The Hearing Trumpet [Paperback]

Leonora Carrington (Author), Pablo Weisz Carrington (Illustrator)

Book Description

Publication Date: February 2, 2004

Leonora Carrington, the distinguished British-born Surrealist painter who now makes her home in Mexico City, is also a writer of extraordinary imagination and charm. Exact Change launched a program of reprinting her fiction with what is perhaps her best loved book. The Hearing Trumpet is the story of 92-year-old Marian Leatherby, who is given the gift of a hearing trumpet only to discover that what her family is saying is that she is to be committed to an institution. But this is an institution where the buildings are shaped like birthday cakes and igloos, where the Winking Abbess and the Queen Bee reign, and where the gateway to the underworld is open. It is also the scene of a mysterious murder. Occult twin to Alice in Wonderland, The Hearing Trumpet is a classic of fantastic literature that has been translated and celebrated throughout the world.

Product Details

• Paperback: 224 pages
• Publisher: Exact Change (February 2, 2004)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1878972197
• ISBN-13: 978-1878972194
• Product Dimensions: 9 x 4.8 x 0.5 inches
• Shipping Weight: 11.7 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (12 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #35,782 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

29 of 30 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Old Ladies, the Apocalypse(?), and Death by Chocolate!!!, May 2, 1998

By 

[e-mail] (Guam, USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Hearing Trumpet (Paperback)

The Hearing Trumpet is deliciously funny and irreverent; Surrealist painter/author Leonora Carrington's apocalyptic tale is filled with gems such as "Darling, don't be philosophical, it doesn't suit you, it makes your nose red." Filtered through the eyes and ears of Marian Leatherby, a 92 year-old inmate of a Spanish old folk's home (run by the cultlike Well of Light Brotherhood), the tongue-in-cheek tone and hilarious chracters make this book a refreshing surprise. Every copy I've ever owned has been stolen! From the first paragraph, the reader will see that Marian Leatherby and her friends are NOT LOL's (Little Old Ladies), and Leonora Carrington is not your average author. (She's truly hilarious, for one!) Read this book for its wacky imagery (a trompe l'oeil "furnished" tower, a pair of murdering religious quacks, termite engineering, wigs, marijuana-stuffed needlepoint pillows, and a 92 year-old lady swarming down ten stories of rope, for starters), then hide your copy from your well-read friends...or buy them their own!

28 of 32 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars The most amazing book i've ever read, September 21, 1999

By A Customer

This review is from: The Hearing Trumpet (Paperback)

Since JRR Tolkien's The Lord Of The Rings, I don't think I've come across another work that has so enraptured me. It is truly a modern fairy tale, and one that can easily be re-read a hundred times over. (It's been awhile since I read this and I don't have my book with me, but I'll try to be as accurate as I can with the names of the characters.) You can tell from the start that this isn't your conventional fantasy romp: the heroine Marian Leatherby isn't a youthful, beautiful princess but an old lady with family problems. She doesn't journey to distant lands to find magic and adventure; instead, all the action takes place in an old folks home. Along the way Leonora Carrington slyly pokes fun at patriarchal myths and traditions. 'Galahad', a name familiar to us from Arthurian legends, reappears in THT not as some dashing, valiant do-gooder but, if my memory serves me correctly, as Marian's ineffectual, unpleasant son. So much for modern chivalry, Carrington seems to say. Yet while she debunks these old legends, she creates new ones, drawing upon mythology and fantasy alike to people her story with strong female characters and ancient Goddesses. Whimsical, magical, entertaining, thought-provoking. I won't say much more, you'll have to read it for yourself to find out just how excellent it is. And yes, do put your own copy under lock and key!!

13 of 14 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Carrington's work is both dreamlike and socially relevant., October 30, 1997

By A Customer

This review is from: The Hearing Trumpet (Paperback)

Leonora Carrington's dream like tale of Marian, a plucky ninety-five year old, straddles the boundary between mad fantasy and insightful social commentary. Far from being a dry philosophical tome, it is a quick and thoroughly pleasurable read, yet it addresses issues of female identity with imagery that has become part of a sort of neofeminist canon. The image of the wolf sister and particularly the discovery of the Queen Bee will resonate with anyone who is interested in women's spirituality or related studies. The best thing about this book, however, is that it is so fantastically engaging that people of many ages and backgrounds will enjoy it thoroughly.