I expected something more engaging than this. I made it 40% in and decided to stop forcing it. I’m sure this will be a poignant read for some, but for me I found it boring.

Not for me I'm afraid. I'll be perfectly honest- I didn't actually understand what was going on for at least half the time.

I thought, from the blurb, that what the book was about was a woman's decision whether or not to get a cochlear implant upon learning that her ability to hear was decreasing rapidly. It sounded interesting as I know these implants are not, for every deaf person, the answer to their hearing problems.

However as Louise continues her deliberations as to whether to get an implant we meet several imaginary (I think) characters - a soldier, a dog and a botanist who turns into a tree. I'm afraid I'm too stupid to understand the significance of any of them.

I'd gathered (again from the blurb) that Louise was initially against the implant because she preferred lip reading or sign language when it turned out that she had never learned sign language (due to her being a hearing person for most of her life) and her lip reading was also rudimentary. It was this aspect I was most interested in but the book was not what I'd expected, which left me disappointed and bewildered.

Thanks to Netgalley and Quercus Books for the advance review copy.

Upon finishing this book, I must admit I felt a little discombobulated—in the best way possible. While I may have missed some nuances that other readers may have an easier time picking up on, I personally feel that the confusion about what is real or imagined enhances the experience of connecting with the narrator.

‘Jellyfish Have No Ears’ by Adèle Rosenfeld, translated from French to English by Jeffrey Zuckerman, is a deeply lyrical and, at times, bemusing story. In the opening chapter, we join Louise at her latest appointment, where she learns that, as she suspected, she has lost a significant amount of her remaining hearing. This first chapter is one of the strongest I have ever read, and I was utterly astounded by how well it must have been translated—more on that later.

Throughout this short book, we follow Louise as she contemplates her next steps: whether to continue life with her familiar experience of hearing, continuing to find belonging, at least in part, within the deaf community, or to opt for an irreversible implant, which could potentially further ostracise her from that same community.

The reader quickly becomes deeply entrenched in Louise’s thoughts and her increasingly uncertain reality, leaving it up to us to discern what is most significant and what may be slightly more questionable.

The prose is incredibly lyrical and plays with language in the most beautiful and contextually relevant way. Much of this experimentation with language is employed in illustrating how Louise understands and interprets what others say. What makes this all the more impressive is that the novel is translated, yet it still manages to powerfully convey the experience of hearing loss and being deaf, likely due to both the author and translator being part of the deaf community.

Another aspect that stood out to me was the portrayal of Louise’s daily experiences of ableism and the sheer lack of accessibility and consideration she encounters in wider society and particularly within the workplace.

Whilst I did finish the book with some questions and uncertainties, I believe that Adèle Rosenfeld and Jeffrey Zuckerman accomplished exactly what they set out to do. I would recommend this book widely. Be prepared to feel a bit bewildered at times, but rest assured, the experience will draw you in and prove to be well worth it in the end.

Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for the e-arc. All opinions are my own.

Jellyfish Have No Ears is out now!!

"Jellyfish Have No Ears" is centred around a young woman's debate about whether or not to proceed with a cochlear implant after an auditory exam shows her condition is worsening.

Overall I enjoyed Rosenfeld's writing (poetic, surreal) and found Zuckerman's translation to be good throughout, although I am unsure about certain choices (like 'silence-future'). A highlight for me was definitely the auditory imagery which was used effectively. I found the pacing to be decent, although the focus on the ordinary everyday life might not appeal to some readers.

This is one of the few books I have read which features disability and I believe it does a really good job at representation.

Thank you NetGalley and MacLehose Press for the e-copy!