I am hearing impaired though not completely as with Frances Itani's character. I found so many profound observations about the world of the deaf, some which I share some which are unfamiliar to me because they pertain to that silent world of which I can not be a part.

This story is gripping and a very moving about human engagement and communication. If you know anyone deaf I can highly recommend this great work of fiction to you.

CONTROLLED RELEASE NOTES:

Gone to Switzerland on an exchange trip to nice-cup-of-tea, looking forward to having visitors, lol

Received from pageturner2006 - in a trade for Deaf Sentence, by David Lodge.

I absolutely loved this book :-) Set in WW1 in Canada, it mixes family, love, grief, war, deafness into a sensitively and beautifully written book. The characters will stay with me for a long time, particularly Grainne, Mamo and Jim.

Amazon Review
Review
'DEAFENING has a very particular grace and eloquence, and the spareness of the writing beautifully complements the power of the emotions which Frances Itani describes.' - Helen Dunmore

'DEAFENING is a remarkable and absorbing first novel. Itani's writing is clear-headed and sure-handed; her strong characters will not leave you.' - Charles Frazier

‘War and deafness are the twin themes of this psychologically rich, impeccably crafted debut novel set during WWI . . . Wonderfully felt novel is a timely reminder of war's cost, told from an unexpected perspective. Forecast: Itani's first novel is reminiscent of Pat Barker's REGENERATION trilogy' (Publishers Weekly )

'This is a psychologically rich, deeply atmospheric and exquisitely told story.' - (Woman & Home )

'The subtlety of Itani's writing is nothing short of remarkable . . . her voice is pitch perfect . . . Itani is unquestionably a prodigious talent' - (Toronto Star )

'An impressively daring first novel from Canada immerses us in both the world of the deaf and the world of WWI trench warfare . . . Husband and wife embody Itani's theme; the power and reach of love - love that falters only in the face of the unknowable. Itani never loses control of her tricky material: the result is an artistic triumph' - (Kirkus Reviews )

'Itani's evocation of Grania's world of silence, and the myriad ways we communicate with those we love, is masterly, as is her rendition of hell in the Flanders mud. Despite the dark subject matter, this is a book filled with light.' (Guardian )

‘War and deafness are the twin themes of this psychologically rich, impeccably crafted debut novel set during WWI . . . Wonderfully felt novel is a timely reminder of war's cost, told from an unexpected perspective. Forecast: Itani's first novel is reminiscent of Pat Barker's Regeneration trilogy' - (Publishers Weekly )

'There's not a single false gesture in Frances Itani's "Deafening." Despite its subjects - war, romance, disability - it's a story of careful, measured emotion, bleached of all sentimentality... every page of this story betrays the hands of a mature writer who knows exactly what she's doing' - (Christian Science Monitor )

‘Itani takes a subject that could have been treacly and sentimental but makes it into something admirably understated, touching and restrained. She writes lyrically about the magical, mysterious way that language, intimacy and trust enable a deaf woman to hear the sounds of the sea and of music – and of how cataclysmic historical events can touch, shatter and ultimately strengthen even the most interior life.’ - (People )

'Some books just demand the adjective "wonderful". This is one of them.' - (The Times )