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Breathing in Colour
This is an emotional and gripping story set in India, about a synaesthesiac girl and the fractured relationship she has with her mother.
Clare Jay is the novelist name of Dr Clare Johnson, expert in Lucid Dreaming
Clare Jay is the novelist name of Dr Clare Johnson, expert in Lucid Dreaming
288 pages
First published January 1, 2009
About the author
Clare Jay
5 books2 followersClare Jay’s short stories and poetry have won prizes and appeared in anthologies, and she tutors writing at university level. One of her most powerful memories is of nearly drowning in a turquoise swimming pool in a dream she had when she was three, which was what got her hooked on dream imagery. Her interest in dreams led her to an ongoing exploration of lucid dreaming and the development of dream-based techniques for entering the writer’s trance. Clare’s earliest academic research into lucid dreaming took place while she was studying for her undergraduate degree at Lancaster University. Her Creative Writing PhD with the University of Leeds (2007) focused on the connection between lucid dreaming and the writing process, and she leads ‘Dreaming into writing’ workshops at international conferences and retreats.
Brought up in South Devon, close to Dartmoor, Clare has since lived in Montpellier, Lisbon, Stuttgart and Cádiz, and has travelled extensively in South-East Asia. Fluent in five languages, Clare spends her non-writing time teaching yoga, experimenting with acrylic painting, walking by the sea, and reading novels. She married her husband, Markus, on an Algarve beach and they have a baby daughter. Clare currently divides her time between Totnes in the UK and Cascais in Portugal.
Clare’s first novel, Breathing in Colour, initially written as part of her doctoral thesis, is about a mother whose teenaged daughter, who has the sensory condition of synaesthesia, goes missing while backpacking in India. It is published in the UK as part of a two-book deal with Piatkus of the Little, Brown Publishing Group. She is currently writing her second novel, Dreamrunner, which is set in Lisbon and is about the effects of a violent sleep disorder on a family. This will be published in 2010.
Brought up in South Devon, close to Dartmoor, Clare has since lived in Montpellier, Lisbon, Stuttgart and Cádiz, and has travelled extensively in South-East Asia. Fluent in five languages, Clare spends her non-writing time teaching yoga, experimenting with acrylic painting, walking by the sea, and reading novels. She married her husband, Markus, on an Algarve beach and they have a baby daughter. Clare currently divides her time between Totnes in the UK and Cascais in Portugal.
Clare’s first novel, Breathing in Colour, initially written as part of her doctoral thesis, is about a mother whose teenaged daughter, who has the sensory condition of synaesthesia, goes missing while backpacking in India. It is published in the UK as part of a two-book deal with Piatkus of the Little, Brown Publishing Group. She is currently writing her second novel, Dreamrunner, which is set in Lisbon and is about the effects of a violent sleep disorder on a family. This will be published in 2010.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 45 reviews
April 27, 2020
An exceptional story where a grieving mom sets out on a trek to find her missing daughter.
In the midst of her venture through the glory of vibrant exotic India,she finds her true maternal insticts to lead her to uncover the trail her lost child leaves for her to follow.
The author uses an amazing selection of vocabulary displays throughout which portray a kaliedoscope of shapes, colours, textures and senses for a vivid imagination.
A lovely read that shows how fractured relationships mend themselves in the quest to find each other with harmonius love and the insticts of a mom's heart!
In the midst of her venture through the glory of vibrant exotic India,she finds her true maternal insticts to lead her to uncover the trail her lost child leaves for her to follow.
The author uses an amazing selection of vocabulary displays throughout which portray a kaliedoscope of shapes, colours, textures and senses for a vivid imagination.
A lovely read that shows how fractured relationships mend themselves in the quest to find each other with harmonius love and the insticts of a mom's heart!
May 9, 2009
Clare Jay’s Breathing in Colour ( Piatkus, Little, Brown Book Group, March 2009) weaves together threads from many disparate areas of life – dreams, travels,the creative mind, family dynamics, memory, and relationships between men and women. The story, which takes place in the UK and India, blends the characters’ dreams into the narrative with seamless artistry, no easy task (which I know from my own experience of including dream imagery in my writing).
Throughout the course of the novel the reader learns about synaesthesia, a condition in which a person perceives sounds or smells as colors, or numbers and certain letters of the alphabet as colors. Both the mother and the daughter in the novel are synaesthetes, and Clare Jay does a superb job describing how the two characters view the world. Jay is not a synaesthete herself, yet she illustrates their world with vivid accuracy, allowing the reader to glimpse what it might be like to have such ultra heightened senses.
I met Clare Jay two years ago at a conference for the International Association for the Study of Dreams, where she told me about the novel she was then writing, her lucid dreams (knowing one is dreaming while in the dream state), and her technique for inducing the writer’s trance, which involves yogic relaxation (she is also a yoga instructor) and the recall of dream imagery. I still remember the character I came up with after attending one of Clare Jay’s workshops involving dreams and creative writing. It was a panther woman who sat at the end of my bed. In fact, I’ve written a poem about the panther woman – she holds a special place in my pantheon of fictional characters.
The characters in Breathing in Colour, both the dream man and the ones who walk the earth, are alive with color, smells, texture, and nuance. They are more than three dimensional because of Jay’s bright, sensitive use of language. It’s like going on a magic carpet ride.
Be sure to visit Clare Jay’s beautiful website and blog, where she has information about her next book, Dreamrunner.
Throughout the course of the novel the reader learns about synaesthesia, a condition in which a person perceives sounds or smells as colors, or numbers and certain letters of the alphabet as colors. Both the mother and the daughter in the novel are synaesthetes, and Clare Jay does a superb job describing how the two characters view the world. Jay is not a synaesthete herself, yet she illustrates their world with vivid accuracy, allowing the reader to glimpse what it might be like to have such ultra heightened senses.
I met Clare Jay two years ago at a conference for the International Association for the Study of Dreams, where she told me about the novel she was then writing, her lucid dreams (knowing one is dreaming while in the dream state), and her technique for inducing the writer’s trance, which involves yogic relaxation (she is also a yoga instructor) and the recall of dream imagery. I still remember the character I came up with after attending one of Clare Jay’s workshops involving dreams and creative writing. It was a panther woman who sat at the end of my bed. In fact, I’ve written a poem about the panther woman – she holds a special place in my pantheon of fictional characters.
The characters in Breathing in Colour, both the dream man and the ones who walk the earth, are alive with color, smells, texture, and nuance. They are more than three dimensional because of Jay’s bright, sensitive use of language. It’s like going on a magic carpet ride.
Be sure to visit Clare Jay’s beautiful website and blog, where she has information about her next book, Dreamrunner.
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May 4, 2016Breathing in Colour by Clare Jay
The story begins when Alida discovers that her eighteen year old daughter has been reported missing in India. She immediate;y heads for India where she meet Taos, an Australian author, who had been a friend to her daughter Mia. What is most interesting about this book is that both mother and daughter experience Synaethesia which is described as a union of senses, Words may bring up colors or even be felt on the tongue as some type of taste. Beautiful to read as the author describes the colors and smells of their perceptions. Synaesthetes ofen experience sensory overload and it is estimated that 1 in 25,000 experience have full synaethesia while 1 in 23 experiences milder cases. Events in the pas have left mother and daughter deeply estranged and Lida must find her to make it right. Really enjoyed this book.
The story begins when Alida discovers that her eighteen year old daughter has been reported missing in India. She immediate;y heads for India where she meet Taos, an Australian author, who had been a friend to her daughter Mia. What is most interesting about this book is that both mother and daughter experience Synaethesia which is described as a union of senses, Words may bring up colors or even be felt on the tongue as some type of taste. Beautiful to read as the author describes the colors and smells of their perceptions. Synaesthetes ofen experience sensory overload and it is estimated that 1 in 25,000 experience have full synaethesia while 1 in 23 experiences milder cases. Events in the pas have left mother and daughter deeply estranged and Lida must find her to make it right. Really enjoyed this book.
September 30, 2024
A book about a mother's search for her daughter.
About the relationship and bond between a mother and a daughter, when a shocking event always casted a heavy dark blanket over the love between them.
It reads partly like a road book, the journey that both Mia and her mother make through faraway India, but the theme of relationships dominates.
Alida receives a phone call from India, where her 18-year-old daughter has fled to escape the suffocating relationship with her divorced parents, but now appears to be missing.
Alida does not hesitate and travels after her daughter, although she has no clue as to where Mia could be, except for the hotel that reported her disappearance to the authorities.
In that hotel she meets Taos, a painter who has spent time with Mia and who assists her in her search.
In search of her daughter in the present, Alida is confronted with the ghosts of the past. During Alida's search, she looks back in time, back to that moment that Alida never wanted to think about again, but which was the basis of the broken relationship between Alida and Mia.
About the relationship and bond between a mother and a daughter, when a shocking event always casted a heavy dark blanket over the love between them.
It reads partly like a road book, the journey that both Mia and her mother make through faraway India, but the theme of relationships dominates.
Alida receives a phone call from India, where her 18-year-old daughter has fled to escape the suffocating relationship with her divorced parents, but now appears to be missing.
Alida does not hesitate and travels after her daughter, although she has no clue as to where Mia could be, except for the hotel that reported her disappearance to the authorities.
In that hotel she meets Taos, a painter who has spent time with Mia and who assists her in her search.
In search of her daughter in the present, Alida is confronted with the ghosts of the past. During Alida's search, she looks back in time, back to that moment that Alida never wanted to think about again, but which was the basis of the broken relationship between Alida and Mia.
September 1, 2025
I picked this up as I left Hospice as I needed a physical book to read. A little frustrating as I found the central character annoying. The family had suffered a tragedy, the 9 month baby drowned. This resulted, ultimately, in the marriage ending. But I cannot understand the selfish wallowing in grief that the mother indulged in at the expense of her living daughter who was also grieving for her baby sister. At 18 the daughter embarks on a trip and is reported missing presumed dead in India. The mother decides to go there to find her. I don’t find that part surprising, I would want to go and find my missing child too but she does manage to turn it into being all about ‘her’. The end is satisfactory but the tale is too long and much too introspective for me.
April 28, 2016
This was a fascinating story. I do not think I have ever read a story using Synaesthesia as a main theme, The author adds this description of it as, a“union of the senses” a sensory condition in which textures might be tasted on the tongue, or musical notes experienced as colours. In Synaesthesia , the five senses, which most people experience as separate, are mingled in almost any combination, so that one sensation involuntarily conjures up others.
It was interesting to learn about something I knew little about, but also to see it applied in this novel. It is the story of a British family who have undergone tragedy, which tears them apart, and of the young daughter who goes missing in India, sending her mother there to search for her. This story has been written very creatively and with a very strong look into family dynamics. Fascinating to see how the daughter relates to things as the author has given her a very strong synaesthetic response.
Wonderful mix of characters and descriptions of places or feelings. It was fun to take this reading journey, as it has opened my eyes to a lot of different views. I don't want to give away too much of the story so I will leave it here. Definitely worth a read.
It was interesting to learn about something I knew little about, but also to see it applied in this novel. It is the story of a British family who have undergone tragedy, which tears them apart, and of the young daughter who goes missing in India, sending her mother there to search for her. This story has been written very creatively and with a very strong look into family dynamics. Fascinating to see how the daughter relates to things as the author has given her a very strong synaesthetic response.
Wonderful mix of characters and descriptions of places or feelings. It was fun to take this reading journey, as it has opened my eyes to a lot of different views. I don't want to give away too much of the story so I will leave it here. Definitely worth a read.
January 23, 2010
I wasn't sure if I was going to enjoy the style of writing of this book about the dysfunctional relationship between a 37 year old mother,Alida and her 18 year old daughter, Mia. Their past relationship is explored from each ones perspective when Alida flies from London to India in search of Mia who has gone missing whilst backpacking. Mia has synaesthesia, and Clare Jay has incorporated this both from Mia's perspective as well as Alida's understanding of this to create a read rich in sensory stimulation. This was definitely a story where the characters were developed much more strongly than the location. A touching and thoughtful story that rapidly drew me in and I didn't want to put it down.
April 27, 2009
This book is the best I've read in a long time! Loved everything about it, the author has done lots of work on lucid dreaming according to her website www.clarejay.com and the dream imagery in the book is beautiful and emotive and doesn't detract from the story at all, far from it. I found it enriched my own dreamlife!
Similarly the synaesthesia the daughter has lifts the narrative into the most amazing sensory perceptions, it's as if you can taste the words. The plot gripped me from the start and I fell in love with the characters and the writing.
Similarly the synaesthesia the daughter has lifts the narrative into the most amazing sensory perceptions, it's as if you can taste the words. The plot gripped me from the start and I fell in love with the characters and the writing.
September 5, 2013
It was really interesting for me as a synesthete to read someone else's attempts to describe it. The character Mia experiences so many different types of synesthesia that I found it very enjoyable to read those sections about 'baked potato' Dad and ashy sounds. The plot itself ended quite abruptly but there wasn't much to add on. I found myself very ambivalent to Alida's character, which surprised me, but it didn't detract from my enjoyment of the book.
August 14, 2009
Every parents nightmare, a phone call late at night and your world falls apart. When Mia Salter goes missing in India, her mother Alida feels that she can find her and bring her home. Using her maternal instinct and a smattering of clues her journey begins. Beautifully descriptive, this story just warms your heart.
June 20, 2010
An outstanding book by a new author. Vibrant brilliant flowing text about a girl, Mia, who suffers from synaesthesia - a condition where the senses are mixed up- sound is colour / taste and those who have this condition see different colours and patterns. Mia is travelling in india and her mother gets a call to say her daughter is missing, and so she goes out to find her.
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April 26, 2009Excellent book! Read in a day! The descriptions are mind boggling and makes you see, taste and smell in such a vivid way!
April 30, 2010
it was a very intersting book. colorful. different. full of thoughts, memories and life. disturbing but beautiful.
December 22, 2010
Sooo good. Swept me away, have only just finished and still wiping tears from my eyes!!
July 9, 2012
Just finished and was moved, and frustrated and sucked in to the experience
June 30, 2022
Amazing!
It was so real! The characters felt very real and believable. There were so many tiny details mentioned at times that I could picture everything clearly and it was as if I was right there with them.
The book also weaves synesthesia and lucid dreaming into the storyline, something not found in many books. I really enjoyed it!
It was so real! The characters felt very real and believable. There were so many tiny details mentioned at times that I could picture everything clearly and it was as if I was right there with them.
The book also weaves synesthesia and lucid dreaming into the storyline, something not found in many books. I really enjoyed it!
April 24, 2024
Not a book I'd ever normally read. But found myself finishing it in a week and enjoyed the storyline, although it seems quite far-fetched. Having plenty of memories india myself, it was nice to revisit them through this book
January 24, 2022
Heartbreakingly beautiful. I'm not crying, you're crying!
June 18, 2023
Another great thrift store find. An interesting weaving of grief, forgiveness, lucid dreams and sensory perceptions into a vibrant adventure through India.
March 18, 2023
India in bright colours, a moving feast for the senses.
Clare Jay's rather original first novel is largely set in India, and deals with dreams, the power of memory and synesthesia.
It is a story about motherhood, loss, grief (mental health), things left unsaid, family trauma, coming of age, being a woman (and becoming a woman), the strain (and bond) between mother and daughter and so much more.
Clare Jay manages to weave multiple layers together into one big sensory overload on top of the beautiful sensory overload of India (I've not yet been to India but I have backpacked around Nepal so I can imagine the splendid chaos of India).
Interesting to note that Mia's mother at first didn't understand Mia's synesthesia, thought her own daughter 'weird' until a doctor explained it to her...We later discover that this was inheritated from her grandmother (before we knew and understood what Synesthesia was) AND I noticed aspects of it in the mother--how mother and daughter are so similar. Alida trying to find her daughter in India and reconnect that mother-daughter bond ultimatley allows her to explore her own form of synesthesiac tendancies (through writing and dreaming) to accept and love herself which further heals old wounds.
Beautiful story, I breezed through this.
Clare Jay's rather original first novel is largely set in India, and deals with dreams, the power of memory and synesthesia.
It is a story about motherhood, loss, grief (mental health), things left unsaid, family trauma, coming of age, being a woman (and becoming a woman), the strain (and bond) between mother and daughter and so much more.
Clare Jay manages to weave multiple layers together into one big sensory overload on top of the beautiful sensory overload of India (I've not yet been to India but I have backpacked around Nepal so I can imagine the splendid chaos of India).
Interesting to note that Mia's mother at first didn't understand Mia's synesthesia, thought her own daughter 'weird' until a doctor explained it to her...We later discover that this was inheritated from her grandmother (before we knew and understood what Synesthesia was) AND I noticed aspects of it in the mother--how mother and daughter are so similar. Alida trying to find her daughter in India and reconnect that mother-daughter bond ultimatley allows her to explore her own form of synesthesiac tendancies (through writing and dreaming) to accept and love herself which further heals old wounds.
Beautiful story, I breezed through this.
February 26, 2010
What a lovely emotive read. This is a story about the pain and seemingly interconnected ecstasy that arrives the moment we give birth.
Clare Jay has captured many of those fleeting thoughts and feelings that occur during ones lifetime. I often attempt to journal but it seems to come out stilted and not convey the mind images and experienced emotions. This clever lady has captured those feelings and put it all in this delightful read - wow!!
Obviously my story and the disappearance of Alida's (main character) daughter are not connected but much of the dialogue evokes our own lived experience. I do not want to give the story line away - it is all interconnected therefore I suggest finding a copy and reading it on holiday somewhere.
Clare Jay has captured many of those fleeting thoughts and feelings that occur during ones lifetime. I often attempt to journal but it seems to come out stilted and not convey the mind images and experienced emotions. This clever lady has captured those feelings and put it all in this delightful read - wow!!
Obviously my story and the disappearance of Alida's (main character) daughter are not connected but much of the dialogue evokes our own lived experience. I do not want to give the story line away - it is all interconnected therefore I suggest finding a copy and reading it on holiday somewhere.
September 26, 2012
“These are the stars we catch before I go to sleep,” Mia had announced, her eyes ablaze with pride as she pointed at the sequins. “When the pink ones sparkle, they fizz in my mouth like sherbet.”
This is a really lovely story. The themes are not so lovely - a teenage daughter gone missing in India, divorce, abandonment, estrangement, and yet the author has done a really stellar job of addressing all these topics without being heavy and depressing but still serious and sincere.
The main characters behaviour while not always likeable is believable. They are normal people with normal reactions.
Mia has a condition which means that you experience emotions etc as colours as feelings. It adds a lovely poetical tone to the story.
This is a really lovely story. The themes are not so lovely - a teenage daughter gone missing in India, divorce, abandonment, estrangement, and yet the author has done a really stellar job of addressing all these topics without being heavy and depressing but still serious and sincere.
The main characters behaviour while not always likeable is believable. They are normal people with normal reactions.
Mia has a condition which means that you experience emotions etc as colours as feelings. It adds a lovely poetical tone to the story.
February 22, 2011
Alida Slater receives a phone call in the middle of the night to say her Daughter has not been seen for some time, and she may be dead, her Daughter is backpacking in India.
Alidia flies to India, although her Ex-Husband Ian tries to talk her out of it.
Mia has Synaesthesia (when the senses get cross wired) we find out that Alida and Mia have had a hard relationship in the past, she manages to get help from one of Mia’s friends Taos, but do they find her?
The book has beautiful descriptions of India and the surrounding areas, I liked this book, in parts I found it difficult to follow, however a great book, I would definitely recommend it.
Alidia flies to India, although her Ex-Husband Ian tries to talk her out of it.
Mia has Synaesthesia (when the senses get cross wired) we find out that Alida and Mia have had a hard relationship in the past, she manages to get help from one of Mia’s friends Taos, but do they find her?
The book has beautiful descriptions of India and the surrounding areas, I liked this book, in parts I found it difficult to follow, however a great book, I would definitely recommend it.
July 29, 2011
A good heartwarming story. Alida is trying to find her missing daughter Mia, who was last seen backpacking in India. Clare Jay takes us into the world of a synaesthesic - someone who has mixed senses and sees in colour. As we journey through the story we learn more about the relationship between mother and daughter and realise that a previous tragedy has blighted their relationship. As the sights, sounds of smells of India are brought to life, we realise that everything hinges on Alida's forgiveness and love for her daughter Mia before she loses her forever. A great debut novel from Clare Jay.
October 8, 2018
Another book about synaesthesia (unusually, written by someone who doesn't have it, and it shows). Sadly just playing on the hype, this turned rapidly into an obvious story with little plot, under-developed characters, and over-flowery descriptions which didn't really capture the spirit of the issue and added nothing to the book. I wouldn't bother.
Girl has issues, goes to India to find herself, pretends to go missing so her mother will come and find her and resolve issues. Surprise surprise, her mother comes and finds her, and they all live happily ever after. Not really a spoiler, you'd have guessed the plot anyway within 5 minutes.
Girl has issues, goes to India to find herself, pretends to go missing so her mother will come and find her and resolve issues. Surprise surprise, her mother comes and finds her, and they all live happily ever after. Not really a spoiler, you'd have guessed the plot anyway within 5 minutes.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
April 24, 2009
I so wanted to love this because I love the cover, the author sounds lovely on her website and India is fascinating to say the least.
I did find the sections describing India and the love relationship enjoyable, but I found the lucid dreaming stuff quite labourious and the premise rather silly.
So slightly disappointing on the whole.
I did find the sections describing India and the love relationship enjoyable, but I found the lucid dreaming stuff quite labourious and the premise rather silly.
So slightly disappointing on the whole.
February 17, 2011
I really enjoyed this, what with the rich language and the elements of treasure hunts, and the awful realisation near the end that there is a deadline, and it's going to be very very close. The exploration by both key characters into moments of their past is very well handled, and everything just adds to the story as it unfolds.
December 28, 2009
Absolutely amazing book. Not only because the protagonists (a mother and daughter) are synesthetes, but because the lyrical, lush writing is perfect for the story and the setting. I loved the characters, and had to slow myself down to savor the writing, as I wanted to know what happened next!
February 23, 2010
What a beautifully written book. The language used is just so gorgeous and sumptious and tangible.
It felt like a decadent experience even if the basis of the story, once revealed and confirmed did make me cross.
I am glad I read it though and would recommend it.
February 18, 2012
How do you know that your "red" is the same as my "red?" If you've enjoyed Clare Jay's, "Breathing in Colour," you may care to discover more about synesthesia with Richard Cytowic's "Wednesday is Indigo Blue" Discovering the Brain of Synesthesia".
Displaying 1 - 30 of 45 reviews