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The Sound of Us
Content with her life alone, except for a cat named Sampson, Alice Marlowe, a woman in her late forties, makes her living as a sign-language interpreter for the deaf, until a beautiful, terrified, six-year-old girl comes into her life and forces her to rediscover the language of love. By the author of Some Things That Stay.
- GenresFictionContemporary
336 pages, Hardcover
First published January 1, 2005
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 49 reviews
December 13, 2016
Well written, well rounded and realistic characters but not my type of book. Too real and kind of depressing.
December 9, 2008
Willis's remarkable portrayal of a woman's unexpected foray into the world of foster parenting. Like the central character my attitude towards the birth mother shifted from one of disdain to sympathy. I felt drawn in to her web of lies, unsure what to believe, questioning my own beliefs as to the best course of action for the child in question. Although the overall story is executed never falling into the trap of bordering on sappy or overly dramatic, I did find the use of the central character's conversations with her deceased twin an unnecessary literary device.
January 12, 2014
I loved this book. I only gave it 4 stars because it had a little too much language for my taste. Great story and great message. I really felt like I was right there in the story with the way that she wrote it. Interesting moral and ethical topics were brought up that really made me question how I would react in the same situations. Excellent read.
June 2, 2017
A woman gets a wrong number phone call from a 6 year old at the wee hours of the morning. Feeling compelled to make sure the child is okay, the woman figures out where she is and gets involved in her life way more than she ever expected.
I just found this too hard to relate to. The child is supposed to be 6, but the way she acts is more like a 3 year old. I couldn't get into this.
I just found this too hard to relate to. The child is supposed to be 6, but the way she acts is more like a 3 year old. I couldn't get into this.
October 23, 2019
I really enjoyed this book. It has a narrow focus, so you need to be interested in fostering, motherhood and, more generally, human relationships. I am studying ASL, so the main character being a sign language interpreter was also of great interest to me. That being said, I found the writing very good and was emotionally involved with the characters. Highly recommended.
January 8, 2021
Another good story by a favorite northern Ohio author - Sarah Willis. In this story she gives the reader a realistic view into the foster care system when a 48-year-old single woman becomes involved in a neglected child situation.....I was just a little skeptical of the resolution and felt it a bit unlikely? Then again, people are capable of rolling many different ways and who can understand the ways of man?
This author's style of writing kept me glued to the story.....she has a talent for writing the relatively mundane business of everyday life into a compelling narrative.
This author's style of writing kept me glued to the story.....she has a talent for writing the relatively mundane business of everyday life into a compelling narrative.
February 6, 2018
Repressed middle aged woman becomes a foster parent. Good story. Some discussion potential.
May 11, 2022
A single 48 year old woman takes on a little 6 year old as a foster child. The mom becomes very involved.
It was a good book and I will read more of Sarah Willis
It was a good book and I will read more of Sarah Willis
May 12, 2008
Alice Marlowe is realizing, at the age of 48, that there's more to life than having a comfortable home, a fulfilling career, and parents and friends that love her. When she's awakened in the middle of the night by a wrong number, Alice 's world is tilted on its axis--and the tilting may very well save her sanity.
A little girl, barely six years old, has called Alice by mistake, missing a phone number by a couple of digits. Larissa, the girl on the other end of the line, is looking for her Auntie Teya--and her mother. As Alice struggles to awake from her deep sleep, she realizes that this child is at home alone, with no one to feed her, bathe her, clothe her, or watch out for her. Doing something she's never before done in all of her life--take the iniative to do something impulsive--Alice ends up leaving the comfort of her home and going to Larissa's apartment, ostensibly to wait for the child's mother to return.
What follows is an emotional rollercoaster so superbly written that I was unable to put the book down once I began reading. Alice is forced to call the police when Larissa's mother doesn't return after several hours. Soon the Department of Children and Family Services is involved, with all the red tape, runarounds, and rigamarole that one would expect from an agency who operates with only so much funding and so many hours in the day.
As Larissa is placed in temporary foster care, Alice realizes that she wants to become a foster parent herself, to take care of Larissa if and until her mother can get her back. The journey that follows is an emotional one--Larissa is resentful, hurt, and angry, as only a child can be; Alice is apalled to realize how hidden she has made herself from the world, and how prejudiced she appears to be; Michelle, Larissa's mother, is alternately sorry for her brief abandonment and intolerable of criticism.
THE SOUND OF US is a rich novel on so many levels. Alice is already dealing with the loss of her twin brother the previous year, and the fact that her parents are getting older. She realizes that although she loves her job, being an interpreter for the deaf, she can't rely on it to be the sole basis for a fulfilling life.
Kudos to Ms. Willis for such an emotionally moving book. This is the first book I've read by her, but I've now added all of her previous releases to my reading list. You won't be disappointed by picking up a copy of this magnificent story.
A little girl, barely six years old, has called Alice by mistake, missing a phone number by a couple of digits. Larissa, the girl on the other end of the line, is looking for her Auntie Teya--and her mother. As Alice struggles to awake from her deep sleep, she realizes that this child is at home alone, with no one to feed her, bathe her, clothe her, or watch out for her. Doing something she's never before done in all of her life--take the iniative to do something impulsive--Alice ends up leaving the comfort of her home and going to Larissa's apartment, ostensibly to wait for the child's mother to return.
What follows is an emotional rollercoaster so superbly written that I was unable to put the book down once I began reading. Alice is forced to call the police when Larissa's mother doesn't return after several hours. Soon the Department of Children and Family Services is involved, with all the red tape, runarounds, and rigamarole that one would expect from an agency who operates with only so much funding and so many hours in the day.
As Larissa is placed in temporary foster care, Alice realizes that she wants to become a foster parent herself, to take care of Larissa if and until her mother can get her back. The journey that follows is an emotional one--Larissa is resentful, hurt, and angry, as only a child can be; Alice is apalled to realize how hidden she has made herself from the world, and how prejudiced she appears to be; Michelle, Larissa's mother, is alternately sorry for her brief abandonment and intolerable of criticism.
THE SOUND OF US is a rich novel on so many levels. Alice is already dealing with the loss of her twin brother the previous year, and the fact that her parents are getting older. She realizes that although she loves her job, being an interpreter for the deaf, she can't rely on it to be the sole basis for a fulfilling life.
Kudos to Ms. Willis for such an emotionally moving book. This is the first book I've read by her, but I've now added all of her previous releases to my reading list. You won't be disappointed by picking up a copy of this magnificent story.
January 14, 2015
I started reading this book and found myself just falling into it, fascinated by the gritty, emotional world the author created. I asked myself just what would I have done at different points along the way. I felt that the protagonist was completely believable even though I would not have run out in the middle of the night as she did. I could feel her spirit in her dialogue with her brother, and I knew what she was doing, keeping that dialogue alive. There was a rhythm to this book that reminded me that ever so often one can do the wrong thing, and everything can spiral downward in a minute. I felt for Alice, and ever so often I braced myself to keep her afloat through missed appointments and bad signing sessions and a dismaying lack of positive feedback from the little girl she was trying to rescue.
I found the end of this book emotionally satisfying because I could trace the trajectory of the need for authentic love in Alice's life. She wanted to be part of the world of people, but she was alone in the beginning of the book. She didn't want to take the easy way out and become part of an emotionless marriage. When she recast her life it would have to be done in a way that was sensitive to her feelings. Maybe, because she was one half of twins who had lost her brother, and had been so carefully trained to read people in signing for them, she especially required a relationship that was honest. I felt at the end she had achieved a new richness of life. As a hearing person who worked for the deaf, she was especially attuned to the right sound of us.
I found the end of this book emotionally satisfying because I could trace the trajectory of the need for authentic love in Alice's life. She wanted to be part of the world of people, but she was alone in the beginning of the book. She didn't want to take the easy way out and become part of an emotionless marriage. When she recast her life it would have to be done in a way that was sensitive to her feelings. Maybe, because she was one half of twins who had lost her brother, and had been so carefully trained to read people in signing for them, she especially required a relationship that was honest. I felt at the end she had achieved a new richness of life. As a hearing person who worked for the deaf, she was especially attuned to the right sound of us.
October 11, 2009
I'm not sure why, but for some reason I thought this book was nonfiction when I started reading it. So more than halfway through, I was thinking it was a true story. Then I started to question it, checked the cover and found out it is fiction. I suspect I picked up this book because of the deaf culture and the foster parenting themes.
It is an amazing little story of a single woman who quite accidentally gets involved in the life of a little girl who ends up in foster care. So the woman, nearly 50 years old, never married and never had kids, wants to take her in.
In some ways the book is very detached. You call tell the characters are feeling the intense emotions, but you can't feel them as a reader. Does that make it safer, more comfortable to read? (A jacket quote hints at the same thing, so I know it isn't just me!) I'm curious how the author achieved that. I think she brings up the hard stuff, but kinda goes over it pretty quickly. Whereas the joyful stuff and the not as intense stuff, she goes into detail. Case in point is the ending. Chapters and chapters on the beginning of the relationship, but then literally a few pages on the end and another few pages hinting at what happens next. It felt like a sudden ending when I'm sure it would be so much more! Still I liked it and I very much admired the main character.
It is an amazing little story of a single woman who quite accidentally gets involved in the life of a little girl who ends up in foster care. So the woman, nearly 50 years old, never married and never had kids, wants to take her in.
In some ways the book is very detached. You call tell the characters are feeling the intense emotions, but you can't feel them as a reader. Does that make it safer, more comfortable to read? (A jacket quote hints at the same thing, so I know it isn't just me!) I'm curious how the author achieved that. I think she brings up the hard stuff, but kinda goes over it pretty quickly. Whereas the joyful stuff and the not as intense stuff, she goes into detail. Case in point is the ending. Chapters and chapters on the beginning of the relationship, but then literally a few pages on the end and another few pages hinting at what happens next. It felt like a sudden ending when I'm sure it would be so much more! Still I liked it and I very much admired the main character.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
July 1, 2009
A well-meaning but ultimately insubstantial read, I feel the $1.00 price tag on this bargain book is an accurate reflection of its quality. The author tries to take us into the often challenging and sometimes rewarding world of foster parenting, while attempting to explore issues of racial and social discrimination. The biggest message of the book was supposed to be how much Alice (a single, white, 48-year-old middle class woman) changed as the result of foster parenting Larissa (a six-year-old girl of mixed race being raised by an irresponsible single mother). Instead I felt that Alice was a pro from the beginning; she was kind and patient, she knew exactly how to handle a non-communicative child, she knew just the right words to say and the right foods to eat and the right games to play, etc. The author really wanted this story to focus on introspection and personal growth, ideas that are hard to develop when your protagonist is already an insightful, self-aware person (so insightful, in fact, that she has imaginary conversations with her dead twin brother, a device I found annoying and cliche). Not an unpleasant read overall, it just didn't really go anywhere.
May 27, 2010
Touching story of a woman who answers the phone late a night and gets involved in a little girl's life when she realizes the six-year-old has been left alone. She goes as far as to apply to be a foster parent when the girl goes into the system.
It seems realistic: the reactions of the little girl, the struggles of new parenthood, and the irresponsible but sympathetic mother. And it ended beautifully.
My only complaint ... I read the first chapter and set it aside, only going back later to read it (a habit of mine). The first chapter introduced us to the main character as well as a conflict between two characters that are never seen again. It wouldn't have been a big deal, but it gave me a completely wrong impression of what the plotline was going to be about. I thought we'd see the deaf pregnant girl and her over-bearing mother again... but it wasn't their story, it was Alice's.
It seems realistic: the reactions of the little girl, the struggles of new parenthood, and the irresponsible but sympathetic mother. And it ended beautifully.
My only complaint ... I read the first chapter and set it aside, only going back later to read it (a habit of mine). The first chapter introduced us to the main character as well as a conflict between two characters that are never seen again. It wouldn't have been a big deal, but it gave me a completely wrong impression of what the plotline was going to be about. I thought we'd see the deaf pregnant girl and her over-bearing mother again... but it wasn't their story, it was Alice's.
September 5, 2008
I'd maybe give it 4 1/2 stars.
What I liked: The characters are believable. Not dull and one-dimensional at all. I have had deaf friends and I liked the way the deaf people in the novel are portrayed. There are some really tender parts in the book, but they never cross the line and become cheesy. It isn't a trite happily-ever-after book, which in some ways is hard, but it makes it more believable. It isn't a happy-ever-after situation. It is a book that I won't just forget. I find myself thinking about the story and the characters weeks after I finished reading.
What I didn't like: There was a lot of language. It was believable but not necessary. I'm not sure I'd recommend it to absolutely everyone, but I'll probably read it again.
I'm keeping my copy.
My kids can read it when they're 16.
What I liked: The characters are believable. Not dull and one-dimensional at all. I have had deaf friends and I liked the way the deaf people in the novel are portrayed. There are some really tender parts in the book, but they never cross the line and become cheesy. It isn't a trite happily-ever-after book, which in some ways is hard, but it makes it more believable. It isn't a happy-ever-after situation. It is a book that I won't just forget. I find myself thinking about the story and the characters weeks after I finished reading.
What I didn't like: There was a lot of language. It was believable but not necessary. I'm not sure I'd recommend it to absolutely everyone, but I'll probably read it again.
I'm keeping my copy.
My kids can read it when they're 16.
June 22, 2014
Although The Sound of Us by Sarah Willis was published in 2005, I just discovered it and am really glad that I did. I really enjoyed this book.
Alice is an almost 50 year old woman, never married, childless, whose twin brother has recently died. She receives a phone call from a child, a wrong number, that begins a series of events that change her life.
A very moving story, with characters who are believable and easy to connect with. There are no quick, simple solutions to the challenges faced by the characters in this book. I finished the book in 2 days, anxious to find out how everything would work out. The pacing was great.
I have not read any other books by this author before, but I will soon. I will also be recommending this book!
Alice is an almost 50 year old woman, never married, childless, whose twin brother has recently died. She receives a phone call from a child, a wrong number, that begins a series of events that change her life.
A very moving story, with characters who are believable and easy to connect with. There are no quick, simple solutions to the challenges faced by the characters in this book. I finished the book in 2 days, anxious to find out how everything would work out. The pacing was great.
I have not read any other books by this author before, but I will soon. I will also be recommending this book!
November 20, 2008
I love finding treasures at the library. This is one of those. It was on the "Not new but worth a view" shelf. The story of a single woman who is trying to make the best of life but really is sad and lonely. She receives a phone call late one night from a scared six year old, and she determines to do the right thing this time in her life. The story unfolds and what I liked was that the people were not cookie cutter good and bad, but nuanced. And they learned about themselves. All circling around children and how their love for us can be healing and redeeming. It raises issues of what is best for a child.
July 23, 2013
"I loved this book and couldn't put it down, read in less than a day. My 17 yr. old son watched a little girl of about 3 in the mall for long enough to realize that no one was with her. He called security, they told him that it was not as uncommon as he would like to believe. He just wanted to bring her home to me and keep her out of the mess of the system.
The book is well written, gentle and hard hitting at the same time. What is poor parenting, what is society's answer and how many chances does a parent get?
May 31, 2007
Finally, a portrayal of a single woman without the disdain or loneliness. Alice's twin brother recently died, and she stumbles on a project to keep her mind off of the loss: a 6-yr-old girl with a negligent mother and a stuffed bunny named Lucy. Alice becomes a foster parent struggling to find her place in a family dynamic that is constantly changing. An interesting side note: Alice is a sign language interpreter and the story takes place in Cleveland and Columbus.
January 3, 2010
If you haven't read anything from this author, I suggest starting with this book. I loved this book and couldn't wait to finish it to learn what happens. I was drawn immediately into the world of little Larissa and felt strongly connected to all of the characters in the story. Willis did a wonderful job making this read as though it was non-fiction. Simply captivating and one I will always remember.
November 21, 2011
In het nederlands 'Gebarentaal'. Een onverwacht pareltje. Heel fijn geschreven, ik kon het niet wegleggen. De personages komen goed tot leven. De relatie tussen Alice en de 6-jarige Larissa is heel lief. Deed mij erg denken aan Luca, dat ik toevallig pas gelezen hebt. Ik vind Gebarentaal beter uitgewerkt en een bevredigender einde. Aanrader!
October 15, 2009
A really moving look at a child as she moves through the foster care system. None of the characters is perfect and there is something to like about each of them. My heart goes out to anyone who finds themselves in a situation that requires foster care, but I believe that in many cases it is the best possible solution.
May 21, 2016
Wow. A great book about foster care and the experience of loving other people's children. Oddly enough, the mother in this book shares Jerzee's moms name and I can see some similarity in their cases. Willis does a great job of describing how quickly you can fall for a kid, and what that can do to your perceptions of biological parents, for better and worse. Loved it and read it very quickly.
March 7, 2008
I liked this book - found myself thinking about it a lot even when I was not reading it. I think the beginning and the middle are a lot stronger than the ending, but the characters are complex and fascinating.
October 28, 2008
This is the latest by the author of "Some things that stay"-- about a woman who becomes a foster parent and the complex issues involved--emotions that change a person. This book reminded me of "The Bone People" by Keri Hulme in some ways.
August 12, 2010
Definitely a good read - I was enthralled. I have often thought of being foster parents at some point in our lives so this was very eye opening and thought provoking. Although, I have to say, the author could have cut out some of the language . . .
August 31, 2010
Found the book on a free pile and figured it would be a toss-away. No! Extremely readable. The emotions and actions felt authentic, obviously a product of good research and a generous portion of insight. I'll look for more of Willis' books.
October 27, 2010
I don't really know how to write my feelings for this book without spoiling it. It makes you think about your definition of love and family. It gives you hope that your life can change when you're least expecting it, and for the better if you work at it. The best book I've read all year.
February 10, 2011
This is a bittersweet book about a woman who has lived a solitary life, and how she changes as her life intersects with that of a frightened child. Compelling and thoughtful, Willis explores the ambiguities of human relationships. A wonderful book.
June 5, 2013
I liked the realistic portrayal of the foster care system. I worked in the system for 10 years. I liked this clear story with nuances about forgiveness, love and redemption. It's fast read and I'd recommend it.
June 27, 2013
Absolutely loved this book. I was so involved in this story that I read the book in 2 days! The story starts with a random phone call to a wrong number and we watch this serendipitous moment change the lives of the central characters.
Displaying 1 - 30 of 49 reviews