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The End of Seeing
Winner of the 2015 Seizure Viva La Novella Prize
'Dazzling, intelligent and heart-rending. I have long been a fan of Collins, and this is why.' - Toni Jordan
Determined to discover the truth about the disappearance of her partner, Nick, Ana sets out to re-trace the route he took as a photojournalist on the other side of the world - a journey that saw him presumed dead, on a ship wrecked off the coast of Italy. But Ana doesn't believe Nick is dead. In his photos, in the messages her memories of him seem to carry, and in her growing suspicion about his own need to disappear, she is increasingly sure he is alive somewhere. As she tracks his journey, she begins to witness the world that Nick saw through his camera - a world in which disappearance is not unexpected.
'I raced through with a catch in my throat and tears in my eyes. A love-letter to a vanished husband . . . nuanced and tender, political and tense. Christy Collins has written a subtle thriller with mystery at its heart.' - Katerina Cosgrove
'Dazzling, intelligent and heart-rending. I have long been a fan of Collins, and this is why.' - Toni Jordan
Determined to discover the truth about the disappearance of her partner, Nick, Ana sets out to re-trace the route he took as a photojournalist on the other side of the world - a journey that saw him presumed dead, on a ship wrecked off the coast of Italy. But Ana doesn't believe Nick is dead. In his photos, in the messages her memories of him seem to carry, and in her growing suspicion about his own need to disappear, she is increasingly sure he is alive somewhere. As she tracks his journey, she begins to witness the world that Nick saw through his camera - a world in which disappearance is not unexpected.
'I raced through with a catch in my throat and tears in my eyes. A love-letter to a vanished husband . . . nuanced and tender, political and tense. Christy Collins has written a subtle thriller with mystery at its heart.' - Katerina Cosgrove
204 pages, Paperback
First published August 21, 2015
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593 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 22 of 22 reviews
October 31, 2015
Beautiful, beautiful, beautiful. Also, gripping. How often do you find those two things together? A gorgeous, precise, topical, political and personal thriller. The end exasperated me, and I knew that meant I really, really cared what happened to these people. Super work.
February 26, 2017
The End of Seeing (Seizure 2015) by Christy Collins won the 2015 Seizure Viva La Novella Prize. In this compact story, we meet Ana DuChamps, searching for her husband, Nick, a photojournalist who has disappeared in Europe, believed to have been lost at sea on a boat of illegal immigrants that sank off the coast of Italy. Ana senses Nick is still alive, and sets out on a journey halfway across the world to track his steps through the photos he took and the diary notes he left, hoping to find some answers.
This is an extraordinary story not only for its intriguing and compelling plot, but for the brevity and beauty of its language. Almost poetic, the book engages us deeply with Ana through the loss of her partner, her love for him developing in layers as the story progresses. We also learn - gradually, in increments - of the loss of their only child, and this double grief seems at times to be a burden too much to bear. Ana's memories of both her husband and her daughter are exquisitely rendered in vivid prose. And through the narrative, her loss is expanded and replicated by the losses and disappearances of people on the other side of the world, those that Nick photographed, those that he tried to help. Collins' power of description transports us effortlessly to the cities and landscapes Ana visits; her emotional resonance ties us tightly to Ana's emotional journey. This book is heartbreaking and authentic; it is a mantra of grief and loss and memory; a portrait of love, friendship and family. This is a literary, lilting story with no clean answers or tidied endings...we are left with as many questions - perhaps more - than when we began. And yet this is what is most appealing about it: its sparseness, its ambiguousness, which allows us to imagine what fills in the spaces in between. An accomplished story that I feel will stay with me for some time.
This is an extraordinary story not only for its intriguing and compelling plot, but for the brevity and beauty of its language. Almost poetic, the book engages us deeply with Ana through the loss of her partner, her love for him developing in layers as the story progresses. We also learn - gradually, in increments - of the loss of their only child, and this double grief seems at times to be a burden too much to bear. Ana's memories of both her husband and her daughter are exquisitely rendered in vivid prose. And through the narrative, her loss is expanded and replicated by the losses and disappearances of people on the other side of the world, those that Nick photographed, those that he tried to help. Collins' power of description transports us effortlessly to the cities and landscapes Ana visits; her emotional resonance ties us tightly to Ana's emotional journey. This book is heartbreaking and authentic; it is a mantra of grief and loss and memory; a portrait of love, friendship and family. This is a literary, lilting story with no clean answers or tidied endings...we are left with as many questions - perhaps more - than when we began. And yet this is what is most appealing about it: its sparseness, its ambiguousness, which allows us to imagine what fills in the spaces in between. An accomplished story that I feel will stay with me for some time.
June 3, 2018
Winner of the 2015 Seizure Viva La Novella Prize
Review
Review
October 27, 2015
Title: THE END OF SEEING
Author: Christy Collins
Type of Book: Softcover
Length: 190 pages
Genre: Literary Fiction
Publication Date: August 23, 2015
Publisher: Xoum Publishing
ISBN: 978-1-921134-62-3 (Print)
ISBN: 978-1-921134-63-0 (EBook)
Rating: 5 out of 5 stars ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
~ I received a free copy of this book through the Goodreads Giveaway program. A review was not a requirement of receiving this book, but authors and publishers always appreciate honest reviews.
THE END OF SEEING is the winner of the 2015 Seizure Viva La Novella Prize.
"The buildings rise from the rain-blackened streets and office workers slip by leaving pieces of conversation in the air..."
Ana. Poor Ana. She has to be one of the unluckiest people alive. First, she loses her daughter in a tragic accident and next her photojournalist partner, Nick, goes missing and is presumed dead.
Everyone, including the police and the rest of Nick's family are convinced that he perished in a boating accident off the coast of Italy.
But, no body has ever been found. Yes, his cellphone washed ashore, but there are lots of reasons his cellphone could be there without him.
Ana is determined to find out the truth and to prove that he is still alive. She sets out to follow his path and to trace his movements.
What she discovers along the way will surprise everyone.
This book is a literary masterpiece. It is written in delightfully descriptive prose that will resonate with readers of all ages.
Ana's desire to believe that Nick is still alive is 100% believable and totally understandable. I have always wondered how a person can possibly grieve and move on if no body is found. I believe that I would be just like Ana; thinking of all the possible (even if improbable) scenarios that could lead to someone's disappearance. This is highlighted by Ana's thoughts at the beginning of the book:
"We're you on that boat? Did you get off alive? Did you think: now's my chance to disappear, to escape the grief and guilt of Mia's death? Did you mingle in a crowd, jump on a bus, and head for the mountains, cross the border on foot, without papers, like others on board had no doubt planned to do? Maybe you were unable to resist the power of your own story, seeing how far you could get, how long you could survive - earning black money or none at all, nameless and untraceable. Or are you maddened by an ordeal at sea? Perhaps you don't know your own name... Perhaps you're asleep in a youth hostel, bed springs creaking above and below you. Perhaps you're dreaming of running a very long way without anything to stop you. While I, awake in the middle of the night, am dreaming still of you."
The subject matter may seem bleak and dark at times, but the same can be said of reality. Everyone experiences times of darkness in their lives. Christy Collins has eloquently captured both the beauty and despair of the human condition and the endurance of hope when all seems lost.
Christy Collins has an uncanny ability to say quite a bit by using few words. For example; interspersed amongst the details of Ana's journey are random memories that pop into her mind. Here is one such memory:
"I remember a summer holiday: no-one on the beach but the two of us. Evening waves repeated themselves softly on the shore. Beginning with the soles of my feet, you reminded me I was alive. Later: salt and sand swilled down the drain in the cracked-tiled bathroom in a cheap hotel. You reminded me again."
Nowhere in the above narrative does it say that Ana and Nick made love, but the reader knows that this is what occurred. Also nowhere in this description does it mention how old they were when this event took place, yet, somehow, the way it is written evokes a vision in the reader's mind of Nick and Ana in their youthful, carefree past; before adult and familial responsibilities changed their lives. Only a highly skilled and supremely talented author can say so much with so few words.
I highly recommend this book and rate it is 5 out of 5 stars. ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Visit http://seizureonline.com/shop/the-end... for more information as well as links to buy this amazing book online.
To read more of my reviews please visit http://AMIESBOOKREVIEWS.wordpress.com
Author: Christy Collins
Type of Book: Softcover
Length: 190 pages
Genre: Literary Fiction
Publication Date: August 23, 2015
Publisher: Xoum Publishing
ISBN: 978-1-921134-62-3 (Print)
ISBN: 978-1-921134-63-0 (EBook)
Rating: 5 out of 5 stars ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
~ I received a free copy of this book through the Goodreads Giveaway program. A review was not a requirement of receiving this book, but authors and publishers always appreciate honest reviews.
THE END OF SEEING is the winner of the 2015 Seizure Viva La Novella Prize.
"The buildings rise from the rain-blackened streets and office workers slip by leaving pieces of conversation in the air..."
Ana. Poor Ana. She has to be one of the unluckiest people alive. First, she loses her daughter in a tragic accident and next her photojournalist partner, Nick, goes missing and is presumed dead.
Everyone, including the police and the rest of Nick's family are convinced that he perished in a boating accident off the coast of Italy.
But, no body has ever been found. Yes, his cellphone washed ashore, but there are lots of reasons his cellphone could be there without him.
Ana is determined to find out the truth and to prove that he is still alive. She sets out to follow his path and to trace his movements.
What she discovers along the way will surprise everyone.
This book is a literary masterpiece. It is written in delightfully descriptive prose that will resonate with readers of all ages.
Ana's desire to believe that Nick is still alive is 100% believable and totally understandable. I have always wondered how a person can possibly grieve and move on if no body is found. I believe that I would be just like Ana; thinking of all the possible (even if improbable) scenarios that could lead to someone's disappearance. This is highlighted by Ana's thoughts at the beginning of the book:
"We're you on that boat? Did you get off alive? Did you think: now's my chance to disappear, to escape the grief and guilt of Mia's death? Did you mingle in a crowd, jump on a bus, and head for the mountains, cross the border on foot, without papers, like others on board had no doubt planned to do? Maybe you were unable to resist the power of your own story, seeing how far you could get, how long you could survive - earning black money or none at all, nameless and untraceable. Or are you maddened by an ordeal at sea? Perhaps you don't know your own name... Perhaps you're asleep in a youth hostel, bed springs creaking above and below you. Perhaps you're dreaming of running a very long way without anything to stop you. While I, awake in the middle of the night, am dreaming still of you."
The subject matter may seem bleak and dark at times, but the same can be said of reality. Everyone experiences times of darkness in their lives. Christy Collins has eloquently captured both the beauty and despair of the human condition and the endurance of hope when all seems lost.
Christy Collins has an uncanny ability to say quite a bit by using few words. For example; interspersed amongst the details of Ana's journey are random memories that pop into her mind. Here is one such memory:
"I remember a summer holiday: no-one on the beach but the two of us. Evening waves repeated themselves softly on the shore. Beginning with the soles of my feet, you reminded me I was alive. Later: salt and sand swilled down the drain in the cracked-tiled bathroom in a cheap hotel. You reminded me again."
Nowhere in the above narrative does it say that Ana and Nick made love, but the reader knows that this is what occurred. Also nowhere in this description does it mention how old they were when this event took place, yet, somehow, the way it is written evokes a vision in the reader's mind of Nick and Ana in their youthful, carefree past; before adult and familial responsibilities changed their lives. Only a highly skilled and supremely talented author can say so much with so few words.
I highly recommend this book and rate it is 5 out of 5 stars. ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Visit http://seizureonline.com/shop/the-end... for more information as well as links to buy this amazing book online.
To read more of my reviews please visit http://AMIESBOOKREVIEWS.wordpress.com
September 19, 2015
A beautifully written topical page turner. "The End of Seeing" brings to the page haunting fragments of the dark underworld of migration from North Africa to Europe like the photos taken by the protagonist's beloved and suspiciously missing journalist husband - Nick.
February 25, 2016
It’s madness to do this on the basis of reading just two short novels, but if you’re looking for beaut books to read, you should keep an eye on the winners of the Seizure Viva La Novella Prize. I read Julie Proudfoot’s The Neighbour well over a year ago but it’s still memorable, (see my review) and now I find The End of Seeing is exceptionally good too. Somebody at Seizure is very good at finding very good, very interesting stories for us to read!
(BTW Seizure’s Welcome to Orphancorp by Morlee Jane Word won the 2016 Victorian Premier’s Literary Award for Young Adults too, and I have Jane Rawson’s Formaldehyde on the TBR but I haven’t read those two yet).
The End of Seeing is the story of Ana, whose photojournalist partner is missing, believed drowned in a ferry crossing on the Mediterranean Sea. There has been a funeral, but she doesn’t believe he is dead. It’s been more than a year, and her kind, well-meaning friends and family are caught between supporting a fantasy that he might still be alive and the need for her to face reality. Alone, she sets off for Europe on his trail…
(As if the loss of Nick is not enough, Ana is twice bereaved, but I am not going to spoil this carefully constructed novella by saying any more than that).
To read the rest of my review please visit http://anzlitlovers.com/2016/02/26/th...
(BTW Seizure’s Welcome to Orphancorp by Morlee Jane Word won the 2016 Victorian Premier’s Literary Award for Young Adults too, and I have Jane Rawson’s Formaldehyde on the TBR but I haven’t read those two yet).
The End of Seeing is the story of Ana, whose photojournalist partner is missing, believed drowned in a ferry crossing on the Mediterranean Sea. There has been a funeral, but she doesn’t believe he is dead. It’s been more than a year, and her kind, well-meaning friends and family are caught between supporting a fantasy that he might still be alive and the need for her to face reality. Alone, she sets off for Europe on his trail…
(As if the loss of Nick is not enough, Ana is twice bereaved, but I am not going to spoil this carefully constructed novella by saying any more than that).
To read the rest of my review please visit http://anzlitlovers.com/2016/02/26/th...
May 1, 2016
Christy Collins has written an enthralling novella that is both tragedy, thriller and love story. Her writing is concise but beautiful; in one small phrase, she can create an atmosphere that is very evocative,
“ Rain
Underground Tube stations.
Artificial wind. Sigh of automated doors…”
and “The afternoon breathes across my room from the open window and I miss you, but in a different way now.”
The author skilfully combines the love story between Ana and Nick and their creation of Mia with a contemporary mystery involving photojournalism, refugees, people smugglers and multinational companies. The story revolves around Ana’s search for Nick as she retraces the journey he undertook whilst investigating the plight of refugees who he met in the Middle East and Europe and some of whom did end up in Australian detention centres.
A very thought provoking but rewarding read.
“ Rain
Underground Tube stations.
Artificial wind. Sigh of automated doors…”
and “The afternoon breathes across my room from the open window and I miss you, but in a different way now.”
The author skilfully combines the love story between Ana and Nick and their creation of Mia with a contemporary mystery involving photojournalism, refugees, people smugglers and multinational companies. The story revolves around Ana’s search for Nick as she retraces the journey he undertook whilst investigating the plight of refugees who he met in the Middle East and Europe and some of whom did end up in Australian detention centres.
A very thought provoking but rewarding read.
August 4, 2016
Jeniwren shared her copy of this book with me via www.bookcrossing.com.
Being the winner of The Viva La Novella Seizure Prize I was curious and had high expectations.
A slow story unfolding of a widow looking back over the devastating events of her life, but in a slow, graceful, heavy-lidded glance.
As a reader I was greatly impressed with Christy Collins' poetic style and empathy. The landscape seemed to be as important as the main character's emotional state, and was rather cinematic. This was make a good film - in my opinion.
Thank you for sharing this book with me Jeniwren. I have since posted it off to New Zealand to another bookcrosser.
Being the winner of The Viva La Novella Seizure Prize I was curious and had high expectations.
A slow story unfolding of a widow looking back over the devastating events of her life, but in a slow, graceful, heavy-lidded glance.
As a reader I was greatly impressed with Christy Collins' poetic style and empathy. The landscape seemed to be as important as the main character's emotional state, and was rather cinematic. This was make a good film - in my opinion.
Thank you for sharing this book with me Jeniwren. I have since posted it off to New Zealand to another bookcrosser.
October 30, 2015
I won this book as a goodreads giveaway prize, and I enjoyed it quite a bit.
I found it to be more of a meditation on loss and acceptance than a thriller, and thought that its strengths lay in expressing a loss more than painting uncertainty.
At times I found the first person narrative a bit clumsy, and there were a few too many conversations where secret information was revealed in the last moment. That said, the topic was timely, the book was very readable, and I cared about the outcome. If was a good read.
I found it to be more of a meditation on loss and acceptance than a thriller, and thought that its strengths lay in expressing a loss more than painting uncertainty.
At times I found the first person narrative a bit clumsy, and there were a few too many conversations where secret information was revealed in the last moment. That said, the topic was timely, the book was very readable, and I cared about the outcome. If was a good read.
October 28, 2015
This is a very touching book that caught me up in its sadness and bereavement. Through sparse but poetic language, Collins sets a mood perfectly. Our main character has suffered a double loss. Driven to find the truth about her husbands disappearance, she travels through Europe retracing his footsteps. The subject of illegal immigration and refugees is one that is very relevant here in Europe and one strength of this novel is the way it makes us think about the situation from a new position. I found several sections of the nvel deeply moving and can certainly recommend it to anyone.
August 11, 2016
what a great read it was, took me 2 pages to get used to the style, after that i finished it in one go. the mystery and the adventure where great. The story slowly unfolding. It peeked my interest since it involves current, real world, events and an interesting backstory. would recommend, great book.
December 31, 2015
It’s not just an emotional punch lurking within these pages. This is a novella that seems important in a global, the time is now, kind of way. But it’s a painting, a sonnet, not a protest march. Or perhaps it’s both. Please read this.
Full review here: http://leatherboundpounds.com/2015/12...
Full review here: http://leatherboundpounds.com/2015/12...
December 6, 2016
Sometimes utterly amazing things come in very small packages. Just 190 pages long, but every word, in every sentence, on every line is perfect. This beautiful novella took my breath away.
December 5, 2021
I got this in a library sale, and really enjoyed it. Will be seeking out other books in this series for sure. Also other books by Christy Collins. However I was pretty confused by the ending, where greater uncertainty seemed to lead to less urgency? Definitely enjoyed the world the author created, though. It felt like it was set in the early 2000s rather than the mid 2010s when it was published.
March 16, 2020
Enthralling, I loved it.
February 28, 2022
Grief and loss written in a beautiful way.
December 4, 2025
i’m in awe of this book, i was on the edge of my seat the entire time, the mystery and thrill of not knowing. 5/5
October 7, 2022
Arresting prose. An experience to read. My favourite fiction experience for many a while. Stunning.
April 20, 2016
This is a really good book. It's got such an emotional depth. Ana goes searching for her missing partner, Nick. He's disappeared overseas while on a photojournalism assignment. As she follows his footsteps through photos of where he has been, she goes through a time of grief and loss as she tries to figure out what happened to him. The journey is sad and reflective as she relives their lives together and thinks of her young daughter as she goes. It is a beautiful story of love, but a heartrending one of loss. The story is captivating, and I recommend it. Thanks to the author and publisher for providing the complimentary copy in exchange for an honest review.
August 25, 2016
My review is up at "All the Novellas"
http://allthenovellas.com/2016/08/25/...
http://allthenovellas.com/2016/08/25/...
April 14, 2016
Beautiful writing and a page turner in the style of a thriller. Winner of the 2015 Viva La Novella Prize and and an award list worth watching.
November 28, 2016
A beautifully written book but a woman searching for answers about the disappearance of her partner, a photo journalist.
Displaying 1 - 22 of 22 reviews