Discover Top Posts Tagged with #impossible music

December 1, 2023

Study for Player Piano No. 5 by Conlon Nancarrow

Part of Impossible Music at the Miller ICA

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Day 9: JOMPBPC: Handwriting

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Review: Impossible Music by Sean Williams Rating: 2/5 #LoveOzYA

“Silence as noise … I loved it as a concept, never for a moment imagining that one day I would grapple with it for real.”

Simon Rain's entire life revolves around music - listening, playing, composing. But when a stroke damages the part of his brain that processes sound, he's left adrift in a noiseless world. Even with support from G, the spunky girl from his sign language classes, his family and the doctors and counsellors helping him adjust to his hearing loss, Simon doesn't know how to embrace his new identity as a deaf person. But through a series of new music projects, he begins to discover that he doesn't have to give up on music, he just needs to find a new way to make it his own.

This book was ... frustrating. As someone who is working very hard to move past their own internalised ableism, I found it annoying having to read about Simon rejecting all the support systems he had access to. I'm at the point in my life where I'm sick of reading about people overcoming ableism but I also recognise that there are a lot of people who would benefit from this story. Because that's what Simon's story is about - it's about overcoming his internalised ableism and embracing his deafness and how it affects his life.

But Impossible Music does fail itself in other ways. It is really hard to write about music in an interesting way and I don't think Williams pulled it off. I got so sick of reading about Simon talking about his music projects and while the idea of him going to university to study music and composition was intriguing, I didn't care enough to slog through the endless pages about his application and folio and I skipped most of them.

I was far more interested in his friendship with G. She was way more relatable and exciting but she gets pushed to the sidelines which sucked. G has tinnitus which has rendered her effectively deaf because she can't hear around the constant noise caused by her condition. And she was a roller derby girl! Why didn't we get more about that instead of yet another frustrating storyline about a character becoming disabled and then attempting suicide? While depression is common among disabled people, I'm getting sick of reading about it and there was no warning in the blurb that suicide would be a topic in the book.

I also feel like the formatting of all the texting and Messenger conversations could’ve been thought out better. I had no idea who was talking most of the time and all the different fonts probably make it impossible for dyslexic people to read. I think it would’ve been much better to lay it out like a play script with the character’s name prefacing each comment. Considering most of the conversations Simon has are texted (because he refuses to learn sign language), this got especially taxing. I spent so much time trying to figure out who was talking that I had trouble absorbing the story which really detracted from the reading experience.

In the end, I would've preferred a book extolling the awesomeness of the Deaf community but this is still an important story that a lot of people might find helpful. I just wish it had been more reader-friendly.

Warnings: Internal and external ableism and references to a suicide attempt.

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ARC Review: Impossible Music

Image from publisher’s website

Impossible Music by Sean Williams

Release: July 2, 2019

Publisher: Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Children’s Publishing Group

*I received a digital ARC of this title from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. All thoughts are my own.*

Impossible Music is set in contemporary Australia where our musically inclined protagonist, Simon Rain, has experienced a stroke, leaving him deaf and unsure what to do about his future. The story follows Simon as he struggles with adapting to his new life circumstances through an Auslan (Australian sign language) group, therapy, and his own band. Simon has to determine how he can be a musician that can no longer hear his own music.

I was worried about a hearing author writing a protagonist that is Deaf. I did not know if a hearing author would be able to truly encapsulate the struggle of a character with such a drastic life change. However, I think Sean Williams provided a realistic view of a music-loving teenager that struggles with the loss of his hearing (but, then again, I am not a member of the Deaf community so I may not be the most informed on this topic). There were moments that seemed incredibly thoughtful and empathetic, while also providing a dose of reality.

I think part of this thoughtfulness was framed from the variety of resources Williams received from the Deaf community in his area. From his author note, he did extensive research (including several years of Auslan instruction) that aided in his writing of Simon’s journey. Could there be issues that I’m missing due to pure ignorance on my own part? Of course. This is why I’d love to hear from people who read this book and know more about the Deaf community than I. What do you all think? Did Williams provide a respectful representation of a new member of the Deaf community?

Overall, I’m giving Impossible Music 3 out of 5 Awesome Austin Points. Williams writes a character with a struggle that’s hard to comprehend, but I think he did so in an incredibly honest narrative. We see Simon’s pain, grief, hope, and fears as he’s navigating this “new” world. I would have liked to have liked to have seen more, though. Most of the book seemed to just be in Simon’s thoughts - I wanted more interaction with others, showing deeper relationships than were present. Impossible Music comes out in a couple weeks, though, so you have time to nab a copy if you’d like to discuss it with me! :)