The Beholder

The Beholder is an exploration of what exists between reality and perception. Operating in a world of darkness, the unnamed narrator guides the reader through a multi-layered sense evoking map, where the simple act of brewing coffee in a dark kitchen triggers a lush daydream that spans decades and continents and begins the story. The book is not merely a story about blindness. It is an interesting investigation into how we think by feeling and learning through memory and art.

The heart of the narrative is grounded in the narrator’s childhood where his parents instill a foundational philosophy of work and care and then continues into his adulthood, relationships, and work life. Leveque’s prose is at its most poignant when describing the prophetic impulse of the narrator’s first encounter with poetry before he learned to read, delivered via a girl on a sun-drenched veranda. This book, a physical artifact he carries into his adult life as a seafaring trader, serves as the vital thread connecting his past to a future defined by an insatiable curiosity for language.

This can be a challenging read at times with some of the more descriptive portions meandering through the narrative, but it is a story that is being told to the reader in an epic way and circles back to the points being made while providing an overall cohesive narrative. Fans of more literary fictional works or poetry will enjoy this one for its interesting premise and overarching themes of loss and the power of the written word. The book aligns closely with literary and philosophical fiction. The language uses a wide-ranging, rich vocabulary and complex theoretical framing, showing it is targeted toward mature and sophisticated adult readers.