Train Go Sorry
Inside a Deaf World
by Leah Hager Cohen, 1994 The Lexington School for the Deaf got started in 1864, the first school in the United States devoted to the oral method of instruction for deaf students. Over the years it has evolved, and when ASL began to be recognized as a legitimate language, Lexington stopped prohibiting sign. Oscar Cohen, the son of Deaf parents, one of whom attended Lexington (but didn't learn to speak) was the superintendent of Lexington. His daughter, the author of this book, got interested in the Deaf that way. This book follows five interwoven stories: those of the Lexington school, student Sofia Normatov, student James Taylor, Deaf culture, and the author herself.
Hager is sometimes an interpreter, who follows the interpreter's code that says that what is represented must be represented exactly. Some parts of the book, especially those in which Hager attempts to represent controversy, read as though Hager is trying to be an interpreter, as though she is not giving her opinions blatantly. This hurts the narrative because Hager is opinionated, strongly. Hager's explanation of Judaism is also somewhat confusing (Sofia's parents are dubbed Orthodox Jews though they have a female rabbi).
According to reviewers, Hager has provided a window into Deaf culture. An apt comparison in
Train Go Sorry gives a much better metaphor. Hager points out that interpreters for the Deaf are the only interpreters who regularly interpret into a language they are not at home in. This alters and inhibits their interpretations. Too, Hager is not a member of Deaf culture. As she states, she is a hearing adult member of Hearing culture. She did not grow up in Deaf culture. Her window is into the world of hearing people interacting with the Deaf, not a view into Deaf culture itself. That said, readers can go ahead and look into the world of the hearing who work with the Deaf.
Happy reading.
