Customer Reviews

The Hearing Trumpet

5 star:		(9)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

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!

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!!

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.

Perhaps known to more as an artist, Leonora Carrington also happens to be a superb writer. Few adult novels would dare to accomodate their main character in a house with real looking furniture that is merely paint on the walls. The heroine is an old lady with a dignified beard and a mystical trumpet that ameliorates her ability to hear. One can only imagine the trouble this trumpet causes and the fiascos that result with a cast of equally wacky old ladies. The nursing home setting provides the backdrop for a fantastical and ambitious story written in beautiful prose.

For a good portion of its length, this tale is everything one could want: deliciously witty in a zany way sometimes reminiscent of the Marx Brothers at their best. The difficulty, for me, at any rate, is that it doesn't really come to a proper conclusion, though Heaven knows there are climactic events a-plenty toward the end. But the comedic tone falls victim to A Message. When authors choose to deliver A Message to their readers, it bodes ill; when they can be seen to be almost screechingly yanking on the brake lever to pause their story in mid-run to get to The Message, worse yet.

All in all, this is a book certainly worth reading, and I recommend it; but its failure to sustain its original tone makes it a bit disappointing. I will be interested to see what some of her other work is like.

i have loved leonora carrington's paintings for a long time, and only recently got a chance to read this book. i finished it quickly.
what struck me was how fast it moves, which for someone taking it at face value might ruin the whole thing - - but for one looking at the story running through it that ISN'T in the book, it becomes haunting, dark, disturbing and profoundly sorrowful even as the story itself soars to the heights of fantasy. i can't say too much more without ruining the book, but if you understand what i believe she's trying to say happened, then you will agree with me about the haunting-dark-disturbing thing.
on the surface it still has a lot to please - - witchcraft, goddesses, the kabbalah, mysteries both domestic and occult, black comedy and sweeping adventure. the main character is as loveable and charming as she is eccentric, and she's a whole lot of eccentric. i think this may be an overlooked classic.
and the line drawings by carrington's son (i think?) are killer! i'm getting a tattoo of one of the frontispiece, marian with her trumpet.

The first page will tell you if you will love it or hate it. I loved it. It's way out there but she strikes a cord with those open minded enough to question the established way of thinking about old age, women and religion. Her sense of humor is wonderful.

This book turned out to be not so surreal as I hoped.
(There are more exciting and colorful, more twisted and thought-provoking books written in style of surrelism.)
Overal narration here is a bit slow, sometimes it's simply dragging.

My first surreal book - I love Varo's paintingsand this reminds me of her pantings.While I find this book to be difficult - only because it is odd ,I also find it absorbing and interesting.

Leonora Carrington is awsome as an author - she doesn't let her imagination be chained by convention or by anything. What a vivid, strange world these characters live in. Marian (the main character) is awsome herself; full of character and spirit. Everyone I've lent this book to has enjoyed it. If it has a fault, it's that it ends too soon.