Michael Thal has written a beautiful novel; a must read for those especially in middle school and up. Goodbye Tchaikovsky tells the remarkable, eye opening journey of David Rothman, a boy who suffers permanent hearing loss at the tender age of twelve. What is so amazing, is Thal’s way of showing both worlds, the deaf and hearing, and how they affect someone going through this tragedy. David Rothman struggles to accept he can no longer pursue his passion of music, and worries how he will fit in the world, when neither deaf people nor hearing people totally accept him. His future, his dignity, his sense of purpose hangs by a thread. But David has the help of a family member and friend to push him through the first difficult years, to assimilate into school and the throes of relationships. The reader travels from David’s early adolescence all the way to graduation and the beginnings of college, and they get to rejoice in his journey, stumbles and all.
Goodbye Tchaikovsky is a quick read with believable characters and snippets of other cultures- Judaism, Japanese families, and the culture of the deaf world itself. When reading this book, it really opened my eyes to the feelings and thought going on inside the mind of someone who is deaf, fighting to be recognized in a hearing world. Excellent job, Michael Thal! To read more about Michael, go to his website www.michaelthal.com