The Dumb House by John Burnside

As a child, Luke?_Ts mother often tells him the story of the Dumb House, an experiment on newborn babies raised in silence, designed to test the innateness of language. As Luke grows up, his interest in language and the delicate balance of life and death leads to amateur dissections of small animals ?_" tiny hearts revealed still pumping, as life trickles away. But as an adult, following the death of his mother, Luke?_Ts obsession deepens, resulting in a haunting and bizarre experiment on Luke?_Ts own children.
Binding: Paperback / softback