Reader’s Choice: The Eyes & the Impossible

Reader’s Choice: Laura Watson

The Eyes & the Impossible by Dave Eggers

MILS catalog record

“Johannes is a free dog, a fast dog. He lives in an urban park by the sea, and every day, he runs through the park, seeing all, missing nothing, and reporting what he sees to the park’s three ancient Bison, the Keepers of Equilibrium. But the Equilibrium has been disrupted. Mysterious rectangles are hypnotizing Johannes, the humans are erecting a mysterious new building, and an entirely new kind of animal has arrived in the park. Johannes must see better, run faster, and ultimately do more than run and see—he must liberate those he loves.” – From cover jacket

About Laura

Hometown and current residence: I was born and raised in Chicago and still live there, none of this suburban stuff. I mean that I live within the city limits. My house is near Lake Michigan on the northside of the city. I am a very urban person outside of Maine and childhood summers in the Northwoods of Wisconsin. Water is a very strong element in my interests and life. I think that I was born with a “water gene.” I love to sail, kayak—be out on water.

Connection to the island: My Maine connection is through my brother-in-law, Ron Watson, a local business owner. Ron moved to Stonington in the 1970s to build 54-feet fishing boats. At that point my husband, Bob, and I started to come to Maine in the summers to visit with Ron. I typically visit in July or August for about a month. I plan to continue that even though Bob died in 2022.

Why do you read? I have always liked reading since childhood. I snuck a flashlight under my blanket to keep reading past my bedtime. I took out the maximum number of books allowed at my school and local public library. It transported me to new places, new experiences and new ideas. It could be exciting, adventurous and at times, thrilling. For a while when my kids were very young and I was working, I didn’t have much time to read and I missed it. Now I belong to two book clubs, probably because of the isolation of Covid. I want to be exposed to literature/books outside my comfort zone, knowledge or usual interests. I like to be challenged, listen to other people’s observations and perspectives, and share pleasures of a book or talk over ideas or passages which perplexed me.

What genre do you hate to read? I really dislike dystopic fiction, which has made me shy away from sci-fi and murder mysteries or explorations of depression. That does not mean that I do not read fairly grim non-fiction or historical fiction—in those cases, it happened anyway and I need to deal with that.

Last book you LOVED: Forgive me for naming two books that I loved this year. 1. Demon Copperhead by Barbara Kingsolver for so many reasons. I adored the beginning of the book. It grabbed me almost immediately and wouldn’t let me go. 2. Song of Achilles by Madeline Miller. It is so beautifully written and it made me cry. (That’s a high compliment).

Currently reading: I am currently reading Sonata in Wax by Edward Hamlin.

Why did you choose The Eyes & the Impossible? I became aware of this book first as an audiobook. I didn’t even realize that it was a middle school book until I was nearing the end. I liked the unusual narrator, Johannes a wild dog. It was joyous, humorous and imaginative to see the human world and natural world through an animal’s eyes. It borders on fantasy fiction because the animals can communicate, they meet together and plan, and we can understand them. On the other hand, the animals are not magical, they are mostly restricted to behaving like animals of their species. The humans in the story continue to see them as animals. I think that it explores and supports strong, positive (human) characteristics like trust, loyalty and community. I believe that it a well-told story which can delight and speak to all ages.