Young documentary filmmaker James Robinson was born with strabismus—misaligned eyes. Although his vision is twenty-twenty, his brain doesn’t fuse the images it receives from each eye. As a result, as he writes, “Since each eye sees a slightly different view, every time my brain switches between eyes, it looks like my entire world jumps.” Robinson’s Whale Eyes is an exceptionally well-done memoir about how he perceives and navigates the world, and the difficult stares he often receives.
Robinson immediately draws readers in by showing them how he sees: He instructs them to try exercises that require twisting the book, holding it upside down, reading backwards and flipping pages to let them experience afterimages. Whale Eyes shares its title with an earlier compelling, innovative short film about the same subject that Robinson created for the New York Times opinion. He explains the catchy, apt title: “We love looking at whales. And yet none of us have ever questioned the fact that we can look into only one of their eyes at a time. It felt as if the whales were afforded the acceptance that I was seeking.”
When Robinson was in school, reading seemed particularly impossible—like “an obstacle course”—and he vividly describes his classroom frustration and survival strategies. Meanwhile, as his eyes grew further apart, he felt increasingly stared at: “Sometimes the stares feel like a thousand little pokes. Like acupuncture coming from all directions.” Luckily, Robinson had extraordinary family support and encouragement, especially from his mother, who put her career on hold to help Robinson and his brother, who has dyslexia.
Robinson’s prose is conversational and seemingly light, yet it will leave readers with plenty of substance to ponder. The layout is often fun and always pleasing to the eye—plenty of white space and an easy-to-read font, as one might expect. Colorful illustrations from Brian Rea add to the book’s appeal and readability. Younger readers will be particularly riveted by Robinson’s school struggles, while teens and adults will be inspired by chapters explaining the author’s increasing fascination with documentary filmmaking in high school and college, as well as his advice for creating compelling stories in both film and print. Particularly intriguing are Robinson’s descriptions of his creative decisions when making videos covering subjects such as a man who lacks facial recognition abilities, or a journalist with a severe stutter. Whale Eyes is a superb memoir that champions empathy and understanding on every level.
