I truly loved this book, although it's difficult to explain why, as there wasn't really a definitive storyline. It starts out by introducing each of the characters in the first two chapters. There is Singer, the deaf-mute central to the plot, Spiros Antonapoulos his mute friend, a cafe owner, a drunk, a black doctor and a teenage girl. The stories of each of these people are so incredibly mundane and prosaic that there is almost nothing interesting about them except for the nature of the characters themselves. The main story itself is made up of several big events connected up by small everyday occurrences. For me, the purpose of having such a structure for the storyline is to watch the development of each of the characters in response to Mr Singer. Possibly the most intriguing of these characters is Mick Kelly, the teenage girl who acts like a boy at the beginning of the book, and at the end has become a right young lady. We see how she becomes slightly obsessed with Singer and his silent listening as she rambles on and on to him about music, school etc. She is the most fascinating of the six characters for me, because I can relate to her the most. She feels self conscious at the beginning about her changing body, and is reluctant to wear girl's clothing to disguise the changes occurring in her. This assuredly female obsession with the appearance is personified beautifully in Mick, as it is through her that we see how innocent and childish it is, and how it becomes apparent in different people. Through Blount, the drunk, we see how obsession can take root in a person's mind, how it affects everything they do; through Doctor Copeland we see how ideology develops into an obsession; through Biff Brannon, we see how human affection can move from one person to another in the eyes of one who has obviously been thoroughly disappointed in life; through Singer, we see the bemused observations of an idolized man who has been turned into some sort of messiah by those who talk to him.
First come the chapters written in the perspective of each of the four people who talk to Singer personally, then comes the chapter written from the point of view of Singer, who comes off utterly bemused and perfectly baffled by the words spoken to him by his four visitors. To see this dichotomy within the very structure of the book is effective and amusing for the reader, particularly when we read about Jake Blount, and how he has the idea that Singer "knows" just like him, and then we read about Singer, who tells us that most of the time he doesn't have a clue about what Blount waffles on about. It is written with humour and quiet cleverness and with such detail that it is astounding to read such a book.
Whenever I was asked by any member of my family whether or not I liked the book, I would answer emphatically that it was amazing, possibly the greatest book I had ever read. When asked what it was about I would pause, think and answer confidently "Nothing really". This would always result in scoffs and guffaws from the family, and questions from my younger sister about how it can be a good book if there isn't a story (in answer to your question, Lottie, it just can.). But it's true; there isn't really a story to it, and yet I found myself totally in awe at how a human could've written such a masterpiece. The truth is that it doesn't really need a storyline to make it a good book, because the amount of description and characterization in it makes up for the lack of excitement. It is a book about ordinary people living in an ordinary town, doing ordinary things with their lives. Exciting things don't happen to us on a regular basis, so why should they in books? Altogether, I thought it was a work of pure genius! Next I'll be reading David Copperfield by Charles Dickens, so watch out for more updates!
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