SUMMARY:
'One of the most moving things I have read in a long while . . . extremely readable, pitch perfect writing' SpectatorBeing deaf is less an affliction that a sentence … Retired professor of linguistics Desmond Bates is going deaf. Not suddenly, but gradually and – for him and everyone nearby – confusingly. It's a bother for his wife, Winifred, who has an enviably successful new career and is too busy to be endlessly repeating herself. Roles are reversed when he visits his hearing-impaired father, who won't seek help and resents his son's intrusions. And, finally, there's Alex. Alex is the student Desmond agrees to help after a typical misunderstanding. But her increasingly bizarre and disconcerting requests cannot – unfortunately – be blamed on defective hearing. So much for growing old gracefully . . .'Expert and enjoyable . . . many laugh-out-loud moments . . . gloriously funny, moving' Literary Review'Very funny' Guardian
