Jellyfish Have No Ears

Jellyfish Have No Ears by Adele Rosenfeld, translated from French by Jeffrey Zuckerman, is a novel of the authors process of going deaf. 

Louise has always felt adrift between communities: not deaf enough to be a part of Deaf culture, not hearing enough to be fully within the hearing world. Hearing, for Louise, is inseparable from reading other people's lips. Through sight, she perceives words and strings them together like pearls to reconstruct a conversation.

Then an audiology exam shows that most of her hearing has gone, and her doctor suggests a cochlear implant. With this irreversible intervention, Louise would gain a new, synthetic sense of hearing - but she would lose what remains of her natural hearing, which has shaped her unique relationship with the world, full of whispers and shadows.

As she weighs the prospect of surgery, she must also contend with the chaotic reality of her life as she falls in love, suffers through her first job, and steadies herself with friends.

A masterclass in wordplay and language's possibilities and limitations, this fiercely original debut plunges readers into Louise's world as she grapples with loss, and considers what she might gain in the process.

Rosenfeld, Adele. (2024). Jellyfish Have No Ears. Minneapolis: Greywolf Press. 

The Book of Lost Names

The Book of Lost Names by Kristin Harmel is a beautiful tale of resistance. 

Eva Traube Abrams is a Florida librarian. At the age of 81 she see an article in the newspaper with the photo of a man holding a book she has not seen in sixty years. This man is in Berlin, his life's work trying to reunite books with the people from whom they were stolen during World War II. This book seems to contain some sort of code. 

In 1942 Eva and her mother fled Paris after her father was arrested along with thousands of other Jews. A man who had been paid to help them if anything happened, gave Eva blank documents and pens, telling her to create papers for her and her mother. 

Arriving a small village along the mountains, Eva's papers attract some attention - by the network of people trying to save Jewish children fleeing the Nazis. Her skills at copying and drawing stamps can be used by the resistance.

Harmel has written a beautiful book of hope. Read it.

Harmel, Kristin. (2020). The Book of Lost Names. New York: Gallery Books.

The Count of Monte Cristo

The Count of Monte Cristo by Alexandre Dumas is one of the best stories ever told. After being harassed to read it for years, I gave in. And I loved it!

Edmond Dantes is a sailor. He is only nineteen, but when his ship's captain dies, he takes over the running of the ship. Once they get back to port it looks like he will become the captain. Dantes, on top of being a good sailor whom the crew loves, is engaged to a beautiful woman named Mercedes.

But back in port in Marseilles, Dante finds out that not everyone is happy for him. Three men, all of who are jealous of him for some reason, plot together to have him arrested. The prosecutor, who at first seems like a good guy, is influenced by his ambitions.

Soon Dantes finds himself thrown into the notorious prison Chateau d'If - a fortress island.

All of this is just the set up for a story of revenge. I will not give any more plot details even though they are well known. I will say that at 1400 pages, I was not ready to leave this book! Read it. Buy your own copy because you will want to re-read it again and again. The Modern Library 2002 translation is the version I read.

Dumas, Alexandre. (2002). The Count of Monte Cristo. New York: Modern Library.

Belle Epoque

Belle Epoque by Elizabeth Ross is the story of an unlikely friendship in 1880s Paris.

Maude Pichon ran away from home to make a life in Paris. But Paris is more difficult to manage that the young woman from Brittany realized. She when she sees an advertisement in the paper she decides to apply - even though the ad asked for ugly girls.

The Durandeau Agency places plain women in social situations. Their job is to make whomever they are with look better by comparison. They are often hired for events during the season - when young women attend social events in the hopes of catching a good match in marriage.

Maude will be hired for a similar job, but the young woman she is to act as a foil with will not know. Countess Dubern has hired Maude to accompany her daughter Isabelle during her season. While Maude is being paid well and will get a significant bonus is Isabelle gets engaged, Maude likes Isabelle. While she cannot be honest with her new friend, she sees that Isabelle has plans other than marriage.

Ross has written a wonderful and fascinating book based on a real ad she saw in a old Paris newspaper. Her writing transports readers to 1888 and immerses us in the rich life of Paris. A must read for historical fiction fans and people who love Paris.

Ross, Elizabeth. (2013). Belle Epoque. New York: Random House.