The Third Eye David Knowles' The Third Eye is driven by a narrator who ranks among literature's most indelible. Knowles spins a taut tale of voyeurism, mysticism and aesthetic pleasure, slowly played out against the backdrop of Gotham City and its many temptations. What distinguishes Mr. Knowles' masterpiece from comparable works are the questions that linger after the final word is read.
Perception remains in the eye of the beholder.
The story takes place over one summer in New York, a summer that will redefine the life of Knowles' protagonist. Jefferson is a photographer who each summer, after a series of methodical interviews, sublets his huge SoHo apartment to a new, beautiful young woman. With an alibi that has him photographing wildlife in South America, Jefferson hides out in a second apartment, across the way from his unsuspecting tenants and armed with boarded windows and a camera lens positioned to chronicle his sublettor's stay. He emerges only occasionally, and then in full disguise. The apartment project includes Henry, a hungry young painter whom Jefferson befriended, bribed, and convinced to participate in his obsession.