Angels and Outcasts

Book excerpt: "This is a fascinating, enjoyable book. It could well be used in study groups at the high school or college level to explore both history and attitudes toward deafness."--Rehabilitation Literature. "The editors are not enthralled, as so many of us seem to be, simply that deaf (or disabled) characters exist in literature; they ask why ... The rest of the disability movement could learn from them."--The Disability Rag. Dickens, Welty, and Turgenev are only three of the master storytellers in Angels and Outcasts. This remarkable collection of 14 short stories offers insights into what it means to be deaf in a hearing world. The book is divided into three parts: the first section explores works by nineteenth-century authors; the second section concentrates on stories by twentieth-century authors; and the final section focuses on stories by authors who are themselves deaf. Each section begins with an introduction by the editors, and each story is preceded by a preface. Angels and Outcasts concludes with an annotated bibliography of other prose works about the deaf experience. In addition to fascinating reading, it provides valuable insights into the world of the deaf. Trent Batson is Director of Academic Technology at Gallaudet University. Eugene Bergman, former Associate professor of English at Gallaudet University, is now retired.