An Illuminated Darkness

(There are shards of light also, but I will say nothing about them. A cellphone camera is recording what may be shared of this moment afterwards.) Unwanted prayers on your behalf, kindnesses that you end up resenting - living with visual impairment is less about matters of sight than it is about problems of perception. A life without mirrors is not a life without self-examination. On the contrary, Jacques Coetzee's debut is a manifesto of personhood, a portrait of a world brought into being by its textures, its movements, and - most importantly - its music. Easy-flowing and sensuous, this is a collection of the unexpected, the strange, and the suddenly beautiful. Unavoidably and undeniably, Coetzee's is a truly unique perspective.