ~ AlisonW
About the Author
Bev Spicer also writes under the pen name B. A. Spicer.
Bev was born in a small market town in the Midlands, daughter to an observer for the Royal Air Force and her mother, a local beauty queen.
She was educated at Queens' College, Cambridge and became a lecturer at Anglia Ruskin University in 1997 moving to live in France with her husband and two of her children ten years later, where she writes full-time.
She is widely read and has travelled extensively, living in Crete, where she taught English and learned to speak Greek, and in the Seychelles, where she worked for the government and co-designed materials which were used to teach at secondary school level.
She is the author of the humorous memoirs Bunny on a Bike, One Summer in France, and Stranded in the Seychelles.
Giveaway
Enter the Goodreads giveaway for a chance to win one of two paperback copies of My Grandfather's Eyes by B. A. Spicer (US, CA, GB, and AU; ends 1 June).
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