Most Helpful Customer Reviews
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20 of 21 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
You are deaf right, David, 31 Mar 2009
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.
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9 of 10 people found the following review helpful:
3.0 out of 5 stars
Good, but..., 24 Oct 2009
Excellent in places, with a few reservations:
1. The Gladeworld and Poland trips seemed a bit tacked on
2. It's not clear why Desmond finds (Wini)fred easier to like as the book nears its end - she still seems thoroughly insensitive, shallow and obnoxious
3. The Alex Loom storyline seems to be building up to something and then... peters out
4. Nearly all of the characters were extremely hard to like: not a major flaw if this is what Lodge intended, but still makes the book less enjoyable
Plus points:
1. It offers a real insight into being hearing-impaired
2. The father sub-plot is genuinely moving
3. Some funny lines and scenes
4. The stuff about linguistics is interesting
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9 of 10 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Lodge's greatest hits, 30 Dec 2008
I usually wait for paperback editions of new books by my favourite writers, but in this case I was willing to endure the discomfort of lugging a hardback to bed in order to read Lodge's latest. I had imagined him to be retired from novel writing but was thrilled to discover that he is still at it.
I won't summarise the plot as it is evident from other reviews. I loved this book and found it to be 'vintage Lodge' in that so many of the situations, characters and changes in narrator were instantly recognisable from his previous books.
The fading health - Tubby from Therapy.
The trip to Poland - Messenger from Thinks (ditto the attractive PhD student with blackmailing tendencies)
The ageing, stroppy dad - Vic from Nice Work
The nice windfall at the end - Robyn from Nice Work - etc etc.
This is all fine by me as I love those books and was happy to be firmly in Lodge-land.
I agree with other reviewers who have suggested that the Alex plot seems a bit undercooked - I did feel that this was a bit too underplayed, but in all honesty it wasn't the plot that kept me reading anyway. Rather, it was the pleasure of reading Desmond's endless inner (and spoken) monologue on a wide array of subjects from the meaning of the Wonderbra advert to the politics of the 'quiet coach' - I must admit I'm with Desmond on that last one, and in fact I could have written that bit myself, if I was a talented novelist!
The stuff about deafness was endlessly illuminating, and with Desmond's tendency to think on the spot and look things up as he goes (just like Tubby), we feel as if we're learning along with him. Assuming this all to be based upon Lodge's own experiences, we can take as read that it's a true, insider's understanding of this affliction.
I loved reading this book at Christmas, as that ties in with the plot of the book. Desmond's Christmas was just like millions of others we've all experienced, and I loved the depth of his detailed descriptions. Needless to say, Desmond stands on the grumpy side of the proceedings, but his wife (like me, and like most women I know) loves Christmas and so Desmond makes the best of it to keep his wife happy. All painfully familiar stuff.
If I could make one criticism of Deaf Sentence, it would be that I found the character of Desmond to be just a bit stuffy and pompous at times, and unlike every other Lodge narrator, I did not feel he had the 'pub factor', in other words, I did not think to myself 'I could enjoy this guy's company in the pub'. On the contrary, I thought that Desmond would be the type of person I'd possibly admire, but feel intimidated by and feel like I had to be on my best behaviour for.
I also found the roll-call of family characters hard to keep up with, but coming from a 'blended family' myself I also found this fascinating and true to life.
Minor gripes aside, I still recommend this book wholeheartedly to just about anybody. Few writers in my opinion can nail modern life like Lodge can, and can make the reader feel as if they are in such intelligent and interesting company.
Thank god he doesn't write with his ears. Keep it coming, Mr Lodge.
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