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.
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