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Deaf Sentence cover art

Deaf Sentence

By: David Lodge
Narrated by: Steven Crossley
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Summary

When the university merged his Department of Linguistics with English, Professor Desmond Bates took early retirement, but he is not enjoying it. But his daily discontent is nothing compared to the affliction of hearing loss, which is a constant source of domestic friction and social embarrassment. In the popular imagination, he observes, deafness is comic, as blindness is tragic, but for the deaf person himself it is no joke.

It is through his deafness that Desmond inadvertently gets involved with a young woman whose wayward and unpredictable behaviour threatens to destabilize his life completely...

©2008 David Lodge (P)2008 W F Howes Ltd

What listeners say about Deaf Sentence

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  • Overall
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    4 out of 5 stars

Great book

Would you recommend this audiobook to a friend? If so, why?

I have recommended this lots. It made me laugh and almost cry!! Great idea - a linguistic expert losing his hearing and coping with the challenges of middle age.

Who was your favorite character and why?

The main character, how he copes with his own flaws, his unsatisfied wife, his ageing father, and his deafness, has a ring of truth. He's really human and likeable and his interest in linguistics adds an ironic touch.

What about Steven Crossley’s performance did you like?

He was an excellent narrator.

Was this a book you wanted to listen to all in one sitting?

Yes but not really possible as work gets in the way!!

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1 person found this helpful

  • Overall
    3 out of 5 stars
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    3 out of 5 stars

A bit insipid

I bought this book as the 'blurb' sounded quite interesting. Something a bit out of the norm. However, although it wasn't a bad book, I found it a bit of a struggle to keep any interest going. I always finish books when I buy them but in this instance I was getting quite bored and just wanted to get to the end in order to read something else. The characters were insipid and I didn't really care what happened to them.Nothing actually seems to happen and the small 'plot' with the student was unrealistic to say the least.

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  • Overall
    3 out of 5 stars

Easy to listen to but a bit dull and uneventful

This story was easy to listen to but in the end it was rather dull and dour. Nothing of great note occurs, we expect some interesting climax to all the loose ends but just get death and disappearance. It's fine for a basic listen but don't expect to be thrilled.

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1 person found this helpful

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    5 out of 5 stars
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  • 13-04-24

lovely quirky novel from Lodge. the prose is as smooth as ever.

David Lodge remains in vintage form in this charming rumination on later life. A joy from end to end.

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  • Overall
    4 out of 5 stars

Entertaining, but with a serious message

This book is an interesting mix of the humorous and the serious. It really brings our attention to how deafness is viewed in our society - we tend to find it irritating rather than having compassion for its sufferers. There are definitely a few cringe-worthy moments in there, and it is well narrated.

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lovely!

A nice, rambling comforting story with great narration. Really interesting subject matter- I loved it.

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  • Overall
    3 out of 5 stars
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    2 out of 5 stars

Enjoyable but not David Lodge’s best

It lacked the humor of other Lodge’s books and not much of a plot either.

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