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rach22's review
3.5
Interesting read. I enjoyed hearing about Jean’s story as it unfolded and about the deaf community in Glasgow. I had never thought too much about how deaf people view the world so this was interesting. The mystery turned out to be horrific but I think that was part of the shock factor.
I liked Kinniburgh and the backdrop of 1817 Glasgow and Edinburgh. I liked hearing about the bit in the courthouse.
Good read, well written, however I did feel that some elements were over explained on multiple occasions.
I liked Kinniburgh and the backdrop of 1817 Glasgow and Edinburgh. I liked hearing about the bit in the courthouse.
Good read, well written, however I did feel that some elements were over explained on multiple occasions.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Child death and Violence
anni_in_wonderland's review
challenging
dark
emotional
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.5
I really, really enjoyed reading this book. I also have some issues with it. Honestly, it’s complicated.
I sometimes struggle a little with historical fiction which is often so riveting, well written and interesting but so many aspects are made up and I end up struggling to separate fact from fiction. As a result, I don’t really read this genre often. However, I saw this and had to read it when I realised it focuses on a deaf character and features BSL (I’m deaf but not native signer, although I started learning BSL later in life).
The book focuses on Jean Campbell, a deaf woman from the Hebrides accused of throwing her baby in a river in Glasgow and it’s set in 1817. This lady was a real person and the court case is also real, but from what I managed to find out after reading the book not all that much is known about her so I am assuming there’s a lot of fiction in this.
The book is told from several perspective, but the main character is not Jean, but a man named Robert, who is a teacher of Deaf from Edinburgh and who is tasked with interpreting for Jean. This proves difficult as Jean is illiterate (hence they cannot use finger spelling to bridge communication gaps) and their signs vary slightly. Robert uses signs more closely aligned with BSL, Jean has no formal education and would be using more dialect (and/or home signs). Just for context: British Sign Language was not recognised as a language until 2003, nearly 200 years later and certainly not something that was particularly accessible to many d/Deaf people at that time. Especially so as Jean does not come from a Deaf family, so she had little actual exposure to sign language until she was an adult and moved to Glasgow, where she found a Deaf community.
The story unfolds at a fairly slow pace as we slowly learn more and more about Jean’s life, often through her recounting her story and Robert travelling to meet people she shared her life with, sometimes through swapping to the perspectives of the people involved in Jean’s story or Jean herself. I don’t really want to get into the details of the story at this stage as I actually think it’s best enjoyed going into it blind and spoiler-free – which is why I also made sure not to google Jean Campbell until I had finished the book.
I sometimes struggle a little with historical fiction which is often so riveting, well written and interesting but so many aspects are made up and I end up struggling to separate fact from fiction. As a result, I don’t really read this genre often. However, I saw this and had to read it when I realised it focuses on a deaf character and features BSL (I’m deaf but not native signer, although I started learning BSL later in life).
The book focuses on Jean Campbell, a deaf woman from the Hebrides accused of throwing her baby in a river in Glasgow and it’s set in 1817. This lady was a real person and the court case is also real, but from what I managed to find out after reading the book not all that much is known about her so I am assuming there’s a lot of fiction in this.
The book is told from several perspective, but the main character is not Jean, but a man named Robert, who is a teacher of Deaf from Edinburgh and who is tasked with interpreting for Jean. This proves difficult as Jean is illiterate (hence they cannot use finger spelling to bridge communication gaps) and their signs vary slightly. Robert uses signs more closely aligned with BSL, Jean has no formal education and would be using more dialect (and/or home signs). Just for context: British Sign Language was not recognised as a language until 2003, nearly 200 years later and certainly not something that was particularly accessible to many d/Deaf people at that time. Especially so as Jean does not come from a Deaf family, so she had little actual exposure to sign language until she was an adult and moved to Glasgow, where she found a Deaf community.
The story unfolds at a fairly slow pace as we slowly learn more and more about Jean’s life, often through her recounting her story and Robert travelling to meet people she shared her life with, sometimes through swapping to the perspectives of the people involved in Jean’s story or Jean herself. I don’t really want to get into the details of the story at this stage as I actually think it’s best enjoyed going into it blind and spoiler-free – which is why I also made sure not to google Jean Campbell until I had finished the book.
I love the prevalence of sign language. The author often describes handshapes and signs which is something I find to be very rare in stories that feature deaf people. I thought this was well done. I also loved that throughout the book we meet different people with different “theories” on deafness. Our protagonist Robert is undoubtedly the closest ally in this book, he has quite a good understanding & appreciation of as well as respect for Deaf culture and BSL. His view of the deaf experience seems the most realistic. We also get a character who very much represents the “giftedly disabled” stance, which is extremely weird to me, but I know it existed and still exists. This character believes that Jean – and other deaf people – would somehow have heightened senses or be more “aware”. Finally, we also meet some characters that will equate deafness with not being of sound mind (and the commonly used term back in the day was “deaf and dumb”, this is repeatedly used in the book by all characters, by the way).
Despite all the positives, this unfortunately quintessentially remains a story of a hearing man speaking for a deaf woman. Robert is essential to the court case and he takes it on himself to make decisions regarding what is happening. It is very rare that we switch to Jean’s perspective at all – in fact, most of the time we get the perspectives of the various hearing men that she encounters throughout her life, some of which are nicer and more respectful and understanding than others. The is another deaf character in the book – David, the vicar’s son, a kind and intelligent man, but we do not get his perspective on things, unfortunately. Then again, the author of this book is a hearing woman and I probably would have disliked it a lot she had written a book focussing solely on a d/Deaf perspective. That might have been worse. I know that this book was sent to a sensitivity reader. The author published a blog post on the process on her website in case you are interested. I massively appreciate the author’s efforts to get this sorted, thank you for that. I did not feel that deafness and sign language were misrepresented in this book. However, as much as I loved reading a story that features deafness and BSL, I’m holding out for more actual representation of deaf experiences and perspectives. That felt like a missed opportunity as both Jean and also David are interesting characters. That was the last bit that was missing, so this is a high (!) four stars rather than five stars.
Last but not least I should add: This book is beautifully written and for me paced just right. Sarah Smith is an excellent writer!
Despite all the positives, this unfortunately quintessentially remains a story of a hearing man speaking for a deaf woman. Robert is essential to the court case and he takes it on himself to make decisions regarding what is happening. It is very rare that we switch to Jean’s perspective at all – in fact, most of the time we get the perspectives of the various hearing men that she encounters throughout her life, some of which are nicer and more respectful and understanding than others. The is another deaf character in the book – David, the vicar’s son, a kind and intelligent man, but we do not get his perspective on things, unfortunately. Then again, the author of this book is a hearing woman and I probably would have disliked it a lot she had written a book focussing solely on a d/Deaf perspective. That might have been worse. I know that this book was sent to a sensitivity reader. The author published a blog post on the process on her website in case you are interested. I massively appreciate the author’s efforts to get this sorted, thank you for that. I did not feel that deafness and sign language were misrepresented in this book. However, as much as I loved reading a story that features deafness and BSL, I’m holding out for more actual representation of deaf experiences and perspectives. That felt like a missed opportunity as both Jean and also David are interesting characters. That was the last bit that was missing, so this is a high (!) four stars rather than five stars.
Last but not least I should add: This book is beautifully written and for me paced just right. Sarah Smith is an excellent writer!
Content Warnings
Graphic: Child death, Child abuse, and Violence
mrsrjg's review
informative
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? N/A
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? N/A
4.0
Country #2 - Scotland 🏴
Ok so I'm going to put it out there and say that I'm Scottish but ashamedly haven't read a lot of Scottish books but this year I'm wanting to change that and have started with this (not to mention a perfect choice for my Around the World Challenge); what a book I chose to change things.
This is historical fiction (although at the end found out it is based on a real case) about a deaf woman that has been charged with the murder of a baby and resulting in the subsequent case and trial.
I thoroughly enjoyed this book for numerous reasons; it was really refreshing to read a book based not only in the country I am from but also reading names and places that I am so very familiar with. It also really made me so happy to read a book written largely in the Scottish vernacular.
I mostly liked all of the characters apart from the obvious villains of the piece and I could vividly imagine both them and their surroundings; I particularly felt so much for poor Jean and I am away to search more on her case and her life and I can't wait to see what other books the author comes out with and hope each one will be as enjoyable as this.
*Thanks to NetGalley, John Murray Press and Sarah Smith for the copy of this book. All views are my own.*
Ok so I'm going to put it out there and say that I'm Scottish but ashamedly haven't read a lot of Scottish books but this year I'm wanting to change that and have started with this (not to mention a perfect choice for my Around the World Challenge); what a book I chose to change things.
This is historical fiction (although at the end found out it is based on a real case) about a deaf woman that has been charged with the murder of a baby and resulting in the subsequent case and trial.
I thoroughly enjoyed this book for numerous reasons; it was really refreshing to read a book based not only in the country I am from but also reading names and places that I am so very familiar with. It also really made me so happy to read a book written largely in the Scottish vernacular.
I mostly liked all of the characters apart from the obvious villains of the piece and I could vividly imagine both them and their surroundings; I particularly felt so much for poor Jean and I am away to search more on her case and her life and I can't wait to see what other books the author comes out with and hope each one will be as enjoyable as this.
*Thanks to NetGalley, John Murray Press and Sarah Smith for the copy of this book. All views are my own.*
Content Warnings
Graphic: Child death, Pregnancy, and Religious bigotry
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