Silent Discourse

By Zanne Kennedy

Nonverbal communication can, at times, be deafening! SILENT DISCOURSE A gritty tale of a troubled teen, exiled from his Amish society by his abusive father. While living outside his culture as lead singer in a rock band, he begins to unravel the secrets of his father's hatred and intolerance towards him. This double lifestyle is confusing to Nicolaus, to say the least. He finds his English world irrational, his Amish, barely reachable.

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 1432717553
• ISBN13: 9781432717551
• Release Date: January 2008
• Publisher: Outskirts Pr
• Length: 492 Pages
• Weight: 1.36 lbs.
• Dimensions: 5.5" x 1.1" x 8.5"

Customer Reviews

Survival, barely

4 stars, Survival, barely SILENT DISCOURSE (SILENT DISCOURSE SERIES BOOK 1) by Zanne Kennedy First of all, you should be forewarned that there are triggers in this book. A lot of parental child abuse, substance abuse, some offensive language, a lot of sleeping around, are definitely not typical things found in an Amish novel. Nicolaus Zook has one wish for life, to be an Amish man and live the Amish way he was raised. Unfortunately, his father Jacob Zook hates him and physically and mentally abuses him, during his entire childhood. He is unwillingly pushed from his home at age 16 and left to fend for himself. Why did no one from the Old Order Amish community step in and protect Nicolaus from the abuse? Nicolaus and his best friend Sylvain get a job at a music store in town. They are both in rumspringa, so it is tolerated by Sylvain's family. Both boys end up in a band that plays music in a bar, with all of the good and bad things that go along with that profession. Basically, Nicolaus is betrayed by everyone he has ever loved, from his parents, his older brother and sister, his best friend, his girlfriend, and his boss. Yet, all Nicolaus wants is to be a good Amish man. I admit, this book affected my emotions strongly. I felt great empathy toward Nicolaus. I was able to see a lot of myself in several of the choices he made, for similar reasons. Book 1 is a long book, there are 6 books in the series. This book just ends, with no real conclusion, which I don't care for. The way that Jacob Zook treats Nicolaus, it is easy for me to see that Nicolaus is not Jacob's son. This is not Nicolaus' fault, that would be Jacob's and his wife Esther's fault. Yet, Jacob holds no contempt for Esther that he does for Nicolaus. Nicolaus is Jacob's convenient scapegoat. Jacob does not care what this will do to Nicolaus as he matures into a man. It is interesting how the author delved so deeply into the close-knit Old Order Amish faith, yet also digs deeply into the loose morals of the English underworld of society. All of these things come together to construct Nicolaus' deep feelings. This is not the typical fluffy Amish novel that is so popular today. It has deep courage, in the face of evil. This is not a happily ever after novel. This is tough living, in a tough life. This is survival, just barely. #silentdiscourse #silentdiscourseseries #zannekennedy #survival #Amishfiction #triggerwarnings #emotional #courage #music #inspirational #smashwords