The Quality of Silence
Rosamund Lupton, 2016
KnopfDoubleday
304 pp.
ISBN-13: 9781101903674
Summary
The gripping, moving story of a mother and daughter's quest to uncover a dark secret in the Alaskan wilderness from the New York Times bestselling author of Sister and Afterwards.
Thrillingly suspenseful and atmospheric, The Quality of Silence is the story of Yasmin, a beautiful astrophysicist, and her precocious deaf daughter, Ruby, who arrive in a remote part of Alaska to be told that Ruby's father, Matt, has been the victim of a catastrophic accident.
Unable to accept his death as truth, Yasmin and Ruby set out into the hostile winter of the Alaskan tundra in search of answers.
But as a storm closes in, Yasmin realizes that a very human danger may be keeping pace with them. And with no one else on the road to help, they must keep moving, alone and terrified, through an endless Alaskan night. (From the publisher.)
Author Bio
• Birth—1964
• Rasied—Little Chesterford in Essex, England, UK
• Education—B.A., Cambridge University
• Awards—New Writers' Award (Carton Television)
• Currently—lives in London, England
Rosamund Lupton is a British author of three novels—Sister (2010), Afterwards (2012), and The Quality of Silence (2016). She studied literature at Cambridge University and lives in London with her husband and two children.
In her first novel, Sister, she tells the story of Beatrice, living in New York, in search for Tess, her missing sister, who lives in London. Sister was a great commercial success, selling well over a million copies worldwide. It has been translated in 30 languages, and it was a best-seller on the New York Times and London's Sunday Times lists.
Her second novel Afterwards was awarded "best mystery books of 2012" by the Seattle Times, and "best book of 2012" by Amazon USA.
Her third novel, The Quality of Silence, follows an astrophysicist and her deaf daughter through the Alaskan wilderness in search of their husband/father. It was optioned by FilmNation in March 2016.
Before turning to novels, Lupton was a script-writer for television and film, writing original screenplays. She won Carlton Television's new writers' competition. (Adapted from Wikipedia. Retrieved 3/24/2016.)
Book Reviews
Much like The Revenant...Rosamund Lupton’s suspense novel The Quality of Silence pits its characters against a heartlessly cruel Mother Nature…. About half of this teeth-chattering novel is narrated by the indomitable Ruby, who is profoundly deaf—and a model of girl power…. In this tale, the deadly cold and treacherous road are no match for the fiery heat of enduring love.
Carol Memmott - Washington Post
A compelling and beautifully written journey into the darkest of hearts.
Seattle Times
A tight, claustrophobic thriller that will enclose readers in a world of cold from which there’s no escape….The author evokes a sense of absolute isolation that hovers at the edge of every scene…. Lupton uses powerful, evocative language to craft a literary novel that sets a knife-edge of danger on every page, as readers follow mother and daughter through the forbidding landscape to a heart-stopping conclusion.
Barbara Clark - Bookpage
(Starred review.) Astrophysicist Yasmin Alfredson, the heroine of this heart-stopping page-turner...makes a desperate gamble to save her marriage.... Lupton limns a starkly beautiful story at once as expansive as the aurora borealis and as intimate as a mother and daughter finally learning to truly hear each another.
Publishers Weekly
(Starred review.) Astrophysicist Yasmin and Ruby, her precocious deaf daughter, fly from Scotland to Alaska to visit Ruby's father.... Nail-bitingly suspenseful and chilling.... Lupton demonstrates her mastery of the suspense genre in this dazzling tale of human resilience. —Susan Clifford Braun, Bainbridge Island, WA
Library Journal
A rip-roaring read full of both beatiful descriptions of the tundra and harrowing passages on the dangers of subzero temperatures.
Booklist
Lupton is at her best when describing the dark, wintry wilderness and pitting her two female protagonists against all comers. Shrewdly commercial and seamed with some memorable descriptions of the polar wilds, Lupton's latest, though unsteady at times, delivers an engrossing wallop of readable escapism.
Kirkus Reviews
Discussion Questions
1. What do you think the setting of northern Alaska added to the novel?
2. Did your opinion of deafness change during the course of the novel? What did you think of Ruby’s character?
3. Do you think Yasmin should be blamed for taking Ruby with her on a perilous journey, as she blames herself? What would you have done?
4. What is your take on the use of Twitter in the novel?
5. What did you think of Matt’s story and the fracking eco-thriller strand?
6. In your reading of the novel, did you expect Matt to reappear?
7. There was a sense of menace in the novel that came from many elements. Which did you find the most threateningand why?
8. Did you enjoy the multiple viewpoints in the novel?
9. Which character did you most relate to and why?
10. Did you find the ending of the novel satisfying? Did it resolve itself in a way you would have expected it to?
(Questions from author's webpage.)