David Lodge's latest book, Deaf Sentence, (or the many before it, for that matter) aren't on my must-read list. I'd chalk this up to the one book of his I read many years ago, Changing Places. Let's just say I'm not enthralled with his work. Yet, I cringed when I saw this Digested Read review of it over at The Guardian. A taste:
"It's no fun being deaf. Especially when you're at a gallery opening and your hearing aid isn't working. Blind people get sympathy. Deafies just get laughs. At least I hope so, as the book is stuffed with lame gags based on this kind of misunderstanding."
Ouch. The final summation contains equal bristle:
"The digested read, digested: Wait for the audio-book."
I know it is expected that John Crace will bring the digested pain, but I, well, perhaps I'm just too timid for this reviewing world.