Lindsey Horowitz’s Reviews > The History of Sound > Status Update

“The Children of New Eden” and “Introduction to the Dietzens” - 3.5/5. Look, I love a New England cult, but Karl didn’t do it for me as a leader, and this story wouldn’t really work for me as a stand-alone. As a pair, these work beyond just the continuation of plot since there is a strong sibling element in both. But, they were both less memorable than the other pairs in the book.

“Radiolab: Singularities” and “The Auk” - 4/5. The paired stories are really working for me now! Their connections are way more obvious now. I found “Singularities” compelling and a sweet story, and while I suspected what might happen in “The Auk”, I didn’t get it 100% right. My husband described the latter as “poignant”, which I get, but it didn’t destroy me the way some of the others did.

“Tundra Swan” - 3/5. If you, like me, are still scarred from the Roald Dahl story about the boy and the swan that you read during childhood, this story should be a skip. It’s tragic and hard to read / listen to at one point, plus there’s some weird tree stuff going on. I couldn’t get past those things to appreciate the father/son dynamic and the treatment of addiction as described in these pages.

Shattuck knows how to write setting! Wow.

“Graft” - 4.75/5. This one touched me as a mother. I think the images of Hope staring at the boy in the hall of flowers (and the hall of birds with Harold) and “fixing” her face might be seared into my memory forever. She made so many decisions, how to know if any of them were right?

“Edwin Chase of Nantucket” - 4.5/5. Also bleak and about regret. I wondered a lot about Laurel and why Edwin called her that. Is the note he leaves at the end nice or devastating?

“The Silver Clip” - 4/5. I didn’t expect to be reading about an antique dildo! This one was funny, but not “haha” funny, while also strange. What did Mallory even want? Companionship? The portrait? Something more?

“The History of Sound” - 5/5. Wondering if this story is the best thing I’ve read all year? I listened to it and was surprised to find myself crying at the conclusion. This captures love, loss, and regret (especially regret) in a way that is extremely relatable and heart wrenching. Also, of course they made it into a movie; it is so visual with many cinematic scenes. What will stay with me are the feelings.