Over the years we have enjoyed David Lodge’s works. His The Art of Fiction is an invaluable source of information for the student of literature and his novels have entertained us. Changing Places, for example, or Small World. A new Lodge on the shelf was therefore a lovely sight.

Deaf sentence is a new departure. The university world is still in the background but Desmond Bates, a professor of linguistics, is going deaf. Clearly there is autobiographical included in the comical descriptions of misunderstandings that take place against the background of party noise.

Three parallel threads run through the novel. The theme of deafness is echoed in a different way when Desmond makes his monthly visit to his (deaf) 89 year-old father, who is also on the fringes of dementia.

A severely disturbed PhD student seems to be making moves to ensnare Desmond in her twisted world as she chooses him as the supervisor of her thesis on the nature of suicide notes.

Desmond’s own family life comes under the magnifying glass in some hilarious scenes. However, there is an underlying discomfort in the ageing marriage.

The final scene of the novel is worth waiting for and superbly orchestrated. This is a funny and moving novel.

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