"In this innovative ethnography of deafness and sign language in Nepal, Peter Graif manages to combine meticulous empirical detail with reflections that could guide reconsiderations of the nature of language in different cultures. He takes the reader on this trip by using rich ethnographic cases that make his book extremely  accessible. . . . Graif has written an important book that also sets the stage for a significant inquiry into the nature of anthropological work and its concepts and intuitions."

American Ethnologist

"In a rich and poignant ethnography, Peter Graif explores the perpetual 'discovery' of deaf people within the landscape of what he calls 'hearing Nepal'. . . . This account will be of interest to students and scholars of linguistic anthropology, deaf studies, disability studies, and communication studies. Being and Hearing contributes to our understanding of how all people, deaf and hearing, engage the ethical commitment of communicating with and making sense of each other."

Ethnos

"In addition to contributing to anthropology, philosophy, and the study of language, the book is a delight to read. Much of the book focuses on humorous vignettes and practical jokes deaf people play on the hearing, lending a readability to what otherwise could be dense analysis. . . . One of the strengths of the book is its genre-defying nature, at once anthropology and philosophy, allowing it to examine questions of subjectivity, perception, and language in new light."

Anthropos

 An amazingly rich and diverse ethnographic account of what may otherwise be seen as a homogenously ‘disabled’ community. Each chapter is carefully considered, following one or two main ‘protagonists,’ or ethnographic informants, whose stories Graif analyses as part of a larger sociopolitical narrative of navigating invisibility and intelligibility within a world dominated by sacred sound. . . . His analyses are ground-breaking in providing a new way of thinking about sensorial engagement that is both inclusive and empowering to the ‘disabled’—a term Graif questions—whose voices are not always heard. In Being and Hearing, Graif reminds us that we cannot be complicit in our lack of understanding(s) and that ‘intelligibility’ is a worthy goal for all."

Journal of the Anthropological Society of Oxford