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Deafening A Novel Frances Itani Books

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Deafening A Novel Frances Itani Books

Set in the early decades of the 20th century through World War I in Onatrio, Canada and France, Deafening is two stories - the coming of age of young Grania struck totally deaf by scarlet fever at the age of 5, and what's like living with deafness - the second story the experience of her husband Jim in World War II France where most don't survive the battlefield, and what it's like for Grania and the other families back home.

A multilayered story filled with the harsh realities of the world of the deaf and the world of the battlefield, and the compassion, love and strength of the human spirit to overcome. Itani is a wonderful writer who gets inside each of these worlds and let the reader have his and her own experience. We become involved in the lives of her characters and we feel their joys and sorrows.


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Deafening A Novel Frances Itani Books Reviews

Itani writes a beautiful story of love, fear, guilt, and hope. Set during WW I, Deafening explores the world of the deaf, and the horrors of war. It also delves into the human heart with all of the complications of grief, guilt, fear.
Loved this book! It is now one of my favorite books of all time and I read a lot! Such depth; of character, of plot, of place, of descriptions, of thoughts, of the era, of relationships, such depth of writing and storytelling!
Interesting glimpse into the life of a deaf person, and also good glimpse of WWI conditions. A little too much detail in some places, and gaps in story line that could have told very dramatic stories.
Loved this novel especially for the 2 fascinating accounts of how it is to be dead and about events in WW 1.I didn't want to leave Grania and Jim.
A beautiful book. So wonderfully written that savoring the words was a joy, never mind the sensitive yet powerful story. Though the topics -- deafness, World War One -- suggest a very grim work, it ends up being a powerful affirmation of life.

This book deserves to be much more widely known than it is; it's an excellent example of how even good books deserve ample promotion, as I think that it's a lot better than some major recent best-sellers. I was pleased to see in a bookstore recently that it's won an award.
The first part of this novel was a superb 99 pages. My enjoyment of these 99 pages is what makes this a three star book despite the fact I grew too bored to finish somewhere in the middle of part three. Here is why

Part one is about a child named Grania growing up in Canada in the late 1800's. A bout with scarlet fever at the age of 5 has rendered her permanently deaf. Thankfully, Grania has an understanding family, especially her grandmother, and with their patience, she learns to lip read. I know from my own experience, lip reading is not an easy task and this book shows us just how difficult it is. Grania struggles to see words, understand words, and even feel words. Readers will feel her frustration, her fears, and her shame at times. When she begins school, we see how the deaf are treated by the hearing people with less than kind hearts. The teacher does not want to take time out of her already busy day to ensure Grania understands what is going on. The children like to laugh at her and play games that humilate her. Most upsetting of all is the ignorant assumption that deaf means dumb. When Grania is sent to a deaf school to learn lip reading and sign language, we see another world. It is a world of silence, yet friendships build and minds expand.

Part two is about an adult Grania who falls in love with a hearing man named Jim. Jim is a nice fellow, but he does not hold my interest. I found his conversations with Grania dull and their romance a bit sappy. My mind began to wander.

Part three follows Jim as he enters World War One and the fighting he experiences or sees. This created a problem for me, as I said earlier, Jim just didn't hold my interest.

Part one seemed a novel all of its own. The style changed after that. I realize the story is about Grania and Jim and World War One, but it just was not written the same as part one. I encourage people searching for deaf fiction and literature to pick this one up tho.
I wanted to like this book, but I expected a lot, and found it a disappointment. The first half about Grania's struggles with learning how to communicate and trying to fit in with her family and friends was interesting and new perspective, even though a bit slow at times and not always that compelling. As far as the second half, I have read other books that have dealt with the horrors of WWI, and this one offered not one new perspective or new point of view or descriptions. I didn't see how it added to the story at all, and at this point in the book I really wished I wasn't reading it, but I guess some part of me wanted to find out what happened, and I felt that the ending was a let down. Mostly, I feel that this topic could have been really, really engrossing, new, and compelling, but the book's lackluster plot and storytelling left me flat. I won't recommend this book.
Set in the early decades of the 20th century through World War I in Onatrio, Canada and France, Deafening is two stories - the coming of age of young Grania struck totally deaf by scarlet fever at the age of 5, and what's like living with deafness - the second story the experience of her husband Jim in World War II France where most don't survive the battlefield, and what it's like for Grania and the other families back home.

A multilayered story filled with the harsh realities of the world of the deaf and the world of the battlefield, and the compassion, love and strength of the human spirit to overcome. Itani is a wonderful writer who gets inside each of these worlds and let the reader have his and her own experience. We become involved in the lives of her characters and we feel their joys and sorrows.