Impossible Music

Impossible Music
Written by Sean Williams
Contemporary, Music, Loveozya
320 Pages
Published July 2019
Thanks to Allen & Unwin
RRP $19.99 AU
Add to Goodreads
★★★☆
When the song is over, what remains? A novel about rediscovering yourself when everything you once took for granted is gone.

Music is Simon's life, which is why he is devastated when a ministroke obliterates his hearing. He resists attempts to help him adjust to his new state, refusing to be counselled, refusing to learn sign language, refusing to have anything to do with Deaf culture. Refusing, that is, until he meets G, a tough as nails girl dealing with her own newly experienced hearing loss.

In an emotionally compelling tale crackling with originality, Simon's quest to create an entirely new form of music forces him into a deeper understanding of his relationship to the hearing world, of himself, and of the girl he meets along the way.
The last thing Simon Rain can remember hearing is the music blaring through his earphones as he fell asleep. That was nine months ago and after suffering from a stroke in the middle of the night while he slept, eighteen year old Simon hasn't heard a thing since. Coming to terms with his diagnosis has been a difficult journey for Simon. As a musician, music has been his life and an outlet to express himself creatively. Now angry and isolated, Simon refuses to learn Auslan, Australian Sign Language and prefers to communicate through screens and text messages.

Simon is profoundly deaf and after months of testing, doctors have determined his diagnosis as a rare form of sensorineural hearing loss, often caused by damage to the nerve that carries the signals to the brain or in Simon's case, a stroke. At a loss and grieving, Simon is determined to find new methods of creating music and being accepted into a prestigious university course. Music isn't only heard, it's felt and along with an abrupt, no nonsense music professor, devises a method to allow everyone to experience music. The musical aspect was fascinating, creating music as a sensory experience. Simon was so incredibly passionate about making his concept a reality, it consumed him and his determination was palpable. Unfortunately the technical aspects and musical terminology were lost on me, especially the emails Simon and the music professor exchanged.

Simon attends doctors appointments, counselling and a program for hearing impaired students but refuses to participate, after all he's still grieving the loss of his hearing and no one seems to understand how isolating the loss of noise is. All except George. George or G as she's affectionately known was diagnosed with tinnitus after a secondary roller derby accident. G's mental health begins to deteriorate, her recently diagnosed tinnitus has worsened, leaving her with constant noise that no one else can hear.

Simon and G begin to depend on one another as their relationship develops and although they seek solace in one another over their shared hearing impairment, they also enable one another. Communicating through text messaging while in each others company, neither using Auslan. I never really felt a sense of who G was aside from her illness. We see G through Simon's thoughts as the troubled, brooding love interest but apart from their diagnosis, seemingly have nothing in common. I would have preferred to have seen Simon and G as friends rather than the tentative romance.

The main focus of the storyline is music and the many ways in which we listen. I found the concept fascinating and thought provoking but there was just so much theory and technical terminology. Simon seemed to be eighteen years old going on forty and his extensive knowledge of musical composition felt at odds with his character, even with the influence of his one hit wonder, music producer father.

Despite the long passages of musical terminology, I enjoyed it. It was a little too clever at times and could have been far more engaging with less of the descriptive and more character development, especially concerning G. Despite not being an own voices novel, the deaf experience was so authentically written. The grief, the anger and the isolation of being a hearing impaired person in a world brimming with song, it was incredibly and intricately written.

16 comments

  1. I do love good characters, so character development is a biggie. I'm glad you enjoyed this overall though. I can't even imagine having a stroke that young - how scary, and then to not hear anymore?? Thanks for sharing!

    -Lauren
    www.shootingstarsmag.net

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    1. I couldn't imagine losing my hearing altogether. I have a hearing impairment but to lose your hearing entirely would be incredibly isolating. The anger and frustration was palpable and for a non own voices author, it felt so incredibly authentic. Really fascinating read.

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  2. A musician losing his hearing sounds devastating. I think all the technical talk about suit theory would have my eyes glazing over (yawn) but it still sounds like an interesting and emotional read.

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    1. There was just a little too much theory to wrap my head around but apart from the technical aspects, I really enjoyed it.

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  3. I can see how the technical music aspect/terminology might hold the characters at a distance to what, otherwise, sounds like a great story.

    Karen @ For What It's Worth

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    1. Wouldn't it be wonderful if deaf communities could enjoy music! I'm curious to see if anyone might have attempted something similar to what Simon was proposing, it would be inclusive and an incredible sensory experience.

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  4. I can't imagine what it would be like to have a stroke and suddenly wake up deaf.
    The story sounds interesting. I think I'd be the same as you - I would have liked G to have more of a role outside of being Simon's love interest.
    The technical music stuff would have thrown me out, too, I think.

    Lovely review, as always, Kelly.

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    1. George was such a fascinating character but because she existed to Simon as his crush, we didn't see much depth to her character unfortunately. I would love to see a novella or even another novel about her experience, she would be an incredibly multilayered character that I think many readers could relate to even beyond her hearing impairment.

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  5. I feel like the music terminologies would be daunting. While I like to learn about things when I read something, I don't want it to empower the story.

    Lovely review, Kelly!

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    1. It was at risk of doing just that but so thankful it reined it in and focused more so on Simon's character growth and his determination to create music that was inclusive. I really enjoyed the writing style and looking forward to picking up previous releases from Sean Williams after enjoying this and his Twinmaker series.

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  6. This certainly does sound like such an interesting premise, though I think the terminology might hamper my enjoyment of it it. I'm also bummed G isn't more of a developed character.

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    1. A fair bit of the technical aspects went over my head but the remainder I really enjoyed Verushka, I loved Simon's concept of inclusive music, it goes beyond listening but to feel.

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  7. The cover is SO pretty! I feel I might not understand much of the music terminologies but it sounds like an interesting read!

    Uma@Books.Bags.Burgers.

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    1. It's such a wonderful read despite the heavy musical aspect. I'd love to see what you think of it!

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  8. This sounds pretty interesting, although I think the theory and musical technical terms would probably bog me down as I know pretty much nothing about music.

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    1. It was fascinating Suzanne but a little too technical. It would have been great to see that time dedicated more so to character development.

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