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Speechless
From the author of the Scotiabank Giller Prize shortlisted novel Going Home Again comes a darkly comic story about a man whose childhood tic becomes a habit that changes his life.
Harold Pittman, a speech therapist, has a bad habit that goes way back. He holds his tongue between his teeth when he’s stressed or exercising. It’s something he’s able to hide from the world, until the accident that threatens his relationship with the aspiring actress who speaks in a Shirley Temple voice and won’t let anything come between her and her dreams. In a story about human frailty and second chances, Dennis Bock explores the nature of love, ambition, and identity with the sympathetic intelligence that prompted the Globe and Mail to declare him Canada’s “next great novelist.”
Harold Pittman, a speech therapist, has a bad habit that goes way back. He holds his tongue between his teeth when he’s stressed or exercising. It’s something he’s able to hide from the world, until the accident that threatens his relationship with the aspiring actress who speaks in a Shirley Temple voice and won’t let anything come between her and her dreams. In a story about human frailty and second chances, Dennis Bock explores the nature of love, ambition, and identity with the sympathetic intelligence that prompted the Globe and Mail to declare him Canada’s “next great novelist.”
11 pages, Kindle Edition
First published January 29, 2014
5 people want to read
About the author
Dennis Bock
7 books133 followersDennis Bock is a Canadian novelist and short story writer. His newest novel, STRANGERS AT THE RED DOOR, was published in September, 2025 and named a Globe and Mail Best Book of the Year.
The National Post ranked it in their top five novels of the fall publishing season.
"The Giller-shortlisted novelist uses the fantastic to tell a thrilling tale of censorship and the artist’s need to tell their story." — The Globe and Mail
“Eerily delightful. . . . Strange, affirming and lovely.... otherworldly beauty..." — Winnipeg Free Press
"What first appears to be a geopolitical thriller turns into a much richer story that delves into the psyches of the main characters. Their predicaments prompt questions that most of us have wrestled with, even in a fast-paced story with unexpected plot twists. The book steers clear of ideological polemics and predictable tropes, yet still celebrates those who risk their livelihoods and lives for freedom of expression. Best of all, there’s a kind of wisdom that Bock imparts in this book that makes it – ultimately – an uplifting read.” Robert Delaney, North America bureau chief, South China Morning Post
“…perfect for lively book club discussions” -- Miramichi Reader
“Extraordinary! Strangers at the Red Door is a novel of remarkable confidence and depth, unfolding across continents, time, and belief systems while remaining deeply intimate and human. At its core, it is a story of searching: every character is looking for something—love, knowledge, forgiveness, meaning—and each undertakes their own odyssey. From ghostwriting to the smuggling of contraband books, from dreams deferred to censorship, Bock's novel is threaded with questions of what is hidden and what is revealed. Coincidence dances with fate throughout, quietly and insistently, drawing lives together in ways that feel both surprising and inevitable. Dennis Bock moves seamlessly between points of view, giving the book a rich, filmic quality while allowing the story to unfold with precision and grace. What lingers is the emotional intelligence of the work. The characters are flawed, stubborn, vulnerable, and utterly alive. There were moments when a single sentence took my breath away, and others when I experienced loss alongside the characters. (I might have wept through the last 60 pages or so - not only because of the emotional impact of the book but also for its sheer beauty.) This is a novel meticulously crafted and deeply felt—a rare book that feels both inevitable and enduring. A masterpiece.” Heidi von Palleske, author of Two White Queens and the One-Eyed Jack
The Good German was published in September 2020 and praised by Margaret Atwood as "a cunning, twisted, compelling tale of deeply unexpected consequences."
Hailed by The Globe and Mail as “Canada's next great novelist,” Dennis has published four other books, including Olympia, The Ash Garden, The Communist's Daughter, and Going Home Again, shortlisted for the 2013 Scotiabank Giller Prize and winner of the 2014 Best Foreign Novel Award in China. His books have also been shortlisted for the Amazon/Books in Canada First Novel Award, the International IMPAC Dublin Literary Award, the Kiriyama Pacific Rim Prize, the Commonwealth Writers’ Prize (Regional Best Book), and the City of Toronto Book Award. His collection of stories, Olympia, won the Danuta Gleed Literary Award, the Canadian Authors’ Association Jubilee Award, and the Betty Trask Award in the UK. The Ash Garden won the 2002 Canada-Japan Literary Award. His books have been published in translation in nine languages in twenty-three territories.
Dennis grew up in Oakville, Ontario and completed a degree in English literature and philosophy at the University of Western Ontario. He teaches at the University of Toronto and the Humber School for Writers.
The National Post ranked it in their top five novels of the fall publishing season.
"The Giller-shortlisted novelist uses the fantastic to tell a thrilling tale of censorship and the artist’s need to tell their story." — The Globe and Mail
“Eerily delightful. . . . Strange, affirming and lovely.... otherworldly beauty..." — Winnipeg Free Press
"What first appears to be a geopolitical thriller turns into a much richer story that delves into the psyches of the main characters. Their predicaments prompt questions that most of us have wrestled with, even in a fast-paced story with unexpected plot twists. The book steers clear of ideological polemics and predictable tropes, yet still celebrates those who risk their livelihoods and lives for freedom of expression. Best of all, there’s a kind of wisdom that Bock imparts in this book that makes it – ultimately – an uplifting read.” Robert Delaney, North America bureau chief, South China Morning Post
“…perfect for lively book club discussions” -- Miramichi Reader
“Extraordinary! Strangers at the Red Door is a novel of remarkable confidence and depth, unfolding across continents, time, and belief systems while remaining deeply intimate and human. At its core, it is a story of searching: every character is looking for something—love, knowledge, forgiveness, meaning—and each undertakes their own odyssey. From ghostwriting to the smuggling of contraband books, from dreams deferred to censorship, Bock's novel is threaded with questions of what is hidden and what is revealed. Coincidence dances with fate throughout, quietly and insistently, drawing lives together in ways that feel both surprising and inevitable. Dennis Bock moves seamlessly between points of view, giving the book a rich, filmic quality while allowing the story to unfold with precision and grace. What lingers is the emotional intelligence of the work. The characters are flawed, stubborn, vulnerable, and utterly alive. There were moments when a single sentence took my breath away, and others when I experienced loss alongside the characters. (I might have wept through the last 60 pages or so - not only because of the emotional impact of the book but also for its sheer beauty.) This is a novel meticulously crafted and deeply felt—a rare book that feels both inevitable and enduring. A masterpiece.” Heidi von Palleske, author of Two White Queens and the One-Eyed Jack
The Good German was published in September 2020 and praised by Margaret Atwood as "a cunning, twisted, compelling tale of deeply unexpected consequences."
Hailed by The Globe and Mail as “Canada's next great novelist,” Dennis has published four other books, including Olympia, The Ash Garden, The Communist's Daughter, and Going Home Again, shortlisted for the 2013 Scotiabank Giller Prize and winner of the 2014 Best Foreign Novel Award in China. His books have also been shortlisted for the Amazon/Books in Canada First Novel Award, the International IMPAC Dublin Literary Award, the Kiriyama Pacific Rim Prize, the Commonwealth Writers’ Prize (Regional Best Book), and the City of Toronto Book Award. His collection of stories, Olympia, won the Danuta Gleed Literary Award, the Canadian Authors’ Association Jubilee Award, and the Betty Trask Award in the UK. The Ash Garden won the 2002 Canada-Japan Literary Award. His books have been published in translation in nine languages in twenty-three territories.
Dennis grew up in Oakville, Ontario and completed a degree in English literature and philosophy at the University of Western Ontario. He teaches at the University of Toronto and the Humber School for Writers.
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