Adventures in Librarianing

Listening for Small Sounds
Penelope Trevor
157 pages, published 1997

The first book in a long time that ever made me truly sad and uncomfortable, and, if for that alone, I highly recommend it (though perhaps with a warning). Told entirely from the perspective of it’s very young narrator, Listening for Small Sounds explores the dynamics of a family bracketed by limited money, alcoholism and domestic abuse.

A book that I just happened to pick up as I left the library, it was a complete surprise to me. I read it cover to cover in one sitting and, naturally, got caught crying over it on a few occasions. 4/5