Yellow Pages: A Catalogue of Intentions

Darleen R. Golke is a high-school teacher-librarian in Winnipeg,
Manitoba.

The protagonist of this novel is not the revered inventor of the
telephone, but the youngster growing up in his native Scotland, the
young man at Elgin, and the adult in North America. Markotic’s focus
is on Bell’s relationships rather than on his historical significance.

One of the novel’s chapters is narrated by Bell’s deaf wife, Mabel,
who reveals the frustrations of life with a husband who denies her the
comforts of communicating via sign language. As Bell asserts: “My
life’s work has been making things—dogs, machines, deaf
children—speak.”

Markotic’s shifting points of view challenge the reader. Yellow Pages
is a novel that requires thoughtful and repeated perusal for an
appreciation of its nuances and complexities.