This book took a few chapters to hook me, but once it did, I was in. It’s narrated by Nick, a lawyer for the EPA who also happens to be blind, as he looks back on a formative romantic relationship in his life. I appreciated reading a novel where the character’s blindness was important to the story but not THE story. I liked that the narrator was self aware and reflective as he looked back. I didn’t come away feeling as though I fully knew or understood Caroline—which may well have been the point! A few things could have beeb tighter. I think this book would have benefitted from being 10-15% shorter. The intro and ending in present day didn’t add to the story for me.

I received an ARC from NetGalley and the publisher in exchange for an honest review.

Literary, character-centered, and a well drawn story. Much to enjoy from an author who is new to me.

3.5 stars.

“He laughed pleasantly. “Something I observed was that Caroline never acted as though you had physical limitations. She adapted to your needs, but in the way we all adapt to our companions, one way or the other – the way you adapted to hers. You were happy together.”” (Quote from ARC)

A well adapted blind hero revisits a past love in “Caroline”, by Adrian Spratt (Books Fluent), an evocative tale with marks of sadness but also hope.
Besides the intrinsic sadness and nostalgia, the story about Nick and Caroline is told in a somewhat dispassionate tone, filtering what was a heartfelt love story decades ago.
Watching a blind lawyer navigate his career in 1980’s New York was an interesting dimension of the book. The contrast between the two eras is compelling, too.
Although the hero, Nick, is in love with Caroline, we sense the pain of loss is already mitigated through the lenses of time. The ignorance or unawareness (the blindness?) about Caroline’s issues ends up being more poignant than the disability itself.
This was very solid in the disability representation; the intensity level of the love story was not so compelling.
I found some parts of the story a bit boring, but I suspect it’s just a personal preference about reading a love story set in the outdated yet so familiar 1980s (showcasing how technology drastically changed our lives).