Deafening by Frances Itani

• Toronto Public Library, Canada
• Vancouver Public Library, Canada
• Halifax Regional Library, Canada
  

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Set on the eve of the Great War and spanning two continents, Deafening tells the story of Grania, a young deaf woman living in small-town Ontario, who falls in love with Jim, a hearing man. In wonderment, they create a new emotional vocabulary of sound and silence.
As the First World War explodes across Europe, Jim leaves to become a stretcher bearer on the Western Front, a place filled with unforgiving noise, violence and death. Through this long war of attrition, Jim and Grania attempt to sustain their love in a world as brutal as it is beautiful.

Frances Itani is the author of five acclaimed short-story collections, including Leaning, Leaning Over Water and Poached Eggs on Toast, three poetry collections, and a children's book. Her awards include the Tilden (CBC/Saturday Night) Literary Award for 1995 and 1996, the Best Short Story Award from Canadian Fiction Magazine and the Ottawa-Carleton Book Award for Fiction Deafening, her first novel, is based loosely on the life of her grandmother. She lives in Ottawa, Canada.