Clare Jay

Breathing in Colour is the story of Alida Salter and her 18 year old daughter Mia. They have a very troubled relationship following a tragedy some 12 years earlier for which Alida has always, deep down, blamed the 6 year old Mia. When Alida receives a phone call from a hotel in India where Mia has been staying, informing her that her daughter is missing, she sets out on a journey to find her daughter that consumes the whole of the book.

The reader is led along the journey with Alida, and experiences the rich sense of sounds, places, people and experiences that take place during her search. The character of Mia suffers from synaesthesia, a neurological sensory condition, and I felt that Clare Jay described Mia’s feelings very well to the lay reader. As we are led towards the conclusion of the story, the reader is desperate to find out whether Alida manages to find Mia through a selection of highly complicated and vague clues, and whether Alida can learn to forgive Mia and regain a long lost relationship with her child.

An excellent story of being a mother, being a daughter, love, forgiveness and India.… (mais)