Words for a Deaf Daughter and Gala: A Fictional Sequel (American Literature) - Softcover

West, Paul

Softcover

ISBN 10: 1564780368 ISBN 13: 9781564780362

Publisher: Dalkey Archive Press, 1993

Synopsis

This volume brings together two of Paul West's best books: his critically acclaimed "Words for a Deaf Daughter" (1970), a nonfiction account of West's deaf and brain-damaged daughter Mandy at age eight, and "Gala" (1976), a novel about a writer named Wight Deulius who brings his handicapped teenage daughter Michaela from England to America for a visit. While Words is an account of Mandy's diagnosis and treatment, Gala is "the scenario of a wish-fulfillment" (as West writes in the preface), a continuation of the father and daughter's joyful investigation of the richness of life and its amazing possibilities. Ranging across natural history and astronomy in his effort to understand his daughter's handicap, West finds in Mandy/Michaela an irrepressible and unpredictable guide to the mysteries of the universe. Brought together in the same volume, the books also allow a unique look at how nonfiction and fiction techniques can be used to the same ends in the hands of a master of prose.

About this title

About the Author:

A naturally gifted spiritual medium and healer, Paul has been listening to, writing and speaking the Voice For God (Holy Spirit) and Jesus for many years. He is a seasoned channeler and author and continues to apply the forgiveness principles of A Course in Miracles to his own life. You are encouraged to have an open mind and heart as you listen to the words which have come through him, as an offering of clarity and peace. Surrender to your divine guidance and allow yourself to be lifted up into illumination. We are all awakening together. After receiving the book, please consider returning to write a short review/rating - your feedback is very powerful in helping more people to develop trust, and is very much appreciated. Thank you. Visit us online at www.voiceforgod.net

Review:

"... a rare celebration of the human spirit that will move thousands of readers." -- Publishers Weekly

"West shines best when he dares to invade those close to home and heart. Gala, a novel in which he attempts to jimmy the lock on his deaf daughter Mandy's closed world, tells of their joint attempt to build a basement model of the Milky Way. From this domestic conceit West launches headlong into the more rarefied precincts of brain biochemistry, astrophysics, and linguistics, yet the sum is anything but dry meditation; his prose burns with the incandescent passion only a parent could muster." -- Albert Mobilio, Voice Literary Supplement

"[Gala is] wildly eloquent. Paul West... has style as full of exotic ingredients as God's bouillabaisse and, in its references to nature, as comprehensive as Noah's inventory.... He has thrown a mental party for his readersa gala, a festivity that links two human beings to the constellations." -- Edmund White, New York Times Book Review

About this edition

• Publisher: Dalkey Archive Press
• Publication date: 1993
• ISBN 10: 1564780368
• ISBN 13: 9781564780362
• Binding: Paperback
• Number of pages: 416