Larkin and the Lightman is only 55-pages, but read the description!
Tucked away on a small farm in the Yorkshire dales, a boy is born to Margaret and Alun. His name is Larkin. The midwife attending his birth has declared him healthy and strong with bright brown eyes. It will take months to learn the terrifying truth. Larkin was born with “broken ears”–he is deaf.
It’s 1356 A.D. and the greatest cathedral in all England is nearing completion. Magnificent windows, “tall as trees” are being placed inside the cathedral by Larkin’s father, The Glassman.
But there is no peace in Larkin’s home, for Margaret and Alun are deeply divided over Larkin’s future. In recent times, the division has worsened. Margaret insists Larkin be taken to the village church to be baptized in God’s Name. Alun believes Larkin’s “screeching speech” will offend the “very ears of the Savior Himself!” and will bring shame upon them.
Over the years, Larkin comes to believe that he is the cause of the troubles at home. Larkin believes all the answer will be found inside the Great Beast of a building being built near the village.
Welcome to Larkin’s world. A world of uncertainty–a world without words. But when Larkin finally enters the “Great Beast” he’ll meet a stranger who will forever change him–and bring peace to his home.
That sounds fantastic! A glassman working on the stained glass windows of a great cathedral, so gifted, yet gifted with a son who cannot hear. Uncertainty literally in the shadows of the church. What an amazingly intimate way to delve into the perspective of the deaf and others new to those circumstances.
