The Hearing Test

Callahan debuts with a haunting novel about a New York–based artist in her late twenties who awakens one morning with a deep droning accompanied by a metallic sound of rolling thunder in her right ear. After visiting many doctors, she is diagnosed with a condition called sudden deafness and is now facing the reality that she will soon lose her hearing. Callahan, who was herself diagnosed with sudden deafness just before the start of the COVID pandemic, lyrically narrates her autofictional work, piercingly capturing the grief that her unnamed protagonist feels at receiving this life-altering news. Callahan’s narration allows listeners to step into the character’s shoes and experience how she approaches the world differently with her impending deafness. Listeners are brought along to feel and understand her depression, financial anxiety, and a deluge of other emotions; meander with her along the streets of Venice; reconnect with ex-boyfriends and strangers; and connect with her sorrow even as she takes in the beauty around her.