The Colour of Heaven

James Runcie

Having read it

★★★★★

A really great start with a compelling lead character and his short-sightedness. A journey of growing up and finding your way in the world with an odd set of gifts. Namely, the finding of ultramarine for painting and the development of spectacles.

A good passage

The only religion lay in how a man died.

A second good passage

‘You are distracted by the stone and by me,’ she told Paolo. ‘Do you ever stop to think what our life here is like? It is survival. Shelter, Food, Birth, Death. Love is a luxury. We do not expect it. And it does not come twice. Your life is a privilege, adventure. You go where you will. I cannot.’