The Sound Mirror Review

The Sound Mirror In Brief

On fiction, Roland Barthes once wrote that ‘the text is a tissue of quotations drawn from the innumerable centres of culture’.

Never has that been truer than with Heidi James’ novel, which features three central characters – all women – with distinct histories and voices. Spanning 20^th and 21^st century Britain, The Sound Mirror is a multi-generational examination of the female experience.

Firstly, we have Ada; an Indian immigrant looking for an identity. Spurned for being ‘too British’ by her friends and family; deemed an ‘exotic’ beauty, a possession, by British men.

Then there’s Claire; a working class girl who struggles against a social structure that has already decided her role.

Finally, Tamara – a young woman set in our own familiar 21^st century setting. Tamara is deeply troubled, perhaps suffering from some form of PTSD as a result of a traumatic and abusive upbringing.

These three perspectives are interwoven with stunning prose. It’s a tessellation of the fall of the Indian Raj, gender politics of post-WW2 Britain, and, lastly, a glimpse into the contemporary female experience.

Past and Present: A Feminist Experience

You know when you’re reading dialogue and you lose track of which character is speaking? And then you have to re-read a paragraph?

There’s none of that here.

In fact, Heidi James has done a wonderful job of giving Ada, Claire, and Tamara their own distinct voices. Claire’s chapters, in particular, capture a post-war, working class dialect in a really authentic way.

You don’t simply read the lives of the characters. You experience them.

And as a male reader, that’s quite a unique experience in itself. It’s a window into the lives of people I would ordinarily know nothing about.

The Sound Mirror is a living text. Each character is from a different period in British history, and yet their experiences overlap. One might even be tempted to venture that the novel itself is a ‘sound mirror’; echoing and reverberating with the voices of its own characters!

This elevates the The Sound Mirror from a feminist novel to a feminist experience.

Perfect Prose

It’s clear that James is a talented author.

She was once awarded The Guardian’s Crime Fiction novel of the month for a previous novel, and from the beginning, it’s easy to see why.

The Sound Mirror’s prose is spectacular – it’s concise, demonstrative, and evocative. It isn’t a particularly long book either, but every sentence has its place. It’s precise and there’s zero filler. I suspect the author has a very talented editor.

The chapters are also brief. Some only a single page, others spanning four or five.

This makes it addictive to read. The book has that elusive ‘one more chapter’ aspect to it, where you end up reading for a good half hour more than you meant to!

At Tales from Absurdia, I believe that good writing exhibits passion, emotion, reflection, and thoughtfulness – or at least one of these. The Sound Mirror hits all of my criteria.

It’s a first-rate piece of fiction and a genuine pleasure to read.