From Library Journal
In her 1981 novel, Brady uses the theme of deafness, both literal and symbolic, as three generations of women in Francie's family share deafness that runs deeper than a physical disability. The emotional obstacles among grandmother, mother, and daughter that really keep them from communicating are too daunting ever to be overcome.
Copyright 1994 Reed Business Information, Inc.
Copyright 1994 Reed Business Information, Inc.
From Booklist
Francie, who feels locked in a "wretched relationship," struggles to fend off a breakdown that will be the result of a lifetime of passivity she has imposed on herself while trying to keep peace with the males in her life. As a child, she witnessed her alcoholic father abusing her mother and driving her to murder. As an adult, she now leaves a dysfunctional relationship and undertakes a journey of self-discovery. She comes to understand what motivated her as a child to keep terrible secrets. She learns about the social restraints put on a woman's behavior. She learns how to be in control and when to relinquish control. She becomes aware of the gender roles, passed on from mother to daughter, that inculcate the skills needed to "acquire a man and keep him" but offer "not a clue as to how to leave him." Most important, in this strong short novel by an excellent feminist fiction writer, Francie learns how to break the chains of the woman-relayed behavioral law that woman's life function is to placate man. Marie Kuda
