There is a quiet humour in Elliott's writing, with Miriam's wry observations throwing her dark history into relief. After a chance meeting in a forest, Ralph and Miriam reach out to each other and find strength in their new friendship. Trimmed beans must be trimmed.”Īlong the way, Miriam crosses paths with another important character, Ralph Swoon, an unhappy gardener turned psychotherapist whose sham of a marriage to closet lesbian Sadie is beginning to crack. No friends, no light, no unnecessary noise: “Frances couldn’t bear the din of her offspring.

Having got rid of Miriam’s father by threatening to kill their daughter if he doesn’t leave, Frances seems to take pleasure in shutting down Miriam’s life. With a cruelty and erraticism that is brilliantly drawn, Frances Delaney is an unfit person, never mind an unfit mother, someone who can’t deal with the world around her and takes her frustrations out on her young daughter. Two mysteries propel the narrative, the first concerning Miriam’s traumatic past at the hands of a harsh, mentally unstable mother. Through the interlaced stories of a colourful cast, Elliott asks big questions, and often provides the answers, about our fleeting existence here on earth. Whispers Through the Megaphone is an accomplished novel with considered views on human behaviour and connections. The reclusive 35-year-old is at the centre of Rachel Elliott’s dynamic debut, whose simple premise is that adult voices are shaped by childhoods, good and bad. When she speaks, the words come out in whispers.

I whisper therefore I am.” Miriam Delaney hasn’t left her house in three years. ‘I whisper therefore I am not an irritation.

Whispers through a megaphone