The Hearing Trumpet follows ninety-two-year-old Marian Leatherby as her family moves her into a retirement home. What begins as an amusing story about an old woman transforms into a surreal and sinister tale of conspiracies, cult-like rituals, enchanted artwork, mythology, and the threat of a new ice age. Through Marian, Carrington playfully explores ageism and taking control of your independence as an older person. The dialogue is often laugh-out-loud funny, particularly the conversations and letters between Marian and her eccentric best friend, Carmella. Olga Tokarczuk has said that Marian influenced her own character in Drive your Plow over the Bones of the Dead and this makes so much sense now that I’ve read (and loved) both. Tokarczuk also wrote an afterword for this edition, which is fantastic. This book is absurd, delightful, and incredibly imaginative and I’m so glad I read it!