Almost Visible: (Baraka Fiction)

Tess has just moved to Montreal from Nova Scotia, and seeks to lose herself by involving herself in the lives of others. She befriends an older man while delivering meals to the elderly. Her interest in his past veers into obsession after furtively going through his photos and letters and “borrowing” his journal. Though fact and fiction are blurred, they reveal a man shaken by political polarization and repression in his Latin-American homeland. Tess learns about a young, passionate man in the 1970s forced to reconcile his love for a militant young woman and his dedication to his best friend whose family is on the other side of the political divide. As she delves deeper into Mr. the man’s story, she questions her own life choices, emotions and obsessions. Exploring cultural and personal memory, Almost Visible reflects on what can happen when a lonely person intervenes in another person's life.

About the Author :
Michelle Sinclair worked for two decades on policy related to human rights issues. She is fortunate to have lived, studied, or worked in Australia, Bangladesh, Costa Rica, Ecuador, France, Switzerland, and the United States. She lives in Ottawa with her family. Almost Visible is her first novel.

Review :
"A novel that wisely and compassionately explores the self-shattering lines that exist between altruism and betrayal, cynicism and idealism, and the harsh price paid by both sides." --David Adams Richards, Winner of Canada's Giller Prize and Governor-General Award "She hits you with some extraordinary language and metaphors that make you wonder how a new writer has the audacity, talent, and courage to push and blur the boundaries." --Ottawa Review of Books. "There is an intensity in Michelle Sinclair's writing - depth of insight into each character, each setting and each moment - that draws the reader into the words of her story. (...) Almost Visible is a powerful study in themes of cultural and personal memory ... Every word, every moment has a place in her writing. This makes for excellent reading." --Anne Smith-Nochasak, The Miramichi Reader "A solitary young woman gazes into a senior's tumultuous past in Almost Visible, Michelle Sinclair's immersive novel about finding connections and living through regrets... Almost Visible is a poignant, time-traversing literary novel about the rewards of daring to involve oneself in a stranger's pain." --Karen Rigby, Foreword Reviews "In Almost Visible, Michelle Sinclair takes the reader into the lives of characters on the cusp of adulthood as they navigate their worlds. From Montréal to an unnamed country in South America" on the verge of a civil war, we see how family secrets impact the lives of the unsuspecting. I found myself thinking about Almost Visible and the book's characters for weeks after turning the final page--always a sign of a good book."--Blossom Thom, Poet, Author of #HashtagRelief, Baraka Books