Leah is our lead character. As a young child she was diagnosed as having akinetopsia, also known as motion blindness. Having not heard of this condition, I took a detour to the web. It is indeed a 'real' thing. Correa's depictions of what it would be like to live with static images and how those images are discarded when she blinks, were well done. As well, Leah's olfactory sense is extremely heightened. Correa has come up with a new twist on the unreliable narrator.
Leah lives a small life with her housekeeper in an apartment building. When a new tenant moves in next door, Leah can smell the anxiety of what's going on next door - and hear the ensuing fight between the occupants. Worried, Leah inserts herself into Alice's life. But is Alice telling the truth? Leah has no way of truly knowing.
Listed as a suspense novel, I think I expected a faster paced tale. I did enjoy imagining what it would be like for Leah. I also enjoyed her relationships with her housekeeper and the older residents of the apartments. Her inner dialogue and dreams completes the building of Leah as a lead protagonist. However, I do feel like there is a lot of repetition in her experiences, thoughts as well as what is a dream and wasn't. I will say that the twist in the ending good, but did find it a bit contrived.
I chose to listen to The Silence in Her Eyes. The narrator was Suehyla El-Attar Young, a new to me reader. I quite liked her voice - she speaks clearly, at a good pace, enunciates well and is easy on the ears. Her narration has movement. The voice used for Leah fitted my mental image. Young interprets Correa's book well, using different speeds and tones of her reading to accentuate the fear, confusion, danger etc. of Correa's plot. A very well done presentation. Hear for yourself - listen to an audio excerpt on The Silence in Her Eyes.
2 comments:
Hadn’t heard of the condition either. Thanks for the review
I can't imagine have such a condition!
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