Deaf Sentence by David Lodge

Today we introduce a novel by a very famous English author, David Lodge, who was born in London in 1935. He was a lecturer in English and then Professor of English Literature at the University of Birmingham from 1960 to 1987, when he left his post to become a full-time writer. His collected works include books and essays of fiction, literary criticism and autobiography, as well as a number of plays and screenplays. Several of his novels satirise academia. He said of his own work: Each of my novels corresponds to a particular phase or aspect of my own life (but) this does not mean that they are autobiographical in any simple, straightforward sense. Today’s book, Deaf Sentence, published in 2008, is one of his later novels, and  it reflects his own hearing problems. He said I hate my deafness; it’s a comic infirmity as opposed to blindness, which is a tragic infirmity. David Lodge’s work received many literary honours. He died on 1 January 2025, aged 89.

The publisher’s description of the book says: 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…..

Here are our Reading Circle members’ book recommendations for this month.
– The Loneliness of Sonia and Sunny by Kiran Desai (2025): Two Indian immigrants to the US have a chance encounter on a train in India, which leads to romance. Short-listed for the 2025 Booker Prize
– Bel Canto (2001) by Ann Patchett: Follows relationships among a group of young terrorists and their hostages, mostly high-profile executives and politicians, over several months.
– Dream Count (2025) by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie: A friendship saga -four women navigate love, loss and life choices during the pandemic.
– The Eleventh Hour by Salman Rushdie (2025): Five short stories, focusing  on the themes of old age and death.
– Flesh by David Szalay (2025): A rags-to-riches story about a young Hungarian man, at odds with himself. His life and the roles that he is asked to play are not entirely under his control. Winner of the Booker Prize for 2025.
– The Piano Player of Budapest (2024) by Roxanne De Bastion: A true story of Holocaust survival, music and hope.
– Winter: Story of a Season (2025) by Val McDermid:  A wise and enchanting meditation on winter from one of Scotland’s best-loved writers.

Do join us next month, when we will be introducing Prophet Song by Paul Lynch, winner of the Booker Prize for 2023.

The publisher’s description says:
„Exhilarating, terrifying and propulsive….. (Prophet Song) is a devastating vision of a country falling apart, and a moving portrait of the resilience of the human spirit faced with the darkest of times.“

Here are some brief reviews
• An urgent, important read. The Guardian
• Thunderously powerful. The Times Literary Supplement
• Chillingly Plausible. The Irish Times

Music Played
– Walk to the Paradise Garden, by Frederic Delius, played by the Royal Scottish National Orchestra conducted by David Lloyd Jones
– Nimrod by Edward Elgar, played by the Halle Orchestra, conducted by Sir John Barbirolli.