It begins with a statistical oddity: a spike in children born with acute speech delays. Physically normal in every way, these children never speak and do not respond to speech; they don’t learn to read, don’t learn to write. As the number of cases grows to an epidemic level, theories spread. Maybe it’s related to a popular antidepressant; maybe it’s environmental. Or maybe these children have special skills all their own.
The Silent History unfolds in a series of brief testimonials from parents, teachers, friends, doctors, cult leaders, profiteers, and impostors (everyone except, of course, the children themselves), documenting the growth of the so-called silent community into an elusive, enigmatic force in itself — alluring to some, threatening to others. Both a bold storytelling experiment and a propulsive reading experience, The Silent History is at once thrilling, timely, and timeless.
“Brilliant … A vital work of art.” — The Huffington Post
“Terrific.” — The Wall Street Journal
“Fascinating.” — San Francisco Chronicle
“A sprawling, captivating work.” — Forbes
Eli Horowitz was the managing editor and then publisher of McSweeney’s for eight years. He is the co-author of The New World, a collaboration with Chris Adrian, forthcoming from Farrar, Straus and Giroux. The Silent History, a collaborative multi-part narrative he wrote with Matt Derby and Kevin Moffett, was released as an app for mobile devices in 2012, and in book form from Farrar, Straus and Giroux in 2014.
Kevin Moffett is the author of two story collections: Permanent Visitors (University of Iowa Press, 2006), which won the John Simmons Short Fiction Award, and Further Interpretations of Real-Life Events (HarperCollins, 2012). He has received the National Magazine Award, the Nelson Algren Award, the Pushcart Prize, and a literature fellowship from the National Endowment of the Arts. In 2014-15, Moffett is a Visiting Assistant Professor in the Literature Department at Claremont McKenna College. The Silent History, a collaborative multi-part narrative he wrote with Matt Derby and Eli Horowitz, was released as an app for mobile devices in 2012, and in book form from Farrar, Straus and Giroux in 2014.
Eli Horowitz, Matthew Derby, and Kevin Moffett
The Silent History: A Novel
New York: Farrar, Straus and Giroux, 2014
The novel will be available for purchase at the event.
Co-sponsored by the Claremont Colleges Library