True Biz by Sara Nović
Random House, 2022
386 pages
Source: ebook borrowed from library
Motivation for reading: MMD book club September selection
Summary (from goodreads):
The students at the River Valley School for the Deaf just want to hook up, pass their history finals, and have politicians, doctors, and their parents stop telling them what to do with their bodies. This revelatory novel plunges readers into the halls of a residential school for the deaf, where they'll meet Charlie, a rebellious transfer student who's never met another deaf person before; Austin, the school's golden boy, whose world is rocked when his baby sister is born hearing; and February, the headmistress, who is fighting to keep her school open and her marriage intact, but might not be able to do both. As a series of crises both personal and political threaten to unravel each of them, Charlie, Austin, and February find their lives inextricable from one another's—and changed forever.
This is a story of sign language and lip-reading, disability and civil rights, isolation and injustice, first love and loss, and, above all, great persistence, daring, and joy. Absorbing and assured, idiosyncratic and relatable, this is an unforgettable journey into the Deaf community and a universal celebration of human connection.
My thoughts:
Overall, I liked this book. I was unfamiliar with both Deaf culture and issues faced by the community, and this novel offered a way in. It introduced me to fundamentals of Deaf history, basic principles of signing, and the controversy surrounding sign language and the use of cochlear implants. Interspersed periodically between chapters were short nonfiction "lesson plans" - a creative feature which I enjoyed.
But there were some negatives, too. The novel had more of a didactic and YA (young adult) feel than I was expecting, plus the story dragged in the middle.
The book club's author talk featured the author plus a sign language interpreter with Anne Bogel, and it was so interesting to watch! I never would have chosen this book on my own and appreciate the opportunity to learn about Deaf culture through MMD.
My rating:
⭐⭐⭐
This sounded good so I looked it up on Amazon and saw the description said "“For those who loved the Oscar-winning film CODA". I watched the film and loved it so I think I'll get the audio, and probably watch the film again first. Thanks for bringing this book to my attention!
ReplyDeleteVicki - Thanks for mentioning CODA. I've never seen it, but it's available on amazon prime video. Just added it to my list!
DeleteI liked this book more than you did. I found it interesting and a compelling story. I think I knew it was YA when I started it and maybe that helped.
ReplyDeleteHelen - I found it interesting and compelling as well, but wish I'd known it was YA before getting started. Still glad for the perspective it gave me.
DeleteInteresting plot that I haven't much run into in the past. I, too, enjoyed the movie CODA. I've often wondered how "literal" signing can possibly be and how much it varies from signer to signer. Interpreters can be so emotionally expressive sometimes that I find myself glued to them during press conferences.
ReplyDeleteSam - It's a subject I've never encountered in a novel, and only minimally in life, so it has definitely broadened my horizons. One of my daughters took a couple of ASL courses and I initially thought she was overdoing it with the expressions, but have since come to see professional interpreters doing it the same way... very interesting to watch. I'm hoping to watch CODA next week.
DeleteThis sounds like a very interesting book. I took ASL in high and college, but still don't know a lot. I'd love to read this! Thanks for introducing this to me.
ReplyDeleteCODA is a fantastic film. I hope you enjoy it!
Heather - It sounds like this book might be a good fit for you! It introduced me to so many new ideas... just wish I'd known it was on the YA side.
DeleteThis sounds really interesting. Thank you for pointing out that it's more of a YA book. I don't mind as I do read the occasional YA but just prefer to know ahead of time.
ReplyDeleteIliana - I don't read much YA, maybe just one or two a year, but I prefer to know ahead of time, too. Still, this was a good read and it taught me a few thing, too.
DeleteGlad you talked about this one. I'm not too into YA either. I will probably skip it, though I do appreciate deaf issues it's about .... and I liked the movie Coda that also touched on deafness. Did you see it?
ReplyDeleteSusan - We haven't seen a single movie in the past month, so Coda is still on the list. At this point, it will likely be after the wedding when we finally get to watch anything! Despite the book being YA, it still made me think about issues I hadn't previously considered. And the author talk with an ASL interpreter was so interesting!
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