True Biz
In America, only 8% of parents of deaf children wish to learn American Sign Language.
A statistic like that seems unfathomable, doesn’t it? But in True Biz, Sara Nović deftly and realistically explores her main character Charlie’s world: Charlie is deaf, but but her divorcing parents, especially her mother, have never attempted to communicate with her on her terms. When Charlie’s father is assigned primarily custody, things change, and Charlie is sent to a school for deaf students, where she and her father learn ASL and where her life breaks open with the help of headmistress February, roommate Kayla and classmate Austin. Nović travels between Charlie, February—a hearing woman of Deaf parents—and Austin—the golden child of a Deaf family—as they encounter various trials and tribulations through the school year. Interspersed in the novel are ASL diagrams, Wikipedia articles, and other supporting literature about Deaf culture and history, all a part of February’s attempt to educate Charlie on the difference between deaf and Deaf.
After hosting Sara Nović at the downtown Spartanburg library, we only thought it appropriate to discuss her seminal work of Deaf writing on the podcast. Jess & Joseph share what the event was like (spoiler: it was incredible!), the group talks about the book, and shares the mostly goofy-spooky things they’re reading in October.
Titles discussed:
The Heart Is a Lonely Hunter by Carson McCullers
A Quiet Place, directed by John Krasinski
True Biz by Sara Nović
Baldur’s Gate 3, released by Larian Studios
Sound of Metal, directed by Darius Marder
Rushmore, directed by Wes Anderson
Titles from the RA Corner:
Echo by Pam Muñoz Ryan, narrated by Mark Bramhall, David de Vries, MacLeod Andrews & Rebecca Soler
Family Lore by Elizabeth Acevedo
Beyond Black by Hilary Mantel
How Lucky by Will Leitch
Prep by Curtis Sittenfeld
Abbott Elementary season 2, starring Quinta Brunson
What we’re reading and watching:
Rea: Reproduction by Louisa Hall and My Best Friend’s Exorcism by Grady Hendrix
Joseph: Roman Stories by Jhumpa Lahiri and Baldur’s Gate 3 for PlayStation 5
Jess: The Sky Vault by Benjamin Percy and After Yang, directed by Kogonada
Find them in SCPL’s catalog by clicking here!
Our music: “Budding” by Broke for Free, available through a Creative Commons License