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clare_tan_wenhui's review against another edition
3.0
Maybe it is myself, but the heavy use of descriptive prose was a tad overwhelming for me. Well, it is unavoidable since all 3 protagnists in the book are all deaf. Even then the lack of conversation in the narrative wears you down when reading, thankfully before you lose patience with the book altogether. Meanwhile I'm not too sure whether I interpreted the symbolic meaning behind "sign language" and "scorpion", the 2 main themes in the book, correctly...
absolute_bookery's review against another edition
challenging
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
2.0
Genuinely had no fcking clue what was going on?!
sherenejm's review against another edition
emotional
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Murder
dr_aimz's review
3.0
I bought Ismael and His Sisters (Granta, 2015) after listening to Louise Stern's 'postcard from London' on BBC Radio 4's Open Book. The postcard was read on air by an actor as Stern is deaf; she is the fourth generation to be born deaf in her family. After seeing a glimpse of the deaf community in Grayson Perry's marvellous Who Do You Think You Are documentary series, I was fascinated by Stern's ideas about the relationship between the deaf experience and writing, and the ways in which she tries to articulate this relationship through her work. (I highly recommend searching for the podcast.)
The titular characters of Ismael and His Sisters are deaf and live in a Mayan village, a community where the hearing and non-hearing coexist. An event occurs that forces Ismael to flee the village and live in the city and the narrative splits between his experience in the city and the lives of Rosie and Cristina, the sisters he has left behind.
Ismael and His Sisters is a beautifully written short novel; at times, the writing made me feel woozy and disorientated as certain passages — particularly Rosie's — guide you towards viewing the world in a different way. And not just the external, physical world: Stern shows how experiencing the world without verbal *or* written language (the protagonists cannot read) can drastically alter how one's emotions and inner thoughts are felt and understood.
It's definitely a book well worth checking out, particularly if you enjoy the writing of Eimear McBride, Toni Morrison, Ali Smith, and José Eduardo Agualusa.
The titular characters of Ismael and His Sisters are deaf and live in a Mayan village, a community where the hearing and non-hearing coexist. An event occurs that forces Ismael to flee the village and live in the city and the narrative splits between his experience in the city and the lives of Rosie and Cristina, the sisters he has left behind.
Ismael and His Sisters is a beautifully written short novel; at times, the writing made me feel woozy and disorientated as certain passages — particularly Rosie's — guide you towards viewing the world in a different way. And not just the external, physical world: Stern shows how experiencing the world without verbal *or* written language (the protagonists cannot read) can drastically alter how one's emotions and inner thoughts are felt and understood.
It's definitely a book well worth checking out, particularly if you enjoy the writing of Eimear McBride, Toni Morrison, Ali Smith, and José Eduardo Agualusa.
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