Voyage to the Island FROM THE CRITICS
Library Journal
This book is a voyage into the world of deafness. Nieminen, a deaf woman, writes of her two-year sojourn in St. Lucia, an island in the Caribbean. She had left Finland with her husband, who was taking a new job. Gradually she began to explore and understand the island and its people. Most importantly, she contributed to the education of deaf children in St. Lucia and in so doing learned more about her own deafness. This book has much to say about the deaf, about communication, teaching, culture shock, and the meaning of one's roots. The culture of St. Lucia is vividly portrayed. Nieminen's style is straightforward, yet marked by an occasional brilliance in analogies that merge the many ``voyages'' together. Like Helen Keller and Annie Sullivan before her, Nieminen explores language and opens minds. This deserves wide circulation among adult as well as YA readers.-- Nancy E. Zuwiyya, Bingham ton City Sch. Dist., N.Y.
Booknews
Recounts the experiences of the author who left her native Finland with her husband for the Caribbean Island of St. Lucia, where she discovered the paradoxes of an exotic paradise amidst poverty. Nieminen, deaf herself, set out to teach the deaf children of the island sign language, then reading, writing, and math. Acidic paper. Annotation c. Book News, Inc., Portland, OR (booknews.com)
Home
