Deafening Silence is a difficult book in many ways, but a thought provoking and rewarding one. The book follows Daniel Shaw, a Special Forces veteran who is struggling to reacclimatise to civilian life while also dealing with PTSD and hearing loss. Haunted by nightmares and flash backs and frustrated at the lack of support offered by the Australian government he is spiralling into a very dark place, and taking it out on his wife and young children, but also struggling with the guilt that that produces. HIs fraught mind is very much reflected in the style of writing which is disjointed and really forces you to pay attention, while also taking you to the darkest parts of Daniel's mind. There are also several chapters from the perspective of his wife, and these, while still showing the challenges faced by the family, are almost a breather from the darkness and raw anger of Daniel's chapters. Interspersed throughout are also snippets of tweets and television programmes that discuss the morality of the war and whether or not the Australian army should have been involved, and I thought this was a clever way of introducing those discussions and provoking the reader to think about the issue without impacting on the pacing or flow of the book.
I would say that this is a book that tackles some very difficult topics and goes to some very dark places, so I do think readers need to be aware of that before going in, but if that does not sway you, this book is worth your time.
I read and reviewed an ARC courtesy of NetGalley and the publisher, all opinions are my own.