The Colour of Heaven
By James Runcie  

     Paolo was found abandoned by Teresa Fiolaro, wife of a glassmaker and a woman who yearns for a child. As he grows up, it becomes obvious that he is very shortsighted, a handicap in his trade-to-be, but his talent for recognizing and memorizing every shade and tone of colour is spotted by a painter who sends him and a family friend on a mission to find the perfect blue so he can win a commission for a painting that will show the world a glimpse of heaven.

     This is one of those books that is destined to be popular, falling in between literary and midlist and thus attracting a very wide range of readers. It is a shortish book, but packed full of lush word-painting of colour, and of the world that Paolo visits, his unique perception of it and the people he meets. He has plenty of growing up to do and some interesting places to do it in as he learns about love, death and what will make him happy. It's a feel-good book that operates on several levels and maybe all of it is not there to be discovered at first reading, so this is a book to read slowly and savor like a delicious meal. Something of a gem.