reflections from later life

As always with David Lodge's work the interesting story is interspersed with clever observations and short essays. It is an ideal listen and a very well read performance.

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Dark, dark humour.

I really enjoyed this book; brilliant characters, brilliant prose style. The story and underlying message does get darker as the book progresses and I stopped sniggering quietly at the character's social humiliations after a while and it made me really think about the deaf people I know, and how they must feel. to begin with, Desmond Bates does come across as being pompous. By the end, he is enjoying meeting up with, and respecting, ordinary people and keeps his own high education to himself, The descriptions of hearing aids and how the batteries often fail was very realistic. The way the main character kept forgetting to put his aids in, the ways people had to shout at him to get a message across was also a slice of real life. One of the less depressing episodes was how he was able to still do some lecturing in Poland, having prepared the ground properly, and made sure everyone was aware of his situation. It made me feel that, with openness and the right attitude, all things are possible, and towards the end of the book, the protagonist is taking lip-reading lessons and clearly, for him, this is the start of his being able to cope with his disability. There is no mention of BSL which might have given an even more positive message as well, but perhaps that was not Lodge's experience. If it had been, I think it would have been a very different book with a less downward trajectory. Some people seem to have expected a big reveal or Disneyesque ending but I felt the ending was very much in keeping with the overall story. It's a slice of life, well worth a read, especially if you have family members who are going deaf, or you are also developing that problem yourself. If Lodge was still with us, I'd be sending him fan mail.

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Great book

Would you recommend this audiobook to a friend? If so, why?

I have recommended this lots. It made me laugh and almost cry!! Great idea - a linguistic expert losing his hearing and coping with the challenges of middle age.

Who was your favorite character and why?

The main character, how he copes with his own flaws, his unsatisfied wife, his ageing father, and his deafness, has a ring of truth. He's really human and likeable and his interest in linguistics adds an ironic touch.

What about Steven Crossley’s performance did you like?

He was an excellent narrator.

Was this a book you wanted to listen to all in one sitting?

Yes but not really possible as work gets in the way!!

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2 people found this helpful

A bit insipid

I bought this book as the 'blurb' sounded quite interesting. Something a bit out of the norm. However, although it wasn't a bad book, I found it a bit of a struggle to keep any interest going. I always finish books when I buy them but in this instance I was getting quite bored and just wanted to get to the end in order to read something else. The characters were insipid and I didn't really care what happened to them.Nothing actually seems to happen and the small 'plot' with the student was unrealistic to say the least.

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Easy to listen to but a bit dull and uneventful

This story was easy to listen to but in the end it was rather dull and dour. Nothing of great note occurs, we expect some interesting climax to all the loose ends but just get death and disappearance. It's fine for a basic listen but don't expect to be thrilled.

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1 person found this helpful

lovely quirky novel from Lodge. the prose is as smooth as ever.

David Lodge remains in vintage form in this charming rumination on later life. A joy from end to end.

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1 person found this helpful

Entertaining, but with a serious message

This book is an interesting mix of the humorous and the serious. It really brings our attention to how deafness is viewed in our society - we tend to find it irritating rather than having compassion for its sufferers. There are definitely a few cringe-worthy moments in there, and it is well narrated.

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2 people found this helpful

lovely!

A nice, rambling comforting story with great narration. Really interesting subject matter- I loved it.

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1 person found this helpful

Enjoyable but not David Lodge’s best

It lacked the humor of other Lodge’s books and not much of a plot either.

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