Truesight

Truesight by david stahler

Truesight is a young adult and science fiction novel, by American author David Stahler Jr. It is the first book of the Truesight Trilogy.

Plot summary

Truesight, a novel written by David Stahler, Jr., takes place in the futuristic colony, Harmony Station, which is located on a foreign planet. Everyone in harmony is willingly or genetically blind. They follow the philosophy of Truesight in which people cannot see, so they do not get caught up in an external beauty of the world but an internal beauty of people.

The protagonist, Jacob, is a 12 going on the 13-year-old boy living in Harmony. While at school, he has a terrible headache that is described as being like “a web of fire.” The headaches eventually leads to Jacob receiving sight. The novel portrays this as a gradual shift from blur to clarity. While in the early stages of his sight’s development, Egan, Jacob’s best friend, proposes that they check out a delivery. Deliveries are the rare occasions in which “seers” bring supplies or food from Harmony’s Earth-based foundation located in Australia. Harmony’s rules state that every citizen must be inside their houses during a delivery following the curfew unless otherwise authorized. Jacob manages to escape his house and he finds a bush to hide behind to check out the delivery. He finds another of his friends, Delaney, who is the daughter of the high councilor, and his mother’s prime music student, there too. Both of them are discovered and run in different directions. Jacob gets back to his house, but Delaney dies.

Later, after running down a hill with Egan and falling, Jacob can see clearly. He has to keep his sight a secret. He skips school one day and saves a field worker’s life but cannot tell anyone because he would be discovered. He plays games in which he avoids other people’s detection as he passes them on the streets. He enjoys this sight, but that goes against the very foundation of his community. He tells Egan the secret of his sight, but Egan turns him in. Jacob is taken to the high councilor’s house and is sentenced to surgery to remove his sight as well as his memory of sight. He conflicts. He goes to Delaney’s grave using a tool people in Harmony use to find other people called a finder. However, he concludes that she’s not dead, but that she ran away because the finder points away from the community. He doesn’t run away to find her too due to his lack of preparation.

While Jacob is preparing for his surgery, he talks to the high councilor. He learns that the high councilor is having an affair with Jacob’s mother and that the high councilor can see too. Jacob jumps up and runs away. He grabs provisions from his house and exits Harmony “for good”

Characters

Jacob, the protagonist, is conflicted when he gains sight. He doesn’t know how to handle this change that goes against the key foundation of Harmony Station. He is discovered and runs away, so he can find Delaney because she ran away.

Delaney, the daughter of the High Councilor, wants to escape Harmony. She is Gina’s prodigious music student. She is eventually reported dead.

The High Councilor, Martin, the leader of Harmony Station, is Delaney’s father. He reports her as dead even though he let her run away by herself without sight. He sentences Jacob to the elimination of his sight and memory, has an affair with Gina, and can see.

Egan, Jacob’s best friend, is the same age and goes to school with Jacob. Jacob tells him the secret of his sight, but Egan tells his father because he can tell something is bothering him. His father ends up telling the council.

Regina, Jacob’s mother, is a musician in Harmony. She teaches Delaney and gets very upset when Delaney is reported dead and when Jacob lies to her.

Richard, Jacob’s father, works in the Harmony fields.

Beth, the girl that Jacob is attracted to, has extremely awkward moments with Jacob.

Mr. Spencer, Egan’s father, forces Egan to tell him what’s wrong after Jacob tells Egan the secret. Mr. Spencer plays a key role in the prosecution of Jacob.

Holman, Jackson’s partner, is a seer who helps repair the ghostbox.

Jackson, Holman’s partner, is also a seer who helps fix the ghostbox.

Mr. Robinson, Jacob’s orienteering teacher, teaches Jacob how to use a finder. He is disgusted when he learns Jacob can see.

Mrs. Lawson, Jacob’s history teacher, teaches students in Harmony. She is disgusted when she learns Jacob can see.

Parker, Jacob’s partner in the finding test, is found by Jacob in record time due to Jacob’s sight.

Major themes

Critics have noted that Truesight’s “science-fiction theme” deals with the role of society and hypocrisy. Kirkus Reviews noted that “the conflict between individual and society” plays a key role in Truesight. Kirkus Reviews called the society a “dystopia”. Publishers Weekly also noted that Truesight revolves around “the dangers of fundamentalism”. Kirkus Weekly also claimed that Truesight uses the theme of hypocrisy through pointing out “unevenly distributed food, government corruption, and the misery of his friend Delaney” (Kirkus). Inkweaver Review showed that Truesight “revolves around the theme of what happens when we close our eyes to what is around”. Publisher’s weekly showed the hypocrisy thought describing how “his supposedly pious, tightly knit, morally upright community harbors thieves, adulterers, and hypocrites".

Reception

The School Library Journal compared Truesight to “Lois Lowry’s The Giver”. Critics from Inkweaver Reviews called it a “remarkable debut novel”. Publishers Weekly claimed that “Stahler does a remarkable job". Some critics described it as memorable. The School Library Journal claimed that “fans...will find it absorbing”. Inkweaver also said that this would make “a great read”.

However, not all reviews were as positive. The School Library Journal stated that there were “less attractive aspects of the story”. Publisher’s Weekly also claimed that “the story can be easily anticipated”. Some critics like Kirkus Review called Truesight “an interesting concept marred by poor execution”.

Background

While at Dartmouth College working for his master's degree, David Stahler Jr. wrote his thesis "which turned into the novel Truesight" soon after.

References

Truesight Wikipedia

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