Great book on a number of levels. New Lourdes is the site of something strange - the local swimming pool overnight is no longer level, and there are rumours that it has healing properties for those afflicted with ill health. 16 year old Wolfgang ( a gangly, loner with a stammer when he is nervous) has a summer job there collecting gate receipts from the "pilgrims" as the locals now call the hordes who folk to the pool in the hope of a cure for whatever ails them. Wolfgang notices a rather overweight blind girl who comes everyday but never actually swims in the pool - she just lies under a tree with her i-pod on, talks to no-one and then gets up and leaves. He learns she is Audrey, the daughter of the local car empire mogul, who then offers Wolfgang money to "date" Audrey as her father is concerned that she is lonely and has no friends. Wolfgang takes the offer, pretending he is a 19 year old Uni student, and soon discovers there is a lot more to Audrey than meets the eye. Why does she visit a cemetery every night? Why can't she sleep? And how can Wolfgang stop himself falling in love with her before it is too late? Also compounding his problems are his elderly father's slow descent into dementia and his own quest to find an unknown species of butterfly. (He has only found dead half specimens so far.) As well as that, he abuses the manager of the pool's trust in him when he uses his master key to let his school friends go swimming after dark and one of them nearly drowns. A fascinating character study - very subtle yet powerful. Much to be said about who is the blind one and who can truly "see". Highly recommended.

A strange story about a boy called Wolfgang who works at the famous New Lourdes Pool, the pool which slopes mysteriously. There he meets Audrey , a completely vision impaired girl who always sits under the same peppercorn tree each day. Wolfgang and Audrey eventually become friends, then lovers, despite Audrey's deep thoughts for example, claiming she's nocturnal. Meanwhile, Wolfgang is intrigued with the discovery of a butterfly that could possibly be unknown to science, and moral decisions regarding Audrey and her father. The ending is slightly surprising.

It was an interesting read in some places, but otherwise was a bit boring. You really need to soak in the details of each thing that happens or else it doesn't make sense. ( )

Great premise, for most part nicely worked though things sag towards the end. A neat social comedy that wants to be a little bit more than that. ( )

http://www.readplus.com.au/blog_detail.php?id=105
http://www.goodreadingmagazine.com.au/book_details.cfm?book=4786 ( )