When a barely perceptible noise disrupts Clare Devon's life to the point of sleeplessness and proceeds to quickly upend her life, with others similarly afflicted form an ad hoc self help group. A perfectly paced airless room takes the stage after that, and it makes for an ending that is both shocking and inevitable. The Listeners is equally funny and disturbing. In a time when our politics has devolved into opposition to "The Other" (whomever they are) this is a prescient, manic and deeply weird book (too weird to win the Giller, but it is deserving of its spot on the longlist).
Reviewed by: David
Tannahill will have you feeling intrigued and disoriented. The flow of his writing and the relatability of his characters will leave you questioning where it all went wrong, as you root for characters that you also distrust. Claire is sensible, logical, a thoughtful teacher, a caring friend and a loving wife and mother. Yet things begin to unravel when the unexplainable sound of the hum overwhelms her psyche. Isolation, fear, and vulnerability take hold, as relationships with family and friends are torn apart and a new family emerges. A family that bonds through shared experience and begins to leech off of each other's humanity, conspiracy and delirium festering. All the while the hum reverberates in the background, and you wonder if you would've done the same thing under such circumstances.
