Love In Touch

Love In Touch
by Lucy May Lennox

****

Love In Touch involves a relationship between a woman named Kassie and a deaf/blind man named Jake.  I've never read a book about a person who was blind and deaf before, and I wasn't quite sure what to expect from Lennox's book.  I was actually very skeptical.  I couldn't figure out how there could be a believable romance between an able-bodied woman and a man who can't see or hear.

Well, Lennox has made me a believer.

Jake is not only believable as a love interest for Kassie, he is drop dead sexy.  I'm not even a dev of deaf or blind guys, but I can still attest to several devvy thrills throughout this short, sweet novel.  The romance progresses slowly, but all seems very genuine.  I was really rooting for Jake and Kassie to end up together throughout the many obstacles that come between them.

A novel like this has the potential to get sappy or condescending, but there isn't a trace of that in Lennox's book.  The dialogue is snappy and it's obvious she has a great sense of humor.  Jake is a real person with real flaws, and not just some tragic hero.  It's also clear that Lennox did a lot of research to make the plot realistic.

I guarantee that you have never and will never read another book like this for the rest of your life.

Silence Is Multicolored in My World

Silence is Multicolored in My World

by Red Haircrow

***

This is an unusual, somewhat mysterious book, but well worth reading.

First, it's not a novel. It's a collection of first person essays, maybe originally blog posts, about an unnamed young man, collected and edited by his partner, after his death at the age of 31. Nothing is stated outright, there are only vague hints. Here's what we know about him: profoundly deaf at a young age due to illness, he escaped the horrors of a Russian orphanage and ended up turning tricks on the street as a teen. An older foreign man bought his freedom, and brought him to Berlin, where he settled. His rescuer was first his friend, then his lover, and eventually his legal husband. We never find out how he died, it's only mentioned in passing in the foreword.

The book is divided into sections, with essays on various topics. The first section talks about his deafness in a very moving, poetic way. I found it super devvy! Especially the chapter where he describes going to a concert to feel the vibrations of the music. The descriptions of his daily life in a country house are also quite beautiful. Later sections give his opinions on homophobia, sex abuse, and gay culture. He describes trips to the US, and comments on American and German culture. The essays are refreshingly outspoken and personal. It's obvious too that English is not his first language, but I found the unusual word choice poetic, creative, and thought-provoking, not at all an impediment to understanding.

In all, he comes across as a fascinating, deeply sympathetic person. Reading through what in many ways feels like his private diary is moving but also slightly unsettling, because it is so personal, and in the end we know so little about him. Ironically, many of the later essays talk about his need for privacy. But in printing his thoughts, this book invites more questions about who he was and how he died. I would have liked at least a little more solid information.

A Discreet Gentleman of Discovery

A Discreet Gentleman of Discovery

by Kris Tualla

****

18th century romance set in Norway. Brander Hansen lost his hearing to an infection at the age of seven. Disinherited by his father, he sets himself up as a "gentleman of discovery," a kind of 18th century detective, aided by his cousin Niels. Baroness Regin Kildahl writes to him for help when her husband gambles away their estate, not knowing that Brander has been systematically buying up the debts on the Kildahl estate, hoping to buy himself a title. Brander, using his professional pseudonym Lord Olaf Olsen, agrees to help her, while also attempting to solve a string of murders around Christiania (Oslo). The plot description on Amazon goes into a lot more detail about the plot, but it's kind of spoiler-y, don't read it if you don't want to know half the story.

If, like Devo Girl, you like historical fiction and a deaf hero, this is definitely one to check out. The writing is above average for romance, and the author has clearly done a lot of research. I really liked the Norwegian setting; it was original and interesting. The plot and characterization is satisfyingly rich, and the use of language is mostly appropriate for the era, something you don't find often in historical romance. It gets a bit overly cheezy toward the end, but on the whole the balance of mystery, adventure, and romance is pretty good, which is also unusual--most romance authors usually drop the other plot elements once the hero and heroine get together.

The depiction of deafness is pretty good. The author clearly did research on that too, which is much appreciated. Brander and Niels use a sign language they developed together, but Brander can also read lips. He communicates using a mix of sign language, mouthing words silently, and writing. It was a nice believable touch that he can't speak well, and chooses not to. I really liked that he wasn't like a deaf superhero who can do everything perfectly (although his lipreading is a bit too effortless and perfect). I also liked that he's pretty well adjusted to his disability--I'm so tired of the injury/recovery story. But his deafness is still a big part of the story, it's definitely not glossed over.

The best part is that even though this is a romance in a series, the next books will all be about Brander and Regin, not about secondary characters spun off into their own books. There are several other books about the Hansen family, but they are set in different time periods, and it's not necessary to read them to enjoy this one. The second Brander/Regin novel, A Discreet Gentleman of Matrimony, is already out, and the author has another three in the works. So much to look forward to!

What I Didn't Say

What I Didn't Say

by Keary Taylor

***1/2


Young adult romance. Jake is a seventeen year old high school senior living on Orcas Island. His life his pretty good, except for years he has never been able to tell Samantha, the girl he loves, how he feels about her. After drinking too much at a party, he tries to drive to her house to tell her, but instead crashes and sustains a neck injury that rips out his vocal chords and leaves him permanently mute.

This is an unusual disability, and a terrific story. Jake is a great character, and his disability is mostly handled realistically. Although he has some dark moments, he is not consumed with anger and bitterness. I loved that even though this is a romance, he is the narrator. I wish there were more romances narrated from the guy's point of view. Samantha is great too--she's not a perfect princess (hello, Crazy Beautiful), but a nuance, real girl. In fact, she has some serious problems of her own and most of the book revolves around Jake helping her. Even so, there are lots of great dev moments.

I also loved the setting. I have been to Orcas Island, and it is every bit as beautiful as in the book. The author does a great job creating a real sense of place, and adding details about life on the island.

So why only three and a half stars? Well, like many self-published books, there are a lot of spelling and grammar mistakes. In this case, not typos, but the kind of thing that doesn't show up in MS Word autocorrect: mistaken homophones, dangling modifiers, apostrophes used as plurals, even confusing I and me. I don't care if you're self-publishing, get it right!

But more significantly, I was more bothered by Jake's (and the author's) dismissive attitude towards American Sign Language. Jake communicates primarily by writing in notebooks, but he also learns ASL. However, he only makes a half-assed attempt to really learn it, and he's constantly saying how bad he is at it. Fair enough, it's a hard language to learn. But he also says several times that it feels impersonal and impractical. This dismissive attitude really bugged me, because ASL is wonderfully expressive, far more than scribbling notes. But from the descriptions, it's clear the author doesn't know how ASL works, and she never describes any of the signs.

Oh well, those are minor annoyances in what is otherwise a great book about a disability that only shows up rarely in fiction.

Deaf Eye Satisfy

Deaf Eye Satisfy

by Chip Green

***


This is clearly a heartfelt and sincere work, and a unique perspective into Deaf culture. But as literature, it has some major flaws.

The narrator, Skip Verde, is clearly a stand-in for author Chip Green, and many of the scenes have the authenticity of lived experience. Skip is an English teacher in a high school for the deaf. He doesn't have a degree in Deaf education, although he is fluent in ASL, so he's something of a maverick. At first, he bonds more easily with the Hard of Hearing kids who have a better grasp of English, but he soon chafes at the curriculum which emphasizes English grammar only. He wants to help the students express their inner selves through literature, so he conceives of the idea of having them act out short scenes from poetry, plays, or literature in ASL, to help them get in touch with their artistic, creative sides. The principal and school counselor get involved, and suddenly everyone has a stake in the project, even as the kids start to get really into it. Meanwhile, Skip finds himself starting to understand the "deep Deaf" kids better, ie, the native ASL speakers. But the project is polarizing both among the other teachers who each have their own ideas about Deaf education and the parents who care only about getting their kids' grammar good enough for college.

The story illuminates many aspects of Deaf culture: the differences between ASL and English, discrimination, especially in the past and how it still affects Deaf adults, the divide between Deaf and HOH, and between Deaf and hearing, hearing parents who don't communicate with their kids, the problems of a shrinking residential school as more kids are mainstreamed, as well as past abuses at residential schools. I really liked how the author rendered ASL literally, rather than translating it into idiomatic English. It really gives a sense of how ASL works and how it's different from English.

However, the writing is problematic. This book desperately needs an editor. There are a ton of typos, at least one on every page. Even worse, there are many diction errors, and a lot of places where the writing is so convoluted it's impossible to tell what is happening or who is talking--kind of horrifying if the author is himself an English teacher. And like your annoying high school English teacher, he is forever pedantically belaboring his points in mini vocabulary lessons.

 But there are bigger thematic problems too. Skip wants desperately to be accepted by his Deaf colleagues and students, and to understand them better. But the author's allegiance to Skip's POV takes the story in some unfortunate directions. There's the militant Deaf teacher who's painted as a complete villain, no nuance at all. Skip also has nothing but scorn for the hearing people who are starting to learn ASL but are not yet fluent-they are annoying and shown having wrong motivations (unlike Skip, of course). It reminded me of Americans who live abroad in non-English speaking countries and try to prove how down they are with the local culture by shunning all contact with fellow Americans, like they are the only ones cool enough to hang with the locals. The thing that disturbed me the most was after Skip decides his former respect for the HOH students was misguided because it was based only on their superior grasp of English, he starts to actively hate them. So it's ok for him as a teacher to just hate the HOH kids? He spends all his time trying to reach a few of the Deaf kids, but the ones who are less connected to Deaf culture he just stops caring about.

Since it's from the teacher's POV there isn't any devvy romance angle. But if you want to know more about Deaf culture, it's worth reading.

Of Such Small Differences

Of Such Small Differences
by Joanne Greenberg

****

This is an amazing book, but the author who wrote I Never Promised You a Rose Garden. It's a love story about a deafblind young man named John, and an able-bodied woman named Leda. John was born blind, and became deaf as a child. He can speak and use ASL but communicates primarily through fingerspelling. He lives on his own, and works in sheltered workshop, where he meets Leda, an aspiring actress who works as a van driver.

Greenberg had extensive contact with the Deaf and deafblind communities, through her husband, a social worker, and her experience lends authenticity and realism to the story. This is not a romance, but a realistic, deeply affecting, poetic novel. The entire novel is narrated entirely from John's point of view, a stunning accomplishment. He's also a poet, and the poetic descriptions of how he encounters the world are amazing. But it also means that we as readers get as bewildering and incomplete a view of the world as he does. The experience of reading an entire book narrated this way gives a tiny glimpse of how difficult it is for him, and as a result the reading experience is sometimes exhausting.

The book was originally published in 1989, and it is quite dated, actually it seemed like it was set in the 70s. Leda is a self-absorbed hippie, as are her flaky actor friends. John was educated in residential schools, and the book reveals the abuses possible in those schools, and the deep scars institutionalization leaves on his psyche. Greenberg makes many sharp observations about disability, the cultures among disabled people, and of the social workers, interpreters, and volunteers who help them.

John is a fascinating, resilient character, but so many bad things happen to him, it's a bit upsetting. His family is nightmarish. But what really bothered me the most was Leda. She's so selfish and thoughtless, I just wanted to smack her. Still, the dev factor was really high for me, and I highly recommend the book.

Sadly, it's been out of print for a long time, but there are used copies floating around. It's definitely worth searching out. Watch out though, for some reason all the reviews on Amazon spoil the entire plot.

A Hearing Heart

A Hearing Heart
by Bonnie Dee

***

Western romance. Set in turn of the century Nebraska. Catherine leaves her wealthy family in upstate New York for the tiny town of Broughton as a schoolteacher, looking to start her life over after the death of her fiance. Jim, who was born deaf, works in the livery and saloon. One day, Catherine witnesses some drunk men abusing Jim and rescues him. In helping him to recover, she discovers that he is not simple-minded as she has been told, but merely unable to speak or write. She decides to tutor him, and love quickly blossoms between them. But they are constrained by the gap in the social status between them and the disapproval of the town. Things in Broughton are not so peaceful either, with the wealthiest man in town buying up all the land, and Jim can't avoid crossing paths with him.

As romances go, this was a pretty good one. Jim and Catherine are both appealing characters, and the obstacles they face are realistic. After a glut of romances with asshole heroes, it was so nice to find one with a hero as sweet and kind as Jim. The writing is a bit flat at the beginning, but it picks up as the book goes along, and there are some very touching love scenes.

The depiction of his deafness is also pretty good. Catherine starts out trying to teach him to speak, but he doesn't make much progress, so she quickly switches to sign language, which they learn together out of a book. The only thing that was unrealistic was that Jim learned to read lips on his own as a child, with encouragement from his mother. Sorry, that's just not possible, but it does serve to make Jim a more independent, competent character. In any case, lip reading is depicted as not perfect, and there's still a lot he misses, which is more realistic.

Also note this is more erotica than romance. There are a lot of very explicit sex scenes, much more than in a standard romance.

Precious Things

Precious Things

by Gail R. Delaney

***

Contemporary romance.
Benjamin Prescott is a highly successful banker, despite being totally deaf from birth. Jewell Kincaid applies for a job at his company, and he hires her on the spot, not only because she's highly qualified, but because she's also fluent in ASL. But from that moment on, it's a struggle for them to suppress their attraction at work. Every romance needs some way to keep the hero and heroine apart, and I found this one more convincing than most. Workplace romance is a serious problem, especially since Benjamin is Jewell's boss. Once another guy in the office starts harassing her, things get even more complicated for Jewell, trying to draw the line for appropriate behavior at work.

But then the office storyline disappears, and the second half of the book is all about Benjamin's abusive father, and him trying to rescue his sister, and get over a lifetime of abuse and neglect. Oh and his family is also fabulously wealthy, such a romance cliche. I found the second half much less realistic and convincing than the first half, as if the author didn't trust that the original conflict was compelling enough.

On the other hand, the writing is really solid, much better than average for a romance. And the portrayal of deafness is good. Benjamin is angry, bitter, and emotionally closed off (another romance cliche) but it's not because of his disability, but because he was abused by his father. He's very well adjusted, uses speech/lipreading and ASL. Jewell is fluent in ASL because she has deaf family members (she didn't just pick it up in an afternoon--I hate books like that!). The descriptions of ASL, how they communicate, and scenes from Benjamin's point of view are all satisfyingly realistic.

The one thing that bothered me slightly is the book makes a big deal over how perfect Benjamin's speech is. Ok, it's good that he's well-adjusted and competent and all, but it kind of felt like a "superman" moment to me--it's not enough that he's well-adjusted, he has to be PERFECT, even to the point of beggaring belief. It feels like a kind of overcompensation for a disabled hero that seems to happen often in romance novels. But at least he never tries to hide his disability or pretend he can hear (so tedious), and the book is good about portraying the limits of lipreading. The author mentions in the afterword that her mother was hard of hearing, so she knows her stuff.

She also mentions that she couldn't convince a major publisher to take a romance with a deaf hero. Still?! Seriously, publishers, get on the ball! There are a ton of romances coming out now in e-book self-published format, so clearly people want to read it!

The Silent World of Nicholas Quinn/Keeping Silent

A pair of mystery novels this time, both featuring deaf characters ~

The Silent World of Nicholas Quinn
by Colin Dexter

*

This is an Inspector Morse mystery, better known for the BBC TV adaptation. The setting is the Foreign Examination Board at Oxford University. In a tiny corner of academia, a select few scholars toil away to create the A level and O level exams to be taken by foreign students seeking admission to British universities. It's a rarified, secretive little world, somewhat disrupted by the recent, controversial hiring of Nicholas Quinn, who is partially deaf. When he is discovered dead, poisoned at home, it's up to Inspector Morse and his assistant Lewis to solve the crime.

Now knowing that the deaf character is the one murdered, one can tell from the outset this isn't going to be a great piece of dev-friendly fiction. But in fact it takes quite a while for the murder to happen; he does get some interesting scenes and character development. My bigger problem with this book (written in 1977) is the dated attitudes towards disability, and toward women. The opening scene where they discuss whom to hire is just painful, and what's worse, the narrator seems to share the prejudiced attitudes of the characters. They worry that Quinn won't be able to function effectively in the office, and in fact, he doesn't. It's never explained how or when he lost his hearing, although it seems to be recent and getting worse. He is a genius at lipreading (of course) but lacks any other coping skills. Women are treated even worse, dismissed immediately as frumpy, clueless matrons or shameless tarts undeserving of consideration.

The mystery is of a very old fashioned sort, basically it boils down to solving the puzzle of who was where at what time. And of course Quinn's lipreading figures into all of it, so once again his disability is really more of a plot device than any sort of character development.

This story was adapted for TV, although Devo Girl has not watched it yet.

UPDATE: Devo Girl has now watched the BBC adaptation. In some ways, it's better than the book because it leaves out the nasty sexism etc. But Quinn is killed right at the beginning, he's only in the opening scene, so devo appeal is pretty much zero.

It also seems that the author based this book partially on his real life. He was forced to quit teaching because he started losing his hearing, then took up a job writing exams for Oxford, like in the book. I'm sure he experienced the kind of blatant discrimination Quinn suffers in the book, but it's a bit disappointing Quinn isn't portrayed more positively or given more character development.



Keeping Silent
by Carla Damron

**

This is a very different kind of mystery, one that hinges on human relationships rather than puzzle-solving. The main character, Caleb Knowles, is a social worker, a sensitive guy, not the usual hard-bitten professional detective.

Caleb's older brother Sam has been deaf since a motorcycle accident at age sixteen. He's also an accomplished sculptor. The story begins when Sam's fiancee Anne, also deaf, is found bludgeoned to death at their home with one of Sam's sculptures. Since he was home at the time, Sam is the prime suspect. In shock, Sam shuts down emotionally and won't cooperate with the investigation, so it's up to Caleb to try to solve the mystery and clear his brother, while still maintaining his caseload and keep his clients with schizophrenia, bipolar disorder and depression from sinking into drug addiction or suicide.

The depiction of deafness in this book is much more realistic. Sam can read lips and speak, but he prefers to use ASL, which Caleb also knows. He does get some interesting character development, as does Anne, who was congenitally deaf and did not speak. The one thing that really bothered me is that part of the mystery supposedly hinges on the fact that Anne is found with her hands making the ASL sign for NO. How is that even possible? Wouldn't the hands instantly relax at the moment of death? The depiction of mental illness in Caleb's clients, though, is very keenly observed and realistic.

Still, dev appeal for me was only moderate. Sam is very handsome and appealing, but because he remains so emotionally closed off, he remains a secondary character. There are several more novels by the same author, in which Caleb and Sam team up to solve more murders, that might be worth checking out.

Music Within

Music Within
2007, USA
dir. Steven Sawalich

***

Biopic based on the true story of Richard Pimentel, who lost much of his hearing as a soldier in Vietnam, then became an activist for the disabled, and helped to pass the Americans with Disabilities Act. As a movie, it's really good, and shows an interesting aspect of disabled advocacy in the US in the 1970s and 80s.

Dev level is moderate. Pimentel is hard of hearing, not totally deaf, and he never uses sign language. He becomes close friends with a guy named Art who has severe cerebral palsy. Because Art speaks so low and slowly, Pimentel can hear him perfectly, and they become a kind of odd couple. Art is the one who pushes him to become an activist, and they scenes with them causing trouble in public are great.

There's also an extra on the DVD of the real Pimentel giving a speech, which is actually more interesting and hilarious than the movie. As usual, truth is more entertaining than fiction, but it's still a good movie.

A Scene at the Sea

A Scene at the Sea
1992, Japan
dir. Kitano Takeshi

NO STARS

A deaf guy who lives near the ocean finds a surf board and teaches himself to surf, while his deaf girlfriend sits on the beach and watches him. That's it, that's pretty much all that happens, until the last scene which indulges ridiculously in sudden tragedy.

Art-house darling director Kitano is obsessed with still, silent compositions where nothing much happens, and with elliptical cuts that leave out the key moments of the action. He does this in all his films, but this one is by far the most egregious example. But what bothered me the most was the portrayal of deaf characters. Kitano is not interested in dialog, as can be seen by the improvised, inconsequential dialog of the few characters who talk, and also the way he favors shooting from very far away. You get the feeling he really wanted to shoot a completely silent film. Ok, that might have been interesting as an artistic experiment. But using deaf characters as a shorthand for a world of silence is dishonest. The characters come across as completely one-dimensional and boring: they don't communicate at all, even with each other, and never show any facial expression. The film uses the deaf characters symbolically, rather than showing their lives realistically. The story itself is understated to the point of irrelevance. There are interminable scenes of guys surfing, all shot from the shore in the most unimaginative way, and lots and lots of scenes of people walking. Other, better Japanese directors know how to create pathos with these long takes, but here there's literally nothing going on. And the ending--huh? It's hard to feel anything when all the characters are kept at such a distance.

Precious Things

Precious Things [Kindle Edition] Gail R. Delaney

Jewell starts a new job and falls for the boss.  A simple story, simply written.  The forward is interesting as the author stated at the beginning that when she originally went to show the story to publishers they didn't think anyone would buy a romance novel where the lead character was deaf.  And that is pretty much the only reason I purchased this book.

The dev factor appears in spades.  The deaf character, Benjamin, is a highly successful trust fund manager.  He is ambitious, fiery, gives not quarter to his deafness but as Jewell slips into his life, you get a feel that he has been isolated and having someone who can sign proficiently and connect with him on several levels, he realises just how isolated he was. 

I love that there is references to how he has to direct her to look up so he can lip read and that during passionate episodes the writer states his eyes relucantly have to focus on her mouth.  Also is several places they use sign language to comunicate confidentially or he will sign very subtly to her with his hand down by his side so the other person in the room doesn't realise.

Beyond Paradise

Beyond Paradise by Elizabeth Doyle
**

This is a mildly entertaining, if flawed, romance. The setting, on Martinique amid displaced French aristocracy is interesting. Sylvie's family clings to its title but has no money, so they arrange for her to marry wealthy but dissolute Etienne. At first she prefers the dashing pirate hunter Jervais, but when captive pirate Jacques kidnaps her as part of his plan to escape, she falls for him instantly. Soon Sylvie finds herself pursued by all three men. Although it's clear she loves only Jacques, how can the two of them escape, and even if they can escape, how can they have a future together?

It's not a bad premise, however, this is 100% fantasy, and the utter lack of any kind of realism bothered me. The author's historical research seems to have been comprised of multiple viewings of "Pirates of the Caribbean." The characters all speak and behave in ways that are not only anachronistic but often surprisingly out of character, simply to move the plot along. And the prose turns to purple on occasion, there are a lot of descriptions of his "cushiony lips" and "tight thighs" etc.

But what really bothered me the most is the totally unrealistic depiction of deafness. Jacques supposedly was born completely deaf, yet somehow he taught himself to speak French, English and Spanish perfectly, and to read lips. This is simply not possible. Even the best lip readers will not catch every word, even under ideal conditions. But here he has long, complicated conversations, with only the occasional slightest difficulty. He also has a sign language, but it's not mentioned or used very much. So his deafness is only sort of decorative, and the author pushes it aside when it suits her. Just because it's a romance novel doesn't mean we have to throw all realism out the window. The Highland Wife is a much more realistic depiction of deafness that is still a satisfying romance, and a better book overall.

In spite of these problems, however, I found the characters rather charming. Sylvie is clever and spunky as a sort of proto-femninist. And Jacques is appealingly boyish. He's not the typical alpha male romance hero. Although he is physically strong, he's sensitive and tender-hearted. Fans of the "wounded hero" type will not be disappointed.

World of Silence

World of Silence by Don Coldsmith
****

It's fairly well-known that the Plains Indians used a universal sign language to communicate among tribes that spoke different languages. Have you ever wondered if that sign language could have also been used to talk to deaf people? This is that book.

Set in an imaginary Great Plains tribe after the introduction of the horse but before the great western migration of white people, this book is part of a much longer series, but you don't have to read the others. This one stands on its own just fine. Coldsmith uses an odd sort of prose style to imitate the way their language works, at first I found it a bit annoying but eventually I got used to it, and even found it beautiful, if excessively plain.

The book is divided into three chapters. The first, Speaks-not, is about how the main character loses his hearing as an infant, and covers his childhood. The second, Hunts-Alone, is about his adolescence, and courtship with his childhood sweetheart, Far Dove. I liked this middle chapter the best--their romance is quite sweet. The last, South Wind, is really about his grand-daughter, whom he is forced to raise alone (for reasons I won't reveal), and it's all told from her perspective. Speaks-not is not shunned by his tribe because of his deafness, quite the opposite, he has a very successful life as a fully-functioning member of the tribe. The main conflict in the third chapter is how South Wind, having been raised alone, can re-integrate with her tribe.

Overall, I found this an enjoyable read, very well-researched and detailed, and a positive, realistic portrayal of deafness. It even inspired me to do some research online about the Plains Indians sign language, and all the signs Coldsmith describes in detail are authentic, as far as I can tell. This is an original and imaginative novel, recommended.

Blind Voices

Blind Voices by Tom Reamy
****

This novel was first published in 1978, shortly after the sudden death of the author at age 42. It's his only novel, although his SF/Fantasy short stories had also gained him some attention.
Haverstock's Traveling Curiosus and Tent Show arrives in a small Depression-era town in Kansas. The people are amused at what seem to be extraordinary, supernatural beings, but because they are mixed in with obvious fakes, most people shrug the whole thing off as a trick. But the circus really does contain supernatural beings, who are enslaved by the villainous Haverstock. The book follows three local girls whose fascination with the circus leads to sexual awakening fraught with danger. Rose falls for one of the roustabouts, Francine for the monstrous Minotaur, and Evelyn for Angel, a mute albino boy with powers to control the elements. The story is thrilling and evocative, but it's the love story between Evelyn and Angel that I liked the best. It's sweet, tender, and heartbreaking. I have reread this book many times and it always holds up.

More Than Words

More Than Words by Elizabeth Glenn
***

Lee Ann Chung is a Chinese-American librarian working in a small Texas town. At obedience school for her dog she meet Keller Hunt, a police detective on leave from work after an injury on the job causes him to lose the ability to speak. They fall for each other immediately, but Keller isn't ready to commit until he finds out if he will recover his voice. The unusual characters add interest to what would otherwise be a fairly pedestrian romance. Although she's called "exotic" a few times, it's refreshing to have an Asian American heroine who is not stereotypical--Lee Ann is feisty and assertive. Keller is a bit more battered than the standard romance hero. When they first meet, he's wearing an eyepatch. He communicates by writing notes. But I didn't like that the outcome of the relationship hinges on whether or not he regains his voice.

The Spider’s Web

The Spider’s Web by Peter Tremayne **

A murder mystery set in ancient Ireland, this is part of a series featuring super sleuth Sister Fidelma, an advocate of the courts. As a trained lawyer of sorts, she travels the countryside solving crimes, with her sidekick Brother Eadulf, who plays Watson to her Sherlock Holmes. In this outing, she sets out to investigate the murder of a village chieftain. The primary suspect is a young man named Moen, who is blind and deaf. It’s clear from the beginning that he has been framed, and much of the tension lies in Sister Fidelma’s effort to exonerate him, but how can a person who can’t speak testify in a court of law? It’s an interesting premise, and the author has clearly done a lot of research on the time period, but unfortunately, the book is weighed down by an excruciatingly dull prose style. Every character speaks as if he or she is reading from a textbook, and the whole thing is about as lively as a diorama in a history museum. Moen, who emerges as a kind of Helen Keller of the Middle Ages, is a fascinating character (and handsome!) but he’s only in a few scenes.

The Highland Wife

The Highland Wife by  Lyn Stone. ****
A romance novel set in Medieval Scotland, the hero is deaf. Robert MacBain travels to the Highlands for an arranged marriage with Mairi MacInness. He thinks that as part of the negotiations, she has been told about his deafness, but she hasn't, then they are attacked and one calamity follows another and he can't find a good way to tell her. The plot revolves around him trying to find a way to tell her, and her trying to figure him out. The whole miscommunication plot threatens to get frustrating, but I found the arranged marriage plotline both more realistic and more interesting than the average romance. The question isn't will they ever get married (they already are), but will they learn to understand each other. What sets this one apart is that unlike every other "wounded hero" romance, Robert is not some aloof, cold-hearted asshole--he's really sweet and generous. And Mairi is not some sheltered bimbo, she actually shows some intelligence. Also the story is not entirely from Mairi's point of view; about half the narration is from Robert's POV, and we find out a lot about how he lost his hearing as a small child, and how his mother invented a sign language and taught him to speak and lip-read. The descriptions of his deafness are very realistic; the author indicates in the dedication that her son is deaf, which explains the realism. Devo Girl highly recommends this one, very high dev factor.

The Bride of Trouville by Lyn Stone **
The prequel, of sorts, to The Highland Wife, taking place when Rob is a child. Rob’s widowed mother, Anne, is forced to marry the French Comte de Trouville. She resists him, not only because she has been traumatized by her abusive first husband, but because she is afraid that if Trouville discovers Rob is deaf, he will be disinherited. So she tries to hide Rob’s deafness from him. Unlike most “big misunderstanding” plots, this is a legitimate fear: Trouville really does not intend to allow Rob to inherit the estate, and it’s up to Anne to prove to him that her son could be a competent lord. The descriptions of Anne raising Rob and teaching him to speak and use a made-up sign language are compelling, and clearly based on the author’s own experiences. Even though the devo factor is low, the writing is engaging, and the characters are interesting.

The Quest by Lyn Stone *
A sequel to The Highland Wife, although as in most romances, the focus is on a different couple. Rob’s stepbrother, Henri de Trouville, returns to Scotland from a disastrous campaign in France. On his way to Rob’s estate, he meets up with Iana Duncan, a young widow fleeing a forced second marriage. The two seek shelter with Rob, and most of the action takes place at his estate, but he’s barely a secondary character. This one is not nearly as good as the other two. Henri and Iana are potentially interesting characters, but the writing falls down in the second half. Even worse, Rob is reduced a cartoony parody of himself, relegated to little more than a human lie-detector. Disappointing.

Kevin’s Story

Kevin’s Story by Adrienne Staff and Sally Goldenbaum *


A modern-day romance written in 1986. Wow, this has to be one of the worst books ever written. Seriously, it’s on a level of the worst online fan fiction. Even though the hero is deaf, and there is no miracle cure, and there are a lot of sex scenes, Devo Girl still can’t give this more than one star. A girl has to have some standards, right? So why is it so bad? For one thing, it's horribly dated. For another, the authors ask us to believe that Kansas City is home to the privileged, elite, jetsetters, and that Kevin, who owns and manages a cookie factory, has a glamorous, desirable career. The heroine, Suzy, is somehow going to launch her own brilliant career by becoming the spokesmodel for Kevin’s Kookies, and … yeah, I could not keep reading. A book, unlike a movie, can be set anywhere. If you want to tell a story about impossibly beautiful and wealthy people, why not set it in New York or LA, with lawyers or something? Don’t try to convince me that the Kansas City Chamber of Commerce annual reception is the social event of the season. Later on they appear on the Today Show to be interviewed by  Jane Pauley. Wow, that’s some cookie factory! The idiocy continues: Kevin somehow lost his hearing in a car accident. A car accident? Is that at all likely? Wouldn’t he be more likely to have an SCI or TBI? Kevin’s factory workers are all deaf, but the management (except him) are all hearing. It’s taken for granted that deaf people ought to work on the factory floor because the noise doesn’t bother them. Suzy reveals that she knows ASL because she had a deaf friend in high school, and somehow, after a few false starts, she’s instantly completely fluent. The authors spend a little bit of time at the beginning explaining how ASL works, but otherwise their depiction is not realistic. For instance, they make it seem like ASL is exactly like spoken English, which is not true. The frequent sex scenes are equally unrealistic and laughable, even for a romance. Within the first few pages, when Suzy auditions for her spokesmodel job, she decides that rather than her own clothes, she would look best in a Kevin’s Kookies t-shirt, so she changes in his office, and whoops! he sees her naked. Not long after, as they go for a drive together in his cookie van, they pull a blanket out of the back, and go have sex in a public park. In the middle of the city. In the middle of the day. Now you know why romance novels have a reason, however contrived, of keeping the hero and heroine apart as long as possible. Without that, there’s really no story, and no reason to keep reading.

Silent Heart

Silent Heart by Deborah Simmons. NO STARS

A romance novel set in Revolutionary France. An example of the very worst, most laughably wretched romance writing. The author keeps telling us how intelligent the heroine is, but she acts like a moron. The hero treats her with contempt, openly mocks her, and uses her for sex, but she loves him anyway. He's supposed to be mute, but it's obvious within the first few chapters that he's only faking it to disguise his identity. Stupid plot, stupid characters, purple prose, ugh, don't waste your time.