Retired Professor of Lingustics Desmond Bates is going deaf. It's a bother for his wife who has an enviably successful new career and is too busy to be endlessly repeating herself. Roles are reversed with his aging father, who resents his son's attempts to help him. And then there's Alex, a student whom Desmond has agreed to help after a typical misunderstanding at a party. But her increasingly bizarre requests cannot all be blamed on his defective hearing. So much for growing old gracefully...
Deaf Sentence
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'Brilliantly entertaining. Makes us giggle, laugh and even roar' Daily Mail 'One of the most moving things I have read in a long while... extremely readable, pitch perfect writing' Spectator 'Very funny. Deaf Sentence supplies the unusual sight of a senior British novelist bringing off the very difficult trick of successfully extending his range' Guardian 'Expert and enjoyable... many laugh-out-loud moments... gloriously funny, moving' Literary Review 'Full to bursting with comic riffs, apercus and insights. Seriously funny' New Statesman 'Very good, deeply enjoyable... rich with satirical set-pieces' Observer 'Sophisticated, beautifully layered... speaks to the intellect as well as the senses. As moving as it is entertaining. Lodge is a consummate observer of modern life' Herald 'There is much that is wonderful' Scotland on Sunday 'A quietly brilliant study of deafness, death and linguistics' Prospect 'Defies categorization... celebrates the sheer preciousness of existence' Irish Independent 'Enjoyable, thought-provoking... Lodge at the top of his game' Irish Times 'One of Britain's best-loved comic writers' The Lady 'He renders the painful isolation of deafness comic. A deeply melancholic novel' Independent 'Extremely readable, generously studded throughout with amusing comic moments underpinned with passages of genuine compassion and insight' Big Issue 'Wise and witty' Tatler 'Witty, exhiliratingly sharp' Sunday Times 'Funny, humane' Financial Times 'Dark and revealing comedy... probably no other work of fiction has described so successfully the multiplicity of confusions, frustrations and social stratagems deriving from deafness' The Times Literary Supplement
Book Description
A brilliant, elegiac novel of one man's effort to come to terms with deafness and death, ageing and mortality, the comedy and tragedy of human lives.
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews
15 of 15 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
David Lodge's latest novel explores the world of Desmond Bates, a retired professor of linguistics who is going deaf. It features the three main characters in his life - a student, his wife and his father - and the changing relationship he has with each of them.
It's an intriguing book and especially compelling in the treatment of deafness. Why, Bates asks, is this disability treated as something comic, whereas blindness is always tragic? He recounts the frustrations and embarrassment caused by his inability to hear and his journey as he comes to terms with his deafness, and, in an ongoing wordplay, with death.
However, it's an uneven novel and the flow is not helped by the move from Bates' first person reflections to third person narrative. The mix of intimate story-telling, as Bates deepens his relationship with his wife and father, does not sit easily with the thriller-like tale where we see Bates become entangled in the ever stranger behaviour of his American student, Alex.
David Lodge himself is becoming deaf, and the depiction of Bates' deafness has a touching authenticity. Likewise, the character of the father is modelled on Lodge's own father, and also rings true, as does Bates' wife. But Alex (a blonde American postgraduate, researching suicide notes) is entirely fictional, and it's hard to believe her story. The final denouement seems contrived and is deeply unsatisfying.
It's a shame that Lodge brought in Alex to add suspense. She contributes little and detracts from the powerful figures of Bates' wife and father. The latter two teach the meaning of deepening intimacy. Alex shows us that people do strange things. I know which I find more insightful.
It's an intriguing book and especially compelling in the treatment of deafness. Why, Bates asks, is this disability treated as something comic, whereas blindness is always tragic? He recounts the frustrations and embarrassment caused by his inability to hear and his journey as he comes to terms with his deafness, and, in an ongoing wordplay, with death.
However, it's an uneven novel and the flow is not helped by the move from Bates' first person reflections to third person narrative. The mix of intimate story-telling, as Bates deepens his relationship with his wife and father, does not sit easily with the thriller-like tale where we see Bates become entangled in the ever stranger behaviour of his American student, Alex.
David Lodge himself is becoming deaf, and the depiction of Bates' deafness has a touching authenticity. Likewise, the character of the father is modelled on Lodge's own father, and also rings true, as does Bates' wife. But Alex (a blonde American postgraduate, researching suicide notes) is entirely fictional, and it's hard to believe her story. The final denouement seems contrived and is deeply unsatisfying.
It's a shame that Lodge brought in Alex to add suspense. She contributes little and detracts from the powerful figures of Bates' wife and father. The latter two teach the meaning of deepening intimacy. Alex shows us that people do strange things. I know which I find more insightful.
68 of 71 people found the following review helpful
Format:Hardcover|Amazon Verified Purchase
As a sixty something who has been losing his hearing for about ten years i was attracted to this title and how glad i am that i was. His descriptions of hearing tests , the fitting of devices [ none of which work really well ], the weird shrieks and whistles therefrom, the batteries running out at the worst times and of course the embarrassment of guessing what is being said to you and getting it totally wrong are all spot on. After reading this book i find that i am not alone in finding this loss of one of my faculties while rather sad also not short in mirth and humour. Reading this was like sharing, for the first time, this whole deaf business with a close pal.
Like our main character, Desmond Bates , i found early retiral not really enjoyable; missing the day to day pressure of business and the banter with colleagues and clients. In the early days feeling suddenly rather useless. Again his descriptions are so apt.
There is, of course, a lot more to this than the above. He illustrates the acceptance of growing old ,becoming deaf, losing a loved one with a fine, realistic, but comic touch. His sympathetic visits to his old dad's dreary home and frugal yet independent life; his fragile emotional and physical relations with his younger wife Winifred and the mysterious even younger woman Alex Loom who nearly causes the collapse of all he holds dear makes for a never a dull moment novel.
As i have said i only picked it up because of the intriguing title and i now look forward to reading more by David Lodge.
Like our main character, Desmond Bates , i found early retiral not really enjoyable; missing the day to day pressure of business and the banter with colleagues and clients. In the early days feeling suddenly rather useless. Again his descriptions are so apt.
There is, of course, a lot more to this than the above. He illustrates the acceptance of growing old ,becoming deaf, losing a loved one with a fine, realistic, but comic touch. His sympathetic visits to his old dad's dreary home and frugal yet independent life; his fragile emotional and physical relations with his younger wife Winifred and the mysterious even younger woman Alex Loom who nearly causes the collapse of all he holds dear makes for a never a dull moment novel.
As i have said i only picked it up because of the intriguing title and i now look forward to reading more by David Lodge.
10 of 10 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback|Amazon Verified Purchase
I kept having to remind myself that this novel was fiction. It chronicles the tribulations of a middle aged man going deaf. Not completely deaf but missing bits of words and not being able follow conversations at parties. Anyone who suffers in a similar fashion will recognise the circumstances in which he finds himself. It is crammed full of shrewd observations and is in addition very funny. There are not any cruel jokes about people who are hard of hearing, but this is a story told with sympathy. A really excellent read and highly recommended.
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Most Recent Customer Reviews
4.0 out of 5 stars
Book Club Read
I found it very amusing but the author did labour on a bit about the pitfalls of hearing aids which I consider outweigh the inconveniece of not being able to hear clearly. Read more
Published 11 days ago by Mrs. Yvonne Ellis
5.0 out of 5 stars
Insightful read
This captivating book is insightful with regards to the everyday difficulties that deaf people face - without even realizing it. Read more
Published 14 days ago by SkyeRae Books
3.0 out of 5 stars
A good read
This is very amusing and true to life a good read. Obviously David Lodge has first hand experience of being hard of hearing.
Published 2 months ago by Lyn
4.0 out of 5 stars
Northern Book-clubber
Great story of language, interpretation and switching off (deliberately or otherwise). Poignant story about identity and community told with wit. Read more
Published 4 months ago by magma
4.0 out of 5 stars
how do you review a present
Not actually read it as it is a present. Came highly recommended by an old boy going deaf, DEAF I said.
Published 5 months ago by dood37
5.0 out of 5 stars
Brilliantly funny!
Just about half way through this book and love it. It is very funny and have laughed out loud on several occasions. Read more
Published 7 months ago by Lesley Jay
3.0 out of 5 stars
Deaf Sentence
David Lodge is always worth reading, though some books are more gripping than others. This one was OK but not amongst his best in my opinion.
Published 10 months ago by Neilbld
5.0 out of 5 stars
Wonderful Novel
This is a really funny novel about the problems of deafness and so much more such as looking after an elderly relative; in the case of the 'hero' of this book his father. Read more
Published 11 months ago by Gill Ray
5.0 out of 5 stars
"Deaf Sentence"
A super read. Lent my last copy and didn't get it back. Reading now again for the third time.
Thanks Amazon - USUAL SLICK SERVICE!
Thanks Amazon - USUAL SLICK SERVICE!
Published 11 months ago by Hirod
5.0 out of 5 stars
enlightening book
This book gives a real insight into what it is like to be deaf. However it is also very funny, and very well written. Read more
Published 12 months ago by elaine
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