Told through the eyes of three young people, Before My Eyes gives a spellbinding account of an event which will change their lives. Covering the timeline of a single weekend, the narrative loops back from the climax, giving insight into the little details of events and personalities leading to that point. We see characters and action in turn from the points of view of Claire (an artistic girl whose family is struggling to cope with her mother's near-fatal stroke), Max (a shy teen trying to find his own identity apart from his parents' political lives), and Barkley (chillingly drawn by Bock in the midst of his burgeoning paranoid schizophrenia).The trio's lives intersect a number of times over the course of the weekend: at Snack Shack where Max and Barkley have summer jobs, online as Claire posts her poetry and Barkley (posing as Brent) responds, in a dramatic surf rescue and later at Max's party in lead up to the political campaign event where the drama unfolds. While each character is fragile in ways not uncommon to teenagers, the driving force of the narrative isn't the burgeoning romance (or even the love triangle), but Barkley's unravelling mind.In deftly written narrative, each voice distinct and clearly identifiable, the suspense builds scene by scene. (The only hiccup for me was the explanation of paranoid schizophrenia, no doubt inserted to inform teenage readers.)Trapped outside the action, we alone as readers see the triangulated viewpoints. We watch as parents become alarmed, struggle to put interventions in place, then realise in horror the unfolding catastrophe. The apt title, Before my Eyes' gives a direct message to the reader: 'There is so much more to everything that what meets the eye.' It raises many questions: What is 'seeing'? What is 'knowing'? There are many facets to this beautifully written story which will stay with me, along with its vividly drawn, believable characters. Consider reading this excellent novel alongside "We Need to Talk about Kevin' by Lionel Shriver, or Jodi Picoult's 'Nineteen Minutes'. It's a chilling expose of mental illness.4 1/2 stars I liked the different perspectives. I didn't feel as though it was told from 3 perspectives because Caroline Bock felt like it. The different POVs really added something to the story. I would actually get bored during Barkleys, but that was the most interesting, but I at times I was wandering off. I got bored at the beginning and set the book aside for a little bit. The end got unexpectdedly intense, but I liked the way it played out. The ending I like and dislike. It doesn't give more information than you need, and ends on a solid scene. But... I kind of want to know if Jackson became friends with Max again, and if Claire's mom had any more strokes, and how the whole North/South worked out. So while I wish there was an epilogue or something, I'm glad it ended where it did. It would have been weird if it ended anywhere else. So, overall, not amazing, but I don't regret reading it.
What do You think about Before My Eyes (2014)?
Somewhere between a three and a four. Full review to come.
—biggest_bookie
