This was an interesting premise - based around the secret lives we hide from others. I enjoyed following along with the characters as they navigated their public (and private) lives. Each narrative is based around voice...or lack of it. This isn't a light-hearted story by any means, and tackles some important issues. Three people, three different lives, all tied together by their relationships with each other. An interesting take on the idea of silence and sound, and who we show to the world vs who we really are.

Thank you to NetGalley, John Hunt and Jennifer Kavanaugh for an advance copy to read in exchange for honest feedback. Unfortunately, this was not for me!

Thank you Netgalley, Jennifer Kavanagh, and Roundfire Books for the advance copy of this
Sadly this was not for me and I did not finish it.
I found it tough going and gave up.

I received a free electronic copy of this novel from Netgalley, Jennifer Kavanagh, and Roundfire Books. Thank you all for sharing your hard work with me. I have read this novel of my own volition, and this review reflects my personal opinion of this work.

I found the novel 'The Silence Diaries' heavy weather to get through. The protagonists are a Fool, a ventriloquist and a man who hears voices. Their common denominator is sound - one chooses to communicate without sound, one by throwing sound to an inanimate object, one by responding to sounds heard only by himself. The fact that their relationships are difficult to maintain is not all that surprising, and they do persevere - or at any rate, they lack forward motion into making choices and thus their relationships hold firm. I was disappointed in this work.

I was first attracted to this book because of the title and it certainly fits the story well! Suzie and Orbs are not the traditional couple; he is a professional Fool with crazy costumes who performs in silence. She is a ventriloquist with a "pet" fox named Bruce who perform on television. But when a freak accident silences her for a time, both Suzie and Orb must come to terms with what they can't verbalize in their own relationship. Add to the mix Freddie, Orbs' brother who hears voices but loves Suzie's fox, and you have the makings of a tender story of compassion and insight. The writing is subtle but lovely; we see two people who are very different yet who come together and are there to support one another when the other needs them the most. It's certainly a non-traditional story but is one that will touch your heart and perhaps give you a fresh perspective on what it means to love and be loved!

The Silence Diaries by Jennifer Kavanagh
Book Review by Dawn Thomas

176 Pages
Publisher: John Hunt Publishing Ltd / Roundfire Books
Release Date: November 1, 2019

Fiction, Relationships, Mental Health

Orbs and Suzie are entertainers living in London. Orbs is a professional Fool but works at a bank. Suzie is a ventriloquist with her fox puppet Bruce and has a day job as a financial journalist. When Suzie has an accident, their lives are turned upside down. She loses her voice and confidence. Orbs does what he can to keep the house going and making sure Suzie is cared for. They have to work together to overcome their circumstances if they are going to be able to move forward.

I actually read this book twice. The discussion of mental health needs to become more mainstream and the stigmatism of it removed. I applaud the author for addressing the issue. This book is written in the first person and in the presence tense. It is a short book and a quick read.

The Silence Diaries is a unique tale, set in a space with a lot of potential. While brilliant in its own way, it captured my attention and I was hooked. But, the hook stemmed from my desire to know what in the world I was reading.

The story unfolds nicely and all of my questions were eventually answered.

Suzie and Orbs have been together for a couple of years. Suzie is a financial journalist while Orbs reluctantly makes a living in the city. But they both have another life hidden from the outside world. Orbs plays the fool with fellow impromptu performers. He usually works in London or he travels to fairs. Suzie has a ventriloquist dummy. But then she has an accident on the hand that she uses to prop up the ventriloquist doll. She then looses her voice, she's dumb struck.

This is a really quick read. I read it this afternoon. Often I've seen puppet shows, ventriloquist etc and most of the time their stories have an underlying message. This book is no different. Suzie and Orbs both keep their other lives secret from their families. They both hide who they really are behind the characters that they play. They can be whoever's they want to be and no one will know. I liked everything about this story. Its thr first book that I have read by the author but it won't be my last.

I would like to thank NetGalley, John Hunt Publishing Ltd and the author Jennifer Kavanagh for my ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Thank you to #netgalley and round fire books for letting me read and review The Silence Diaries by Jennifer Kavanagh. Although I feel that this book was well written, I just don’t think it was for me. I didn’t feel incredibly invested in the characters or what the outcome was to their lives. I guess it was just different than I thought it would be.

This book is about self discovery
I really liked the writing style of this book but I didn’t like the story. I am sure some people will love it but it wasn’t my cup of tea

Many people, thanks to Stephen King and possibly certain prominent personages leading the stage right now, may be afraid of clowns. Yet the discipline comes from a noble pedigree: the court jester bring able to say what others may not for fear of losing their heads. The naive infant who is the only one who can safely say the Emperor is wearing no clothes.
The main character, Orbs, is not a clown, but a Fool. With fellow impromptu performers, he puts on his act in London, or travels to fairs outside the city to practice his act.
His girlfriend Suzie, sometimes known as Belinda, has an excellent job as a political journalist, but is persuaded to use her ventriloquist act to to review politicians. Her sharp and cynical alter ego fox is quick to put her interviewees in the spot, quickly gaining an appreciative audience. All whilst keeping her true identity as a journalist secret.
Then she has an accident - on the hand which she used for her ventriloquist prop. All of a sudden, she loses the power to speak. It seems her prop, propped more up than just her professional audiences.
The story underscores the way most of us hide behind fictions, make-believe versions of ourselves - and how it might be possible to move beyond that. At other times, a tool such as a puppet may be therapeutic. Meanwhile, Orbs is confronted with the act he also keeps up, to family, to day job, as Suzie struggles to find a more inclusive voice. Then there is Orb's brother, who hears voices, and whether or not Orb's and Suzie can possibly have a future together.
Overall, this an idiosyncratic take on dysfunction and healing, as well as being quite an entertaining novel in its way.

'The Silence Diaries' is a story about finding the courage to listen to your inner voice and the vulnerability that it will require. Silence is used as a way of removing all that is untrue and inauthentic leaving only what is. The exploration of this idea was presented through two main characters each with their own struggles to be who they are. Both characters in the story were living double lives- Suze who worked as a ventriloquist and financial reporter and Orbs a banker who also worked as a Fool on the side. Suze and Orbs were both engulfed by the noise of expectation and fear. They both had hidden lives away from their family and friends that both caused them a lot of worry. What if someone found out what they really did? They both struggled with finding purpose and meaning in their lives that took the form of secret professions. For Suze, she was able to express a silly side of herself through her puppet that she could never do as a financial journalist. Orbs on the other hand could express himself best as a mute Fool, through performance action.

Throughout the story we see these two characters finding themselves when the noise of all that they should be or want to do begins to take over their lives. Suze and Orbs both have to confront their most vulnerable selves when their puppet and fooling cease to have a presence in their lives. It was only then, that the real communication of the heart began to have the loudest voice.

We all tend to give ourselves labels and fragment our lives into separate little pieces but bringing those seemingly different parts of ourselves together is where the truth of who we are is found. It is a stillness and peace that quiets the world around us. It will look and sound completely different than we could ever have imagined.

I found a great quote that really captures the essence of this book:

“Within each of us, there is a silence, a silence as vast as the universe. And when we experience that silence, we remember who we are…” — Gunilla Norris