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saestrah's review against another edition
emotional
funny
reflective
sad
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
My favourite book published this year was Patricia Lockwood’s No One Is Talking About This. An exploration of narrative form, the unnamed protagonist searches for authenticity via the internet, telling her story in snippets of text as if they too are social media posts. Its fragmentary form reminded me of the work of Jenny Offill, but despite being perfect for reading only a few hundred words at a time, I finished it the same day I started. It was also the first book in a while to induce a cathartic cry, but it wasn’t until halfway through that the emotional events in the story started to take root and themes of loss and love were explored. Throughout it all Lockwood’s protagonist tries to stick to the language of social media, ensuring that punchlines are delivered more than giving the reader clear descriptions of scenes or depth to secondary characters. She’s committed to being relevant and up-to-date with memes and online humour, even when her world is falling apart.
Most of all, the structure of Lockwood’s debut novel made me think of how every writer’s advice is to start a story where the action kicks off, and yet No One Is Talking About This defies that advice, using its modernist and experimental form and references to internet culture to draw in readers from the first few pages. I read this book on my kindle, but upon reflection I think I would re-read it on my phone in a rather meta replication of the endless scroll attributed to social media.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Child death, Death, Grief, Medical content, and Terminal illness
Minor: Excrement
amressing's review against another edition
challenging
dark
emotional
funny
reflective
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
This book is not like any other book I’ve read. At first I hard a hard time getting into it and was very emotionally invested by the end.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Child death, Death, Grief, Medical content, and Pregnancy
Minor: Abortion
b_caligari's review
dark
emotional
funny
reflective
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? N/A
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? N/A
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? N/A
4.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Child death, Death, Grief, Medical content, Pregnancy, and Terminal illness
Moderate: Car accident and Mass/school shootings
Minor: Rape, Abortion, Drug use, and Sexual content
readingrainbot's review
challenging
dark
funny
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
Content Warnings
Moderate: Child death and Death
joinreallife's review
I don't know how I feel about this. I DO know that I wish I'd looked at the content warnings here on StoryGraph before jumping in, because literally nobody who has read this book and mentioned it to me gave me a heads up about what happens in the second part, and it was pretty traumatic for me, and a pretty common and devastating trigger for people. I honestly don't appreciate that, and I don't think it is a thing that is necessary for the impact, or the intention of the author, and feels like the fault of the marketing here.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Child death, Medical content, Medical trauma, and Death
Minor: Abortion
brittishliterature's review against another edition
emotional
funny
reflective
sad
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Content Warnings
Moderate: Child death, Death, Grief, Medical content, and Terminal illness
Minor: Abortion, Mass/school shootings, Police brutality, Racism, Racial slurs, Religious bigotry, and Rape
leenanorms's review against another edition
funny
lighthearted
reflective
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? N/A
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Content Warnings
Moderate: Death, Grief, and Miscarriage
alylentz's review
emotional
funny
reflective
sad
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
This was absolutely engrossing in the first half, and then an absolute gut punch in the second that I was completely unprepared for in the best way. It felt like being an alien introduced to social media, where things are vaguely recognizable but also incomprehensible. Every time I turned to Twitter while reading this I felt detached and a little nauseated, but I think in a really healthy way. And I wept at the end. This book manages to be funny, deeply moving, has a totally unique voice, and got me to assess habits I don't always think about. This is the second work of Patricia Lockwood's I've loved: it was eagerly anticipated, completely unexpected, and exceeded my expectations.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Child death, Chronic illness, Death, Grief, Medical content, and Terminal illness
Minor: Abortion, Ableism, Miscarriage, and Religious bigotry
lauraeatsbooks's review against another edition
challenging
emotional
funny
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
5.0
Content Warnings
Moderate: Child death, Terminal illness, Medical content, and Death
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