The Deaf-Mute Boy - Softcover

Geraci, Joseph

Softcover

ISBN 10: 0299218945 ISBN 13: 9780299218942

Publisher: University of Wisconsin Press, 2006

Synopsis

The Deaf-Mute Boy—equal parts travel story, love story, and a resonant confrontation with the Muslim world—is the tale of a gay American professor immersed in a North African society. Maurice Burke, an archaeologist, is invited to speak at a conference in the bustling port town of Sousse, Tunisia. At first disillusioned by its rampant tourism and squalid commercialism, Maurice becomes intrigued by his surroundings after meeting a local deaf-mute boy. While exploring a vibrant souk, Maurice encounters a religious leader who guides him on a fateful introduction to the boy’s family. As Maurice’s involvement with the deaf-mute boy intensifies, he finds himself drawn into a maze of Tunisian politics, culture, and religion.

About this title

About the Author:

Joseph Geraci is the author of the novels Loving Sander and Marrying Tom, and editor of the anthology Dares to Speak. He was a member of the editorial collective of The Catholic Worker and is  director of the Paidika Foundation in Amsterdam. For many years he has been a dealer in rare photographs.

From Publishers Weekly:

West meets East and rich meets poor in this thin story of the ill-fated friendship between a gay Columbia University professor and a teenage Tunisian deaf-mute boy. Maurice Burke, in Sousse, Tunisia, to speak at an archeology conference, meets Nidhal on the beach and shortly thereafter becomes bent on helping the boy after seeing him bullied. Maurice turns to a local imam for help and is warned that matters are too complicated. Maurice doesn't heed the warnings and continues to pursue what he believes are the boy's best interests. Unfortunately, Maurice's powerful sense of obligation to the boy remains mysterious and muddled, and though Geraci (Loving Sander) does an excellent job of capturing Tunisian medina life, his portrayal of political unrest and violence is vague. The climax, which takes place during a riot, makes the novel feel like a morality play. (Nov.)
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About this edition

• Publisher: University of Wisconsin Press
• Publication date: 2006
• ISBN 10: 0299218945
• ISBN 13: 9780299218942
• Binding: Paperback
• Edition number: 1
• Number of pages: 189