The Sound of Language: A Novel (Paperback)

~ (Author)
Key Phrases: foundation wax, thousand kroner, bee season, Year of Keeping Bees, Sylvia Hoffmann, Khala Soofia (more...)

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

Cold, wet Denmark is a strange land to Raihana, the widowed Afghan refugee at the center of Malladi's well-intentioned but wooden fifth novel. After her husband is killed by the Taliban, Raihana moves to Denmark, enrolls in language school and, with the help of a supportive teacher, lands an unusual apprenticeship helping Gunnar, a Danish widower and beekeeper, harvest his honey. Though their relationship is initially strained, Raihana and Gunnar soon develop a restorative friendship, but the road to redemption is not easy: Raihana feels pressure within the Afghan community to remarry, and the idea of an Afghan woman working alone with a Danish man soon has both their communities in a tizzy. Meanwhile, racial violence simmers day-to-day. Unfortunately, Malladi's treatment of cultural tension is one-dimensional at best; most of the supporting characters are xenophobic, if not flat-out racist, and their actions play into an overarching philosophy that expounds the benefits of tolerance and multiculturalism. Malladi means well, but her parable-like treatment of complex issues is too pat to resonate.
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Product Description

In this luminous story of bravery, tradition, and the power of language, an Afghan woman and Danish widower form an unexpected alliance.

Escaping the turmoil and heartbreak of war-torn Kabul, Raihana settles with distant relatives in the strange, cold, damp country of Denmark. Homesick and heartbroken, Raihana bravely attempts to start a new life, trying hard not to ponder the fate of her husband, who was taken prisoner by the Taliban and never heard from again.

Soon after arriving, Raihana finds herself in a language school, struggling to learn Danish, which she thinks sounds like the buzzing of bees. To improve her speaking skills, Raihana apprentices herself to Gunnar, a recent widower who is steadily withdrawing from the world around him, even neglecting the bee colonies he worked so hard to cultivate with his late wife. Over the course of the bee season, Raihana and Gunnar forge an unlikely relationship, despite the disapproval of their friends and relatives. But when the violence Raihana thought she had left behind in Afghanistan rears its head, she and Gunnar are forced to confront the ghosts of the past as they navigate the uncertain future.


Praise for Song of the Cuckoo Bird

“Mesmerizing . . . a sprawling, gorgeous intergenerational saga.”
–Jacquelyn Mitchard.

“An intelligent, absorbing novel.”
–The Boston Globe

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Paperback: 256 pages
• Publisher: Ballantine Books (December 26, 2007)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0345483162
• ISBN-13: 978-0345483164
• Product Dimensions: 7.9 x 5.1 x 0.6 inches
• Shipping Weight: 7.8 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (10 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #284,813 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

  Popular in this category: (What's this?)

  #42 in

  Books > Literature & Fiction > World Literature > Indian

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

8 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Malladi's best novel yet, February 23, 2008

By	Ratmammy "The Ratmammy" (Ratmammy's Town, CA USA) - See all my reviews (TOP 500 REVIEWER)

THE SOUND OF LANGUAGE by Amulya Malladi
Rating ***** (5 Stars)

February 23, 2008


THE SOUND OF LANGUAGE is by Amulya Malladi, a writer who has come a long way since her debut novel A BREATH OF FRESH AIR. This reviewer has been privileged to watch this writer grow, and with each new book she writes she gets better and better. THE SOUND OF LANGUAGE is a departure for Malladi, because this is the first book in which the central characters are not of Indian descent, and the main body of the story takes place in Denmark, not India or America.

Raihana is a woman escaping the horrors of Afghanistan and settles in a foreign country with relatives. Denmark is as far away and as different as one can get from Afghanistan and her initial experiences in this new country are not happy ones. She cannot speak the language, finds learning the language quite difficult, and misses her husband Aamir, who was taken prisoner by the Taliban and is presumed dead.

As she learns to speak the language, Raihana equates the Danish speech akin to the sound of bees. Coincidentally enough, she is placed into a program where she is asked to work for an elderly man, Gunnar, who is a keeper of bees. Through him, she will improve her Danish and find a means to earn a living at the same time. She cannot forever live with her cousins Kabir and Layla, although they have been very kind by inviting her to live with them in Denmark. But, eventually Raihana will have to move on and make a life for herself.

Raihana's Danish is actually very good relative to her time spent in the country, but with her work with Gunnar and his bees, she begins to feel comfortable speaking the language, and becomes somewhat comfortable with the culture. Gunnar's own story is that he has lost interest in life since his beloved wife had passed away. A good friend of his recognizes that maybe if he got involved in something important, it may bring him back to life. Raihana's past experience with bees is what brings the two unlikely people together, but what is extraordinary is the friendship that develops between them, despite the prejudice that goes on around them, and the language barrier that they eventually break down.

This is Amulya Malladi's best novel to date. She obviously did immense research on the industry of honey and bees, and she was able to make the culture and the people come alive. The reader will feel a connection and empathize with the immigrant Raihana. She is alone in the world, living far away from her native Afghanistan, a young widow with no means of making a living. Through the kindness of her distant cousins, she is able to make a new life for herself. Her future is very vague, and without the skill of speaking the native language, Raihana knows her future is doomed.

This reviewer loved the pairing of Gunnar and Raihana. The two very unlikely friends will strike a chord in the reader's heart. It is a friendship that is highly unlikely in this world of Danes and Afghanistan immigrants, as there is a lot of racial tension between the two groups. Both Raihana and Gunnar know the danger of befriending the other, yet their conscience tells them that there is nothing wrong with it. Gunnar sees new life when he begins to trust Raihana and opens up his house to her. And Raihana becomes confident with her beginner's Danish, as she soon becomes comfortable with the language and impresses those around her with her ability to learn it quickly.

Having always had a fear of bees, this reviewer is now ready to learn more about making honey. Malladi gave an in-depth look into this fascinating industry, and did so with meticulous detail. The reader will be intrigued not just by the relationship between Raihana and Gunnar, but by the work they do every day. Malladi paints the process as a thing of beauty, and the characters' love of bees can be contagious. Other various themes in the book include the prejudice encountered by the Afghans after 9/11, as well as the fear and uncertainty any immigrant feels coming to live in a foreign country where they cannot speak the native language. The reader will see Raihana grow as a person, and while she never loses her yearning to return to the country she fled, she embraces a new culture that reluctantly welcomes her and her people with open arms. THE SOUND OF LANGUAGE gets 5 hearts. - Courtesy of Love Romances and More - M. Lofton

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Insightful and beautifully written, January 7, 2008

By	Reader_sr100 - See all my reviews

I have read almost all of Amulya Malladi's books and this one is a step above the others. The Sound of Language is the story of hope. Raihana's hope to find a better life, her friend Layla's hope to become Danish, Layla's husband, Kabir's hope to go back to Afghanistan some day, and Gunnar's hope to live after his wife's death. Beautifully written, this book introduces us to refugee life in Europe. Highly recommended!

5 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars A solid read, February 11, 2008

By	S. Siraaj (Minneapolis, MN USA) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

While I wouldn't say this book was phenonmenal, it was enjoyable to read. Ms. Malladi developed characters who were interesting and intriguing. There was one thing that disturbed me about this book, however. I felt slightly annoyed with Ms. Malladi's portrayal of practicing, observant Muslims as extremists and non-practicing Muslims as preferable- the "good ones." The fact is the Muslim communuity is much more diverse than that and is far more complex. There are practicing Muslims who are outgoing, open-minded and tolerant. At one point in the book I thought Layla would serve as an example of such Muslims. Yet, when she is contrasted with the main character, Raihana, who does not wear hijab and wears "Danish clothing" it is clear that Raihana is the preferable Muslim. It's unfortunate that Ms. Malladi's characters fall into the same boring stereotypes of Muslim women. Nonetheless, The Sound of Language was a solid read.