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 enlarge | Author: Josh Swiller
Publisher: Holt Paperbacks
Category: Book
List Price: $14.00
Buy New: $3.49
You Save: $10.51 (75%)
New (39) Used (32) from $3.49
Avg. Customer Rating:  45 reviews
Sales Rank: 104523
Media: Paperback
Number Of Items: 1
Pages: 288
Shipping Weight (lbs): 0.5
Dimensions (in): 7.9 x 5.2 x 0.9
ISBN: 0805082107
Dewey Decimal Number: 968.94042
EAN: 9780805082104
ASIN: 0805082107
Publication Date: September 4, 2007
Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days
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| Customer Reviews:
A comedy of errors, a coming-of-age story, and a touching tribute to a strange piece of paradise. April 2, 2008
9 out of 9 found this review helpful
Review originally published in the Hipster Book Club, April 2008.
Josh Swiller's memoir, The Unheard, tells the story of his two years as a Peace Corps volunteer in Mununga, a dusty Zambian village home to tribal factions and a host of refugees from neighboring Zaire. Deaf since childhood, Josh was raised by devoted parents who trained him to speak and lip-read with the assistance of hearing aids. Raised to fit into the hearing world, he attended Yale but encountered feelings of isolation and frustration toward heavily-accented professors who spoke into chalkboards. In graduate school at Gallaudet University, he attempted to immerse himself in a new Deaf community but discovered that he was just as isolated in a world that spoke exclusively American Sign Language. So Josh went to Africa to find "a place past deafness."
After a ten-week training course, Josh was off to inspire a sense of community ownership in Mununga, with a charter to organize the villagers to build their first community infrastructure: wells to provide fresh water to the disease-ridden community. The villagers, led by politicians whose primary concern was getting their rake of the banana wine production, were perplexed that the white man didn't have the money and power to give them a well. Politicians had deep-seated tribal affairs to sort out and were suspicious of Josh's motives in offering "help" to the community without bringing along cash and resources. Josh writes of the plight of the Africans with a voice of introspection and humor. His teaching experience required navigating "an educational system based, apparently, on the principles of unlimited recess." By keeping the tone light, Josh conveys profound insights with nary a trace of pity for himself or the economically ravaged country.
For his part, Josh was able to speak Bemba, the tribal language, better than any of his fellow volunteers. Bemba was just another series of verbal sounds Josh had to perform without hearing. In the village and even the larger city centers of Africa, background noise was low, so Josh was able to distinguish sounds more easily. He also noted that people tended to speak to him slowly and directly, further aiding his comprehension.
Josh formed warm friendships with his cook, houseboy, and fellow health clinic worker Jere. In many ways, The Unheard is the story of Josh's friendship with this steadfast and wise chess player. Jere was Josh's constant ally throughout his struggles fighting for resources, adhering to tribal customs, and maneuvering against a ferocious tribal leader out to destroy Josh for his own purposes. Josh learned to adapt his style to reach the Africans in any way possible. In one of his more successful moves, he fosters cultural exchange by passing out a Sports Illustrated swimsuit edition to his male students.
The zenith of Josh's experience in Africa was the construction of a local clinic for which Josh put his own Peace Corps career on the line. He self-funded the effort via outside grants in quasi-violation of bureaucratic red tape. Throughout his time in Mununga, Josh wrestled with his inability to effect lasting change against a tidal wave of cultural differences. He finally acquiesced to the urgings of his friend Jere to make one small, practical contribution to the village by building a clinic. Josh's arch nemesis, the tribal leader Boniface, manipulated both the Peace Corps volunteer and the villagers throughout the process, misappropriating project supplies and resources, and finally sabotaging the project in a climactic lynch mob of violence. For Josh, the after effects were devastating. He was forced to suppress his personal outrage and again adhere to the advice of his friend Jere, who continually encouraged Josh to adapt to the local system. Josh learned that subtly outwitting Boniface at his own game was much more effective than pursing any official means of justice.
Josh Swiller did indeed find a place past deafness in the lakeside village of Mununga, Zambia. He was a Peace Corps volunteer in a war-torn, disease-ravaged region in which being light-skinned and American was strange enough that no one bothered to alienate him based on deafness. In his memoir, he casts a critical eye at the Peace Corps process as well as his own conduct in Africa. Josh recognizes that he had naive goals when he first arrived; learning how to work within the system was an arduous process. He balances his criticism of the local government corruption and his frustration at the lack of industrial progress with his genuine awe and appreciation for the beauty and friendship he found in Mununga. The Unheard is at once a comedy of errors, a coming-of-age story, and a touching tribute to a strange piece of paradise.
An inspiring read February 28, 2008
2 out of 2 found this review helpful
What a fantastic book! I read it in one day and could not put it down. The story line, the dialog, the setting, the language - all superb and first rate for a first time author. I recommend this book to anyone who appreciates learning from one's differences and experiences. The African backdrop was just part of the story, as learning life through Josh's hearing disability was equally riveting. I plan on giving this book as gifts to all my reader friends. A must-read! Thank you Josh for sharing and I hope you are inspired to write again.
 A Fine Appreciation Of The Absurd February 18, 2008
What an excellent memoir. While researching my novel, Heart of Diamonds, I spent some time in Zambia but I saw it anew through Josh Swiller's wonderfully observant eyes. He also has a great sense of humor, not to mention a fine appreciation of the absurd, which is a must for travels in Africa.
Swiller is a bold man. Living under marginal conditions during a time of seriously violent unrest is no cakewalk for those with all their faculties. To do so lacking the ability to hear required more than just a sense of adventure. His struggles to do his job and make a difference, even just to get along with his sometimes less-than-helpful neighbors, made for a great story.
Wonderful journey with a skilled narrator January 8, 2008
1 out of 1 found this review helpful
This is a great story of what it is like to be a Peace Corps volunteer and a terrific way to get an understanding of what is like to be Deaf. The author is brave, interesting and can tell a compelling tale. He struggles with the poverty of Zambia and the many cultural differences he encounters. We also learn about his Zambian counterpart, Mr. Jere, and what a remarkable person he gets to work with. Interestingly however, he finds his deafness is the least of his troubles in Zambia.
I'm the mom of a Deaf boy and I loved learning about the journey the author took, stories about his family and all of the amazing things that he has done. I also loved getting an understanding of how convenient turning off your hearing can be! He describes a few situations where he was able to cope with an overwhelming situation by just taking off his hearing aids.
A must read of anyone raising a d/Deaf or Hard of Hearing person. Equally wonderful for everyone.
Truly Amazing Story - Really Makes You Think January 3, 2008
1 out of 1 found this review helpful
What a great book. A true adventure in Africa. Quick and fun reading but with a serious side as well. I dont want to ruin any of the story line (there are lots of surprises), nor do I want to tell all future readers what they will think about when they are done reading (this is a great book to discuss with other readers)... so my simple advice is: Just Read It... you won't regret it.
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