A review by theskyboi
The Sign for Home by Blair Fell
emotional
funny
hopeful
informative
inspiring
sad
fast-paced
5.0
The Sign for Home is one of those novels that lingers on your mind and immediately brings a grin to your face when you remember everything within its tenderly crafted prose. Blair Fell's first novel demands to take up space on your shelf, nestling itself nicely between fact and fiction. Equal parts endearing, enlightening, and evocative, this book captures the heart and mind in equal measure.
I'll start with Cyril, the gay, middle-aged ASL interpreter with a heart full of good intentions and not nearly enough executive decision making to back them up. His chapters both eased me into learning about a language and culture I've had next to no exposure to while also allowing me to see where I'd fit in among all the turmoil in the bookâbeing gay myself and all.
Of course, there would be no novel without the pure, driven soul known as Arlo Dilly. What a protagonist! I cannot stress enough that I have never felt so proud for or enamored with a fictional character. As a DeafBlind college student, Arlo hopes to gain fluency in written English in order to assist with his mission trip in Ecuador. However, Arlo finds himself torn between his past and future when Molly, his lifelong interpreter, is paired with the downright sinful Cyril as part of his scholastic interpreting team.
I'd be remiss to not praise Fell for his decision to write Arlo's chapters in the second-person perspective while leaving Cyril's in first. Cyril's limited view of life, love, and relationships sits snugly within the first-person chapters while Arlo's every move is written so effortlessly in a manner that allowed me to place my hearing-sighted experience aside and immerse myself in this young man's world.
Without spoiling too much of what happens, I will guarantee that this book will make you giggle as much as it makes you shake your fist at the injustice of our troubled planet. Please make some space for this beautiful book among your most treasured tomes. For what it's worth, I hope this photo and review can capture even a fraction of how totally this book addresses the concept of the sublime.
I'll start with Cyril, the gay, middle-aged ASL interpreter with a heart full of good intentions and not nearly enough executive decision making to back them up. His chapters both eased me into learning about a language and culture I've had next to no exposure to while also allowing me to see where I'd fit in among all the turmoil in the bookâbeing gay myself and all.
Of course, there would be no novel without the pure, driven soul known as Arlo Dilly. What a protagonist! I cannot stress enough that I have never felt so proud for or enamored with a fictional character. As a DeafBlind college student, Arlo hopes to gain fluency in written English in order to assist with his mission trip in Ecuador. However, Arlo finds himself torn between his past and future when Molly, his lifelong interpreter, is paired with the downright sinful Cyril as part of his scholastic interpreting team.
I'd be remiss to not praise Fell for his decision to write Arlo's chapters in the second-person perspective while leaving Cyril's in first. Cyril's limited view of life, love, and relationships sits snugly within the first-person chapters while Arlo's every move is written so effortlessly in a manner that allowed me to place my hearing-sighted experience aside and immerse myself in this young man's world.
Without spoiling too much of what happens, I will guarantee that this book will make you giggle as much as it makes you shake your fist at the injustice of our troubled planet. Please make some space for this beautiful book among your most treasured tomes. For what it's worth, I hope this photo and review can capture even a fraction of how totally this book addresses the concept of the sublime.