Items related to Deafening
Synopsis
When the deaf Grania O'Neill meets Jim Lloyd - a hearing man - the two create a new emotional vocabulary of sound and silence. Meanwhile, a war is raging on the other side of the world, and Jim and Grania are pulled to the centre of cataclysmic events that will alter civilization.
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Review
In Deafening, Canadian writer Frances Itani's American debut novel, she tells two parallel stories: a man's story of war and a woman's story of waiting for him and of what it is to be deaf. Grania O'Neill is left with no hearing after having scarlet fever when she is five. She is taught at home until she is nine and then sent to the Ontario Institution for the Deaf and Dumb, where lifelong friendships are forged, her career as a nurse is chosen, and she meets Jim Lloyd, a hearing man, with whom she falls in love.
The novel is filled with sounds and their absence, with an understanding of and insistence on the power of language, and with the necessity of telling and re-telling our stories. When Grania is a little girl at home, she sits with her grandmother, who teaches her: "Grania is intimately aware of Mamo's lips--soft and careful but never slowed. She studies the word as it falls. She says 'C' and shore, over and over again... This is how it sounds." After she and Jim are married and he is sent to war, he writes: "At times the ground shudders beneath our boots. The air vibrates. Sometimes there is a whistling noise before an explosion. And then, all is silent." When Grania's brother-in-law, her childhood friend, Kenan, returns from war seriously injured, he will not utter a sound. Grania approaches him carefully, starting with a word from their childhood--"poom"--and moves through "the drills she thought she'd forgotten... Kenan made sounds. In three weeks he was rhyming nonsense syllables."
A deaf woman teaching a hearing man to make sounds again is only one of the wonders in this book. Because Itani's command of her material is complete, the story is saved from being another classic wartime romance--a sad tale of lovers separated. It is a testament to the belief that language is stronger than separation, fear, illness, trauma and even death. Itani convinces us that it is what connects us, what makes us human. --Valerie Ryan
From the Publisher
Deafening is being published around the world by the following publishers:
Brazil (Portuguese) - Editora Objetiva
Canada (English) - HarperCollins
Catalonia (Catalan) - Columna Edicions
France (French) - Editions JC Lattes
Germany (German) - Berlin Verlag
Greece (Greek) - Livani Publishing Organization
Holland (Dutch) - Arena
Italy (Italian) - Frassinelli/Sperling & Kupfer Editori
Japan (Japanese) - Shincho Sha
Portugal (Portuguese) - Dom Quixote
Spain (Spanish) - Ediciones Maeva
UK (English) - Hodder & Stoughton
US (English) - Grove/Atlantic
"About this title" may belong to another edition of this title.
- PublisherHodder & Stoughton
- Publication date2004
- ISBN 10 0340828919
- ISBN 13 9780340828915
- BindingHardcover
- LanguageEnglish
- Rating
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Hardcover. Condition: Used; Very Good. ***Simply Brit*** Welcome to our online used book store, where affordability meets great quality. Dive into a world of captivating reads without breaking the bank. We take pride in offering a wide selection of used books, from classics to hidden gems, ensuring there is something for every literary palate. All orders are shipped within 24 hours and our lightning fast-delivery within 48 hours coupled with our prompt customer service ensures a smooth journey from ordering to delivery. Discover the joy of reading with us, your trusted source for affordable books that do not compromise on quality. Seller Inventory # 3793535
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Deafening
Published by
Sceptre, London, 2003
ISBN 10: 0340828919
ISBN 13: 9780340828915
Used
Hardcover
First Edition
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Hardcover. Condition: Fine. Dust Jacket Condition: Fine. 1st Edition. Unclipped dust jacket, no inscription very clean throughout. War and Deafness are the two twin themes of this psychologically rich, impeccably crafted debut novel. Seller Inventory # 000143
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