Second Sight

by Mary Tannen

The inexplicable and the mundane coexits in Wallingford, New Jersey, where threads of greed and mysticism intertwine the lives of innocent clairvoyant Delia Bird, a rich and cynical film director, a stranger named Will Appleyard, and Delia's long-estranged father

Genres: Fiction

240 pages, Mass Market Paperback

First published January 1, 1987

Reviews

[Chris · Rating 4 out of 5]

I knew this would be a hard sell to most people. I only bought it yesterday and finished it in one day. (And I got it only because her book The Wizard Children of Finn was my first fantasy book and remains a perennial fave) I recently got interested in tarot so the idea of a psychic heroine appealed to me.

Agree with the reviews about the difficult transitions and how we are forced to figure out how these strangers are related, though I’m sure it helped me slow down a bit (I devoured the book okay. I was invested.)

The dysfunctional family was surprisingly angst-free for all that. (Messed up but no wallowing in self-pity) A lot of things are left vague and mysterious. I think it tries to be psychological and new age but it is basically a love story that doesn’t follow your typical romance arc. I felt like I was juggling a lot of balls.

What can I say? It’s flawed, pulpy, feels appropriative of cultural tradition, one character’s academic pov was a bit cringe, lots of racial/class tensions that remain submerged/plot adjacent, kinda absurd… and I loved it, was in total denial when it ended because I wanted more, and am desperate to find other books like it. I guess I’m reading Mary Tannen’s other books...

[Noreen Lace · Rating 5 out of 5]

There are a number of female characters introduced quickly, right after one another, making it hard to distinguish them at first; however, they are all eccentric in their own little ways and makes for a memorable cast of characters.

The writing was wonderful, great descriptions, images and scenes engaging all of the senses, strong lines.

There were a few transitions which tripped me up where I didn't know who was speaking or what characters I was reading about as names were not mentioned until a page or two later. After the climax, the ending seemed to take a long time to wrap up, explaining where everyone ended up. Interesting, no doubt, but not very exciting.

Overall, a complex novel, elevated by strong writing, which makes it a good read.

[Virginia · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is probably the best of the Mary Tannen books I've read, but she has some quirky literary devices that I don't really enjoy. She changes the perspective within a chapter, which alone would be fine, but she'll do it without identifying the new perspective, so you have to read a few paragraphs in the new perspective before you figure out who the speaker is. Not a deal-breaker, but annoying.

Also, at the beginning of the book, she introduces a number of characters without explaining how they're related. I realize this could be clever, but she's not that good of a writer, so, again, it's just annoying.

Finally, I can't figure out the intended audience of her work. It could be that her books are a little dated, or that I've never known anyone like these charaters, but I read them feeling like they're young adult, but not quite, although the library doesn't classify them as YA.

Overall, I liked this book, but it wasn't good enough for me to recommend.