“Pulling together a dizzying array of materials and concepts from disparate fields, The Fractured Voice is a transformative study of speech in the ancient world. Impressive scholarship supports an adroit, wholly original, and convincing argument that avoids the previous, reductive approaches to the motif of speech loss in Roman literature.”—Bartolo Natoli, author of Silenced Voices: The Poetics of Speech in Ovid
“Koenig brings a fresh perspective to the understanding of silence in the culture of the Roman empire, showing that loss of voice can unlock new possibilities of expression that allow the mute person to signify facts and feelings otherwise difficult or dangerous to communicate. Those interested in Roman literature, cultural history, and disability studies stand to learn a great deal from this book.”—Silvia Montiglio, author of Silence in the Land of Logos