In the Preface to Eliza Barry Callahan's slim novel, THE HEARING TEST, the narrator comes across a synopsis of a movie that seems to encapsulate what she's been experiencing over the past year: "The heroes of the film are almost thirty and very often at this time people have a period of revision of the positions already developed earlier. That it is sometimes associated with loss."

In the case of the narrator, who remains unnamed for most of the book, that loss is a sudden loss of hearing, accompanied by a droning sound that she compares to "a large piece of sheet metal being rocked, a perpetually rolling thunder." She is particularly attuned to sounds and silence. A composer of film scores, she finds that this development renders her not only disoriented but also unable to create new work.

"[The book] describ[es] a particular experience that most people might never undergo, but --- thanks in no small part to Callahan's vivid and introspective approach --- is possible to imagine."

This baffling medical condition is diagnosed as "bad luck," also known as "Sudden Deafness." The specialists she sees differ in their opinions about whether or not it is likely to worsen and, if so, to what extent. But they all agree that there's nothing much that can be done beyond monitoring the situation.

Clearly this could have become a crisis, but instead, the narrator uses her sudden loss of hearing as a jumping-off point for interrogation --- of her own stage of life, her relationship to sounds and silence, and the relationships of others (mostly other creative people) to these same phenomena. She also navigates online forums dedicated to others who share her condition, and she undertakes virtual visits with a hypnotherapist.

Coincidentally, this sudden deafness first occurs in August 2019, meaning that the narrator's chronicle of her year overlaps with the start of the COVID-19 pandemic. One could read her experience as a microcosm of the disorientation and isolation most people felt at this time. But the book is also singular in its focus, describing a particular experience that most people might never undergo, but --- thanks in no small part to Callahan's vivid and introspective approach --- is possible to imagine.

Readers expecting some kind of linear illness-diagnosis-remedy plot would probably be better served elsewhere, but for those who enjoy surrendering to moods of quiet contemplation, THE HEARING TEST is a gift. It touches on many forms of art --- visual art, dance, music, literature --- and those who create it. It explores the ways in which relationships --- parental, romantic, sexual, platonic --- change according to time and circumstances. And it traces how sometimes not having all the answers can lead to journeys of greater understanding, by way of some surprising meanderings.