Nović is deaf, and her second novel might be regarded as part of the movement for stories about marginalized groups to be written by people who are themselves part of that group. All of these characters are about to have a very tumultuous year. The fifth generation of his family to be deaf, Austin is something like aristocracy within his community. Headmistress February Waters-the hearing child of deaf parents-asks Austin Workman to help Charlie acclimate to her new environment. The child of hearing parents, Charlie has a cochlear implant and has barely mastered the ASL alphabet when she transfers from her public high school to River Valley School for the Deaf.
This presents Charlie Serrano with a challenge. It is, instead, a language with its own grammar, its own idioms, and its own stylistic flourishes. By using this phrase as her title, the author is underscoring the point that ASL is not just English rendered in hand gestures. True biz is an expression in American Sign Language that has a variety of English translations-“for sure,” “seriously,” “no joke,” and “totally” among them. At times somber, often bitingly funny, awash in playfulness and fiercely proud, True Biz is a masterfully crafted love letter to Deaf culture.The author of America Is Immigrants (2019) and Girl at War (2015) goes deep into Deaf culture. Though it focuses on three central characters, the story feels symphonic as the entire River Valley community comes to life. Deaf rights activist Nović incorporates so many issues that affect the Deaf community, including education inequality and the rise of cochlear implants. By the end of the book, each character is changed, and their transformations are explored with a beautifully subtle touch. The novel’s sense of emotion builds slowly, from Austin’s intensifying anger and February’s growing desperation to Charlie’s burgeoning confidence. The narrative moves in and out of the three main characters’ points of view, offering intimate glimpses into their inner lives. Interspersed among the chapters are school assignments and other ephemera that detail ASL lessons and exercises. Throughout the novel, signed conversations are translated into English, each chapter heading is an illustration of a character’s name sign, the first signed letter of their name.
Though written in English, the book is bursting with ASL, offering an exploration into the power of language and the violence of language deprivation, the beauty of free and open communication, and the possibilities (and limitations) of translation.
a remarkable book that is many things at once: a primer on Deaf history, a love story, a coming-of-age tale, a riotous political awakening, a family saga and a richly layered character study.
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