The Hearing Trumpet

1974 novel by Leonora Carrington

The Hearing Trumpet

Author| Leonora Carrington
Language| English
Genre| Surrealism

Publication date

| 1974
Publication place| Mexico
Pages| 224 pages
ISBN| 978-1878972194

The Hearing Trumpet is a 1974 surrealist novel by Mexican-British author Leonora Carrington. It follows the hard-of-hearing nonagenarian Marian, who is sent off to a peculiar old-age home by her family.

## Plot

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92-year-old Marian Leatherby lives in Mexico with her son Galahad, his wife Muriel, and her grandson Robert. Upon being gifted a hearing trumpet by her friend Carmella, Marian discovers that her family is planning to put her in an institution. At the institution Marian finds herself drawn into surreal and occult intrigue, conspiracy and adventure.

## Publication

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According to the introduction to the 2005 version by Ali Smith, the novel was first published in French translation in 1974, as Le Cornet Acoustique, and first published in the original English version in 1976.[1] According to American art historian Susan L. Aberth The Hearing Trumpet was completed in 1950.[2]

The novel was reprinted by New York Review Books in 2021.[3]

## Reception

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### Critical reception

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In his review for The New York Times American novelist Blake Butler referred to the novel as "[...] as something at last truly radical, undoing not only our expectations of time and space, but of the psyche and its boundaries".[4] Ali Smith called the book "One of the most original, joyful, satisfying and quietly visionary novels of the twentieth century."[5] Spanish filmmaker Luis Buñuel wrote: "Reading The Hearing Trumpet liberates us from the miserable reality of our days."[6]

### Academic analysis

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Carrington had a relationship with German artist Max Ernst. Renée Riese Hubert has pointed out some influences Ernst may have had on The Hearing Trumpet, though she argues that the defining influences on the novel were "[...] certain traditions in British literature [...Carrington's] familiarity with Mexican culture and myths, and [...Carrington's] enthusiasm for Eskimo and Asian cultures [...]".[7]

Ali Smith regards the book as "a statement on maturity, and the meanings of maturity"[8] and states: "Fundamentally, The Hearing Trumpet is a book about profound disconnection; at its centre are people unable to hear each other, or unwilling to."[9]

## References

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1. ^ Carrington, Leonora The Hearing Trumpet, introduction by Ali Smith, page xi, Penguin Books, ISBN 9780141187990
2. ^ Aberth, Susan L. Leonora Carrington: Surrealism, Alchemy and Art. Aldershot, Hampshire: Lund Humphries, 2004, page 60
3. ^ "5 new books to read in January". The A.V. Club. G/O Media. Retrieved 12 January 2021.
4. ^ Butler, Blake (5 January 2021). "Leonora Carrington's Transformative Surrealist Novel". The New York Times. Retrieved 12 January 2021.
5. ^ Carrington, Leonora The Hearing Trumpet, introduction by Ali Smith, page xv, Penguin Books, ISBN 9780141187990
6. ^ Carrington, Leonora The Hearing Trumpet, back cover, Penguin Books, ISBN 9780141187990
7. ^ Hubert, Renée Riese (1991). "Leonora Carrington and Max Ernst: Artistic Partnership and Feminist Liberation". New Literary History. 22 (3): 715–745\. doi:10.2307/469210. ISSN 0028-6087. Retrieved 12 January 2021.715-745&rft.date=1991&rft_id=info:doi/10.2307/469210&rft.issn=0028-6087&rft.aulast=Hubert&rft.aufirst=Renée+Riese&rft_id=https://www.jstor.org/stable/469210&rfr_id=info:sid/en.wikipedia.org:The+Hearing+Trumpet" class="Z3988">
8. ^ Carrington, Leonora The Hearing Trumpet, introduction by Ali Smith, page xi, Penguin Books, ISBN 9780141187990
9. ^ Carrington, Leonora The Hearing Trumpet, introduction by Ali Smith, page xii, Penguin Books, ISBN 9780141187990

* v
* t
* e

Leonora Carrington

Paintings|

* Self-Portrait (Inn of the Dawn Horse) (1938)
* Portrait of Max Ernst (c. 1939)
* Les Distractions de Dagobert (1945)
* The Kitchen Garden on the Eyot (1946)
* The Giantess (The Guardian of the Egg) (1947)
* How Doth the Little Crocodile (1998)

Sculptures|

* How Doth the Little Crocodile (1998)

Novels|

* The Hearing Trumpet (1974)

Museums|

* Museo Leonora Carrington (San Luis Potosí)
* Casa Museo Leonora Carrington (Mexico City)

Related|

* Max Ernst (partner)
* Renato Leduc (first husband)
* Surrealism

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