The Silent History

by Matthew Derby (Author), Eli Horowitz (Author), Kevin Moffett (Author)

New
Paperback
2015
$13.72

A generation of children are born without speech, without comprehension, without language entirely. At first, they are just medical curiosities. But their numbers swell, and soon they grow into an established underclass, occupying squats and communes around the world. To some they are seen as a threat; to others, as a salvation. Some suspect they may have other abilities beyond our understanding. The children cannot tell you their story. Instead we rely on The Silent History, a collection of testimonies from those touched by the phenomenon. Parents, doctors, opportunist inventors, cult leaders, and vigilantes, recall what they have endured and what they have inflicted on others. They will take you from a recognisable present to a real and unsettling future. You will not want to look away.

Synopsis

A generation of children are born without speech, without comprehension, without language entirely. At first, they are just medical curiosities. But their numbers swell, and soon they grow into an established underclass, occupying squats and communes around the world. To some they are seen as a threat; to others, as a salvation. Some suspect they may have other abilities beyond our understanding. The children cannot tell you their story. Instead we rely on The Silent History, a collection of testimonies from those touched by the phenomenon. Parents, doctors, opportunist inventors, cult leaders, and vigilantes, recall what they have endured and what they have inflicted on others. They will take you from a recognisable present to a real and unsettling future. You will not want to look away.

$13.72

Quantity

18 in stock

More Information

Format: Paperback
Pages: 528
Publisher: Vintage
Published: 03 Sep 2015
ISBN 10: 009959286X
ISBN 13: 9780099592860
Book Overview: A ingenious thriller about a generation unable to speak - 'entirely revolutionary' (Wired)

Media Reviews

An imaginative investigation into the besetting issues of our information-saturated society... Manages to feel relentlessly thoughtful and new. -- Tim Martin * The Times *
A completely new kind of novel. * Bookseller *
For all technology can add to storytelling, it's better as a proper book... Very funny... Makes some keen observations about the trouble people have understanding one another. * Stuff *
The high-concept premise is brilliantly simple. * i *
A compelling story about difference, rights and power. -- Richard House * Guardian *

Author Bio

Eli Horowitz is the former managing editor and publisher of McSweeney's. He is the co-author of The Clock Without a Face, a treasure-hunt mystery, and Everything You Know Is Pong, an illustrated cultural history of ping pong. His design work has been honoured by i-D, Print and the American Institute of Graphic Arts. Matthew Derby is a writer and designer and the author of the story collection Super Flat Times. His writing has appeared in McSweeney's, The Believer, Guernica and The Anchor Book of New American Short Stories. He also works at a video game studio in Cambridge, Massachusetts. www.matthewderby.org Kevin Moffett is the author of two highly praised story collections, Permanent Visitors and Further Interpretations of Real-Life Events. His work has appeared in McSweeney's, Tin House, American Short Fiction, as well as in three editons of The Best American Short Stories. He is the winner of the Nelson Algren Award, a Pushcart Prize, and the National Magazine Award. He lives in California. www.kevinmoffett.org