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katchula's review against another edition
emotional
funny
reflective
fast-paced
4.5
Very funny, kinda sad.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Medical content and Child death
Minor: Abortion
halfdracula's review against another edition
emotional
funny
hopeful
sad
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
Read this in one sitting and cried a lot toward the end. I loved Priestdaddy, and here Patricia Lockwood again exercises her unique ability for accurate depictions of what it’s like to be a modern woman (and, it should be said, also Thom Yorke, whom I was thinking of before she wrote his name). Strange and beautiful and thoughtful.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Pregnancy, Chronic illness, Child death, and Medical content
Moderate: Abortion
definitely do not advise to anyone who is or may soon become pregnantnakutski's review against another edition
challenging
dark
emotional
funny
reflective
sad
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? N/A
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
This was a tough but interesting reading experience. I found some of the content personally challenging and triggering, so this will inevitably affect my POV. Deciding not to star rate it because my ratings are quite emotive, and although I appreciated what this book was doing and trying to do, it wouldn't be accurate to say that I enjoyed it, so I don't think a rating will reflect its value.
1) I think it was an overall positive experience when it comes to learning about different forms storytelling can take, and especially when it comes to writing about and channeling social media and the digital environment. I am not sure, however, that as a reader I would have pulled through the reading experience if I was not listening to the audiobook version. I found the vignette style narration and constant cross references at times overwhelming and exhausting, as well as funny and interesting.
2) The book changed significantly about 2/3 of the way through. The first third it was hard to place the narrator or the flow of events, the was little to no 'plot' to speak of. At 2/3 of the way through the narrator became grounded through the life of her sister to the physical, outside of the Portal, reality she inhabited and that's when the book moved away from stream of consciousness and social media concept and became a little more grounded and started following a series of events so that the vague outline of time and 'a plot' appeared. Which is also when I found it a lot more manageable to follow. But this is also the instance when the content became challenging and triggering for me. It is fair to say this little novel flings you about a fair bit.
1) I think it was an overall positive experience when it comes to learning about different forms storytelling can take, and especially when it comes to writing about and channeling social media and the digital environment. I am not sure, however, that as a reader I would have pulled through the reading experience if I was not listening to the audiobook version. I found the vignette style narration and constant cross references at times overwhelming and exhausting, as well as funny and interesting.
2) The book changed significantly about 2/3 of the way through. The first third it was hard to place the narrator or the flow of events, the was little to no 'plot' to speak of. At 2/3 of the way through the narrator became grounded through the life of her sister to the physical, outside of the Portal, reality she inhabited and that's when the book moved away from stream of consciousness and social media concept and became a little more grounded and started following a series of events so that the vague outline of time and 'a plot' appeared. Which is also when I found it a lot more manageable to follow. But this is also the instance when the content became challenging and triggering for me. It is fair to say this little novel flings you about a fair bit.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Child death, Pregnancy, Terminal illness, Medical content, Grief, and Ableism
camillej's review against another edition
emotional
reflective
sad
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? N/A
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.5
Content Warnings
Graphic: Pregnancy and Medical content
Moderate: Death, Grief, Addiction, Alcohol, and Child death
Minor: Abortion
nataliereads's review against another edition
challenging
emotional
funny
reflective
sad
fast-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
4.75
Content Warnings
Moderate: Abortion, Child death, Chronic illness, Cursing, Death, Grief, Medical content, and Pregnancy
vinnyvince's review against another edition
challenging
dark
emotional
funny
hopeful
lighthearted
reflective
sad
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.75
Read this if you want to break the loop. It will make you want to erase your social media presence, in the least patronising, cringey and boomer like way possible.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Pregnancy and Child death
Moderate: Medical content and Medical trauma
Minor: Ableism and Miscarriage
amarchetta's review
reflective
tense
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
3.5
I think this book went over my head. Some parts felt really insightful but a lot of it was confusing to me
Content Warnings
Graphic: Pregnancy, Body horror, Child death, Grief, and Medical content
annamarya's review against another edition
challenging
dark
emotional
funny
hopeful
reflective
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
I loved how close I felt to the nameless protagonist and her family.
The book really made me think about my relationship with the internet and how it affects me in real life.
I did find the form difficult at first, however as the novel progressed it became clear as to why it was written the way it was and it is genius.
I cried and then laughed at the turn of a page. Very beautifully written and structured.
The book really made me think about my relationship with the internet and how it affects me in real life.
I did find the form difficult at first, however as the novel progressed it became clear as to why it was written the way it was and it is genius.
I cried and then laughed at the turn of a page. Very beautifully written and structured.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Abortion, Child death, Chronic illness, Terminal illness, Medical content, Medical trauma, and Grief
Minor: Ableism
lorny's review against another edition
dark
funny
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? N/A
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.5
Part 1 of this book made me laugh out loud. Literally. And then Part 2 was devastating. So, a rollercoaster of a book.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Child death, Death, and Grief
Moderate: Medical content, Medical trauma, and Pregnancy
Minor: Abortion
reader_in_the_meadow's review against another edition
emotional
inspiring
reflective
sad
tense
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? It's complicated
4.25
No One Is Talking About This is a 2021 contemporary literary fiction novel by American poet, novelist and essayist Patricia Lockwood. The book consists of the novel in two parts and thee acknowledgements and has a total of 210 pages.
The main character of this story is a woman who is known for her social media presence. We, the reader, follow her on a journey through hard emotional times and her relationships. We learn of her view on the world and how social media plays a huge part in her life. Her insights on this also deliver good thinking inspiration for the reader itself.
The thing about the characters in this novel is that we do not get much to know about them besides what the woman tells us about them. That makes it a bit harder for me to talk about whether I liked them or not, but I would say that the characters were not boring or in any way forgettable. They all had their own little wars to fight and that made them individuals.
The writing was immaculate and I really really liked it. There are actually no chapters but each little text pieces that lead us through the story on a red thread. I would not describe this novel as wordsy but I am going to say that it is not easy to understand if you have a simple knowledge of English or rather how literature is written.
Even though I liked a lot in this book I think it is very confusing and comes close to being kafka-ish, which is not bad but rather gives it even more character.
I think this book can grow a very big fan base because it is a very modern and interesting piece of literature which will in my opinion be talked about for a long time. I will definitely follow what Lockwood does next because she has really enamoured me with this book.
XOXO Leon
The main character of this story is a woman who is known for her social media presence. We, the reader, follow her on a journey through hard emotional times and her relationships. We learn of her view on the world and how social media plays a huge part in her life. Her insights on this also deliver good thinking inspiration for the reader itself.
The thing about the characters in this novel is that we do not get much to know about them besides what the woman tells us about them. That makes it a bit harder for me to talk about whether I liked them or not, but I would say that the characters were not boring or in any way forgettable. They all had their own little wars to fight and that made them individuals.
The writing was immaculate and I really really liked it. There are actually no chapters but each little text pieces that lead us through the story on a red thread. I would not describe this novel as wordsy but I am going to say that it is not easy to understand if you have a simple knowledge of English or rather how literature is written.
Even though I liked a lot in this book I think it is very confusing and comes close to being kafka-ish, which is not bad but rather gives it even more character.
I think this book can grow a very big fan base because it is a very modern and interesting piece of literature which will in my opinion be talked about for a long time. I will definitely follow what Lockwood does next because she has really enamoured me with this book.
XOXO Leon
Content Warnings
Graphic: Child death, Death, Grief, Medical content, and Pregnancy
Moderate: Ableism
Minor: Abortion and Miscarriage