I thought the content of this book was fascinating. It covered so many different and "new to me" areas. Deaf culture and the experiences the author had with being partially deaf. Overlaying that with poetry and music and British vs American Sign Language and then adding in the intersectionality of being Jamaican made for a full and layered story.

What I found harder was adjusting to the flow and rhythm of the story. It felt like there wasn't a clear narrative arc and I didn't stay connected to the story as I moved from section to section which made it harder for me to stay engaged.

with gratitude to netgalley and Random House | Hogarth for an advanced copy in exchange for an honest review.

I appreciate the author sharing his experiences and I hope this book finds readers who may share some of those experiences. For me, it didn’t seem like the author had enough distance to write a memoir. It read somewhat like an assignment he had to complete. Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for this copy.

An engaging and beautifully written memoir of otherness that made me think. Antrobus is a poet and that shows in the language he uses. I liked reading about his parents and their journeys but his is the more valuable story. Thanks to Netgalley for the ARC. A good read.

An engaging and insightful account of the author’s upbringing in East London and the challenges and joys his deafness has brought him. The writing is lovely and I was not surprised to learn the author is a poet. I look forward to reading his other work.

Thank you to Random House and NetGalley for the opportunity to read a copy.

This is definitely a book that immerses the reader into the world of the hard of hearing. Isolation, loneliness , embarrassment and indecision (to wear hearing aids or not) were feelings that
Antrobus described and skillfully made the reader a part of. Eventhough he gained strength and perseverance from his hardships, I found the first part of the book depressing.
I really didn't find that the lengthy biographies of his parents added much to his story. They were almost a distraction.
Once again (as someone with no physical handicaps), I was made aware of how clueless I continue to be in being aware of all of the different ways a handicap can affect a person's life.

What a beautiful memoir. I thoroughly enjoyed reading about Antrobus' background, his family, the events that shaped him, his experience after being diagnosed as deaf, and the exploration of his identity over the years. Unsurprisingly, given his background as a writer and poet, this was one of the best-written memoirs I've read. The prose was thoughtful and evocative and had me eager to keep reading whenever I had the chance.

I wasn't familiar with Antrobus' work before I read this book, but I'm eager to read more from him now. Thank you to Netgalley and Random House Publishing Group for the ARC in exchange for an honest review.

4 stars

Raymond Antrobus's memoir is a fantastic study in intersectional identity and how different parts of who we are impact us distinctly at different points in our lives and in unique circumstances. As the title hints at, Raymond's early diagnosis as deaf is a focus here, and the discussion is fascinating, but this is also not a myopic study. There is so much to enjoy. This is the kind of memoir that's informative, instructive, and worthy of readers' time.

Like all good memoirs, this one includes a great deal of background on the author's young life. I loved getting to learn about his family dynamic, and I appreciated the ways in which he was able to paint a fuller picture of some family members whom it would be really easy to write off instantly. Antrobus's relationships with his parents are not straightforward, and the structural and organizational choices here force readers into a similar position (uncertainty around how to respond to these folks). Along with his familial connections, there are fascinating discussions of friendship, coming-of-age occurrences, and self exploration. I have very limited awareness of BSL and the ways in which deaf children access education and general literacy in England. For me, that information was an unexpected highlight. But it's really Antrobus's personal experiences and growth that make this such a memorable adventure.

Though I was completely unfamiliar with this author prior to cracking this read, I am now very interested in his life, hot takes, and additional written work. I'm looking forward to learning more and recommend this thoughtful memoir.

The Quiet Ear by Raymond Antrobus is a beautifully written and thought-provoking book. The author’s style is engaging, and the themes are explored with sensitivity and depth. I found the book to be insightful and moving, and I would recommend it to readers who appreciate literary works that invite reflection and conversation.

I found Raymond Antrobus’s story of growing up with a hearing loss in England very interesting, and I learned a lot about the education system for deaf children in London. I am glad Antrobus found his place in the world of words, though his poetry is stronger than his prose. I found the storytelling in this book to be very choppy, jumping from a personal story to a story about Deaf culture, or Deaf history, or some other British cultural icon. The content shifts interrupted the flow of the story, and I didn’t enjoy this as much as I would have if Antrobus had focused on his own story, though I do understand that for the general reader, some of the backstories were necessary.

Thank you to Net Galley for an advance copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

The Quiet Ear by Raymond Antrobus

Raymond Antrobus has spent his life as a D/d deaf person. He differentiates between Deaf-one who accepts deaf identity and culture and deaf-one who uses speech and lip reads.

He had a rough go as a kid missing certain sounds and only getting parts of words. He pretended to understand more than he did, which caused him a lot of problems. No one wants to feel different,so he rarely wore his hearing aids or used signing. He explains that British Sign Language is different than American Sign Language. He is British.

Antrobus has become an accomplished published poet and has given back to the deaf community by helping others who are deaf. In this memoir, he also mentions several other accomplish deaf people, such as the painters Goya and Granville Redmond, as well as musician Beethoven.

This was an informative book from which I learned many new things about the non-hearing experience. Three stars.

Thank you to Harper/Random House and NetGalley for an advance readers copy of this book.

Now in his later thirties, in this memoir poet/teacher/deaf advocate Ray Antrobus writes lyrically about growing up as a deaf, racially ambiguous boy in London at the turn of the Millenium.

With a White, British mother and a Black, Jamaican father, Ray probably would have faced many issues in his working class neighborhood. But born with some hearing, his deafness was not diagnosed until he was seven years old. Until then he was seen as learning disabled, irresponsible, and with limited intelligence. Or just limited, as his father would frequently say.

At that time Ray was fitted with large hearing aids, which brought different ridicule from others. Fortunately, he also was gifted with a mother and a few dedicated teachers of the deaf, who recognized his potential and empowered him. He was able to move forward, but not without anger and shame, closely observing, questioning, and through poetry finding success and fulfillment. Part of this was joining the deaf community, with its special, highly developed culture, part was mentoring younger deaf people, and part was teaching hearing people about deafness and both its problems and rich culture. He shares his challenges, conflicts, and insights with us through this book.

Even with his graceful writing, there are some issues that interrupted the flow of this work. First, over-sharing: We did not need to know about incidents like his urinating in the pool. Second, there were many references to contemporary British pop culture, which were lost to an older American reader. Finally, referring to the woman with whom he has built a fulfilling life and family as his “co-parent,” never as his wife, (he describes their courtship and marriage), which seemed strangely distanced.

Despite this, Antrobus gives a rich glimpse into a complicated and nuanced experience that many of us do not know or understand. He also explores what he may have gained, not lost, through deafness. Hopefully, his work will reach others, both hearing and deaf, and broaden our understanding and appreciation of the “D/deaf” world.

What an amazing book by a talented authors. While I knew a bit about audism, I cannot say that I have read much about deaf culture and lived experience from people with different degrees of hearing ability. Raymond Antrobus writes a beautiful book that I hope people will read and reflect on. The Quiet Ear is one of those books where after you read, you have to pause and realize just how little we know about the lived experiences of other people. Reading this book opened both my heart and mind.

This is a memoir of a writer and poet who is Deaf and the son of an English mother and Jamaican father. His story is one of being in the middle. He has enough hearing that people think he is hearing, but growing up, he had yet to embrace Deaf culture and signing. His race is ambiguous, neither accepted as white or black, neither English or Jamaican. It is from this cross roads that he builds a life as a poet. This story of his life is less a mini-class in Deafness and more an exploration of what it means to not quite fit in anywhere and how you move forward anyway. Recommended for anyone navigating worlds, those interested in poetry, and those interested in the experience of a Deaf person navigating the world with some ability to hear.

As a child, Raymond Antrobus was diagnosed as partially deaf - unable to hear sounds in high pitches and frequencies, his entire experience has been one where he's had to come to terms with the portion of the world that he will never truly experience, even with the help of hearing aids. "The Quiet Ear" is Antrobus's memoir, a retelling of his childhood and adult years learning to navigate his disability and the ways in which it impacts his interactions and relationships with others, and his eventual career path to becoming an award-winning poet.

Beyond his personal experiences and memories, Antrobus also dives into history and literature, pulling out key figures and moments in time that have been pivotal to the deaf community; it is a history that I knew very little about before this book and I appreciated the educational aspect of his work as well. Throughout, Antrobus's prose is well-developed and layered, an unsurprising fact given his background as a poet - although there were moments throughout reading that Antrobus's retelling of his past felt a little too detached and cerebral.

A moving and enlightening read, and very much recommended when published in August 2025!

The Quiet Ear

Raymond was born to a white mother and a black father in Jamaica. Later, the family moved to the poverty-stricken East End of London, England. When he was a child, they learned he had significant hearing loss in the auditory ranges of the human voice. His hearing aids helped but he also needed to learn sign language. So his challenges began.

This book discusses his journey through partial deafness, racial bias, and poverty to his adult life as a published poet, a successful spoken word artist, a husband and a father. This all makes for a gripping story.

Thoughtful memoir of a deaf bi-racial poet and the challenges he faced in school and society.
Discusses the different ways the D/deaf choose to communicate, cochlear implants and the varying
degrees of deafness. Details how being considered being different and less than affected his sense of self.
#TheQuietEar #RandomHouse #Hogarth#NetGalley

An enlightening account of the trials, tribulations, failures and successes of a deaf individual over the years. It makes one so thankful for a functioning body with all the necessary five senses. May Raymond continue to succeed as he has overcome his loss in life.

interesting and intricate book examining the realities of being both deaf and jamaican. always lyrically written. 5 stars. tysm for the arc.

Thoughtful memoir that provided great insight into the many struggles being bi-racial and D/deaf. Their are challenges and yet also opportunities, depending on approach, attitude, and opportunity. The author continually brings the reader's attention to the fact that there are things that we all miss...sounds, sights, etc. Filling in those vacancies can lead to laughter, trouble, new ways of thinking, new ways to improve one's approach. A strong work of prose by a writer who is first a poet.

“The Quiet Ear: An Investigation of Missing Sound” by Raymond Antrobus is a fascinating memoir describing the life of a deaf poet. “The Quiet Ear” is Raymond Antrobus’ exploration of our relationship to sound and how it impacts our relationship to each other and to ourselves. A poet first, this memoir is written with profound awareness of sound and language. Beautiful and poignant, the text brought me new awarenesses and helped me to hear and understand the repercussions of the societal response to deafness and to disability in general. Antrobus is profoundly human, yet has the strength to be vulnerable, exposing the shame and pain of growing up different. The book strengthened my awareness and compassion, while making me aware of things I have missed. We all have missing sounds. We are all deaf to things beyond our ken. Antrobus aids us in focusing on, and hearing things, that would otherwise be outside our range. This is a literary, multicultural, and brave memoir. The reader is given an intimate look into the poet’s life – its beauty, its pain, and its sheer overwhelming humanity.

Thank you to NetGalley and Hogarth/Random House for the ARC in exchange for my honest review.