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grawlsy's review
3.0
the preface to this book compared it to broad city and girls. i'd say it's more like girls because i hate everybody in it.
worth the read for its concept, even if i do question its "reality" and, as i may have mentioned, hate everybody in it.
worth the read for its concept, even if i do question its "reality" and, as i may have mentioned, hate everybody in it.
elizagrant's review
Some would say time capsule, some would say dated. It's definitely a little of both.
I think it was slow to start, and some of the earlier conversations are far less interesting. I guess this makes sense in a way, as we aren't familiar with the characters at all. That, and I was really slapped in the face by some of the language used by them. (Again, time capsule or dated?)
I found the transcript writing style compelling and was really impressed at the amount of setting and movement that was able to be described through dialogue only. I was really hoping to read this book and be able to see myself and my friends in the characters, and in some ways I was.
There were moments where I really disliked the discussion, and also the people doing it.
There were other moments that provoked that feeling of recognition that all the best books provoke.
I think it was slow to start, and some of the earlier conversations are far less interesting. I guess this makes sense in a way, as we aren't familiar with the characters at all. That, and I was really slapped in the face by some of the language used by them. (Again, time capsule or dated?)
I found the transcript writing style compelling and was really impressed at the amount of setting and movement that was able to be described through dialogue only. I was really hoping to read this book and be able to see myself and my friends in the characters, and in some ways I was.
There were moments where I really disliked the discussion, and also the people doing it.
There were other moments that provoked that feeling of recognition that all the best books provoke.
You know something, if we had money, we'd all be very good to each other.
All I did was qvetch about what a horrible person I emerged as on the tapes and how all the three of us talk about is sex and food and yet how I felt we were the only people who communicate in the world.
landon_n26's review
reflective
relaxing
slow-paced
3.5
A super interesting little experiment. I really appreciated the friendship at its core, I loved the insight into the culture of the time, and thoroughly enjoyed the spicier conversations. Though at times this “novel” is incredibly dry, and lacks much action. I’ve read and engaged with stuff written in similar ways that have much higher stakes, and I wish that came through. I also wish they didn’t spend so much time talking about psycho analysis but I guess that’s a reflection of the era. Would love to read something like this by young people today.
caterpillarnotebooks's review
1.0
let me be clear: i do not dislike the "reality tv" aspect of this book. i wish, in fact, that it was even emptier, more vapid, more banal. but it is insufferably 60s, so deeply entrenched in all thought that i have once been beguiled by (and who wasn't really).
life itself has taught me that "queer" intimacies (here the deadly, avoid-at-all-costs combo of gay men and straight women) are warmer, more joyful, more hopeful in their hopelessness, than what liveliness i could find in this book.
life itself has taught me that "queer" intimacies (here the deadly, avoid-at-all-costs combo of gay men and straight women) are warmer, more joyful, more hopeful in their hopelessness, than what liveliness i could find in this book.
whats_margaret_reading's review
4.0
20 hours ago
Daniel: how was "talk"?
Me: I thought it was pretty good
The whole "tape recorded" dialog thing makes me skeptical in actual execution since there was the author there? maybe? for these conversations
but I liked how natural the dialog was
Daniel: Ok cool. When I was looking at their releases for this year forever ago that was one of the major ones that stuck out to me
Me: It's pretty neat, all experimental and 1960s ish
a few seconds ago
Me: Can I just put up our conversation about Talk from last night up as a review on goodreads? I think it would be very meta.
Daniel: yea
Me: That makes that easy! and meta
Daniel: haha
Daniel: how was "talk"?
Me: I thought it was pretty good
The whole "tape recorded" dialog thing makes me skeptical in actual execution since there was the author there? maybe? for these conversations
but I liked how natural the dialog was
Daniel: Ok cool. When I was looking at their releases for this year forever ago that was one of the major ones that stuck out to me
Me: It's pretty neat, all experimental and 1960s ish
a few seconds ago
Me: Can I just put up our conversation about Talk from last night up as a review on goodreads? I think it would be very meta.
Daniel: yea
Me: That makes that easy! and meta
Daniel: haha
daniels_books's review
3.0
Daniel: I went on a date last night and I think it may have been the worst experience of my life.
Margaret: I already did this review.
Rebecca: Your roommate literally died once and this is the worst thing?
Autumn: Tell me about your awful date.
Daniel: I really liked him before we met, it’s so easy to like someone when you have no first-hand experiences of that person.
Autumn: Wait, am I going to be fictionalized wildly for the purpose of this review?
Daniel: Absolutely, this conversation never happened.
Margaret: I was in a version of this actual conversation.
Daniel: I’m sorry, this book only has three characters, so you’re going to be edited out. He insisted on texting me a lot before we ever met, and he was really charming and funny via text so it built up all this expectation. But that just didn’t translate for either of us in person. It was one of those things where you can immediately tell that this whole thing was a bad idea. I ate these really disgusting dates that made me almost vomit, and I got too drunk and spilled beer on myself at the end. So maybe don’t pregame on wine when you are going out for drinks.
Autumn: I always get wildly drunk and I take them home with me almost every time. I think in some ways that’s better than an actual relationship. I don’t want to date anyone seriously right now.
Rebecca: Right, because then you have to consider their feelings, and that’s just gross.
Daniel: For the longest time, I didn’t want to date at all. So I didn’t.
Autumn: That’s not a bad thing. Good for you.
Rebecca: Your problem with men is that you haven’t learned to talk to them yet.
Autumn: Mine? I know how to talk to them.
Rebecca: No, not you.
Daniel: I didn’t meet my first openly gay person until I was done with high school, so it took me a few years to reinvent that particular wheel of talking to the “opposite” sex.
Autumn: Don’t you study communication theory? How are we supposed to talk to people?
Rebecca: It’s like, you share something personal about yourself, and if they reciprocate with something personal about themselves, then you start building a relationship. You don’t really build relationships otherwise, they eventually feel that disconnect or un-reciprocation.
Daniel: Since I’ve moved away from all my friends I’ve been way too personal with everyone I’ve met right away.
Autumn: I’m not sure that’s a bad thing either.
Daniel: I’m not sure men are trained to talk that way.
Autumn: Just bang them, they’ll respond to that.
Rebecca: Honestly I only study communication as it relates to security and gender, or something, Daniel doesn’t remember. This is probably slightly wrong and more complicated than he makes it out to be.
Autumn: In this book though, Linda Rosenkrantz actually recorded conversations with her friends and used them to create this “novel,” though. This is just a bad imitation.
Rebecca: This review also doesn’t take place in the 60s.
Daniel: If any of you name drop Lena Dunham or “Girls” as a comparison I am going to set myself on fire.
Rebecca: It’s two self-involved women and a gay dude talking about themselves and they think that their problems are important enough to send out into the larger popular culture. Similar, I guess.
Daniel: Isn’t that what all literature and culture essentially is, taking your personal problems and making them available to others to relate to?
Rebecca: Maybe in a more artistic way.
Daniel: It is a little creative, though. I mean she didn’t have to do it like this. It’s only self-involved because it’s packaged in this particular way.
Autumn: I wonder if other people’s boring and personal conversations can have an impact on other people if they aren’t repackaged in some way.
Rebecca: I think eavesdropping can be meaningful, even if not everything they say is meaningful.You become more aware of other people’s personal intentions. Or personal goals and problems. It’s like an exercise in empathy building.
Autumn: But can you just jump in like that? This is also risky because not everyone is going to “get” everyone else’s voices. And on paper, you are removing a lot of the gestures and body language and tones that assists meaning.
Daniel: That’s why I don’t let guys text me too much before I meet them.
Rebecca: But Autumn isn’t that how all relationships are formed, just jumping in mid-stream of someone else’s life. Suddenly you’re there, sometimes mid-conversation or mid-bullshit, but that doesn’t mean that you don’t eventually relate.
Daniel: Still, I wish it meant more to me somehow. Maybe because they aren’t real for me. This would be more meaningful if I was actually there. It reminds me so much of those nights when everyone there just loves each other and are comfortable with each other, maybe a little tipsy and everything just feels right, and conversation flows so beautifully. Those moments feel important. It made me just want that instead of this.
Autumn: Did you try to recreate that on your date last night?
Daniel: No, conversation was f*ing impossible.
Rebecca: Some things just can’t be forced.
Margaret: I have things to say--
Daniel: It’s been great talking to you, but this review is too long and I’m still not sure I have learned something about myself from this experience. It feels like only a change in circumstance will bring the change I want, and not from any sort of self-analysis.
Rebecca: Still, it was fun. And it’s not like you’re going to stop thinking about yourself.
Margaret: I already did this review.
Rebecca: Your roommate literally died once and this is the worst thing?
Autumn: Tell me about your awful date.
Daniel: I really liked him before we met, it’s so easy to like someone when you have no first-hand experiences of that person.
Autumn: Wait, am I going to be fictionalized wildly for the purpose of this review?
Daniel: Absolutely, this conversation never happened.
Margaret: I was in a version of this actual conversation.
Daniel: I’m sorry, this book only has three characters, so you’re going to be edited out. He insisted on texting me a lot before we ever met, and he was really charming and funny via text so it built up all this expectation. But that just didn’t translate for either of us in person. It was one of those things where you can immediately tell that this whole thing was a bad idea. I ate these really disgusting dates that made me almost vomit, and I got too drunk and spilled beer on myself at the end. So maybe don’t pregame on wine when you are going out for drinks.
Autumn: I always get wildly drunk and I take them home with me almost every time. I think in some ways that’s better than an actual relationship. I don’t want to date anyone seriously right now.
Rebecca: Right, because then you have to consider their feelings, and that’s just gross.
Daniel: For the longest time, I didn’t want to date at all. So I didn’t.
Autumn: That’s not a bad thing. Good for you.
Rebecca: Your problem with men is that you haven’t learned to talk to them yet.
Autumn: Mine? I know how to talk to them.
Rebecca: No, not you.
Daniel: I didn’t meet my first openly gay person until I was done with high school, so it took me a few years to reinvent that particular wheel of talking to the “opposite” sex.
Autumn: Don’t you study communication theory? How are we supposed to talk to people?
Rebecca: It’s like, you share something personal about yourself, and if they reciprocate with something personal about themselves, then you start building a relationship. You don’t really build relationships otherwise, they eventually feel that disconnect or un-reciprocation.
Daniel: Since I’ve moved away from all my friends I’ve been way too personal with everyone I’ve met right away.
Autumn: I’m not sure that’s a bad thing either.
Daniel: I’m not sure men are trained to talk that way.
Autumn: Just bang them, they’ll respond to that.
Rebecca: Honestly I only study communication as it relates to security and gender, or something, Daniel doesn’t remember. This is probably slightly wrong and more complicated than he makes it out to be.
Autumn: In this book though, Linda Rosenkrantz actually recorded conversations with her friends and used them to create this “novel,” though. This is just a bad imitation.
Rebecca: This review also doesn’t take place in the 60s.
Daniel: If any of you name drop Lena Dunham or “Girls” as a comparison I am going to set myself on fire.
Rebecca: It’s two self-involved women and a gay dude talking about themselves and they think that their problems are important enough to send out into the larger popular culture. Similar, I guess.
Daniel: Isn’t that what all literature and culture essentially is, taking your personal problems and making them available to others to relate to?
Rebecca: Maybe in a more artistic way.
Daniel: It is a little creative, though. I mean she didn’t have to do it like this. It’s only self-involved because it’s packaged in this particular way.
Autumn: I wonder if other people’s boring and personal conversations can have an impact on other people if they aren’t repackaged in some way.
Rebecca: I think eavesdropping can be meaningful, even if not everything they say is meaningful.You become more aware of other people’s personal intentions. Or personal goals and problems. It’s like an exercise in empathy building.
Autumn: But can you just jump in like that? This is also risky because not everyone is going to “get” everyone else’s voices. And on paper, you are removing a lot of the gestures and body language and tones that assists meaning.
Daniel: That’s why I don’t let guys text me too much before I meet them.
Rebecca: But Autumn isn’t that how all relationships are formed, just jumping in mid-stream of someone else’s life. Suddenly you’re there, sometimes mid-conversation or mid-bullshit, but that doesn’t mean that you don’t eventually relate.
Daniel: Still, I wish it meant more to me somehow. Maybe because they aren’t real for me. This would be more meaningful if I was actually there. It reminds me so much of those nights when everyone there just loves each other and are comfortable with each other, maybe a little tipsy and everything just feels right, and conversation flows so beautifully. Those moments feel important. It made me just want that instead of this.
Autumn: Did you try to recreate that on your date last night?
Daniel: No, conversation was f*ing impossible.
Rebecca: Some things just can’t be forced.
Margaret: I have things to say--
Daniel: It’s been great talking to you, but this review is too long and I’m still not sure I have learned something about myself from this experience. It feels like only a change in circumstance will bring the change I want, and not from any sort of self-analysis.
Rebecca: Still, it was fun. And it’s not like you’re going to stop thinking about yourself.
EMILY: Analysis doesn’t stop.
readbyryan's review
5.0
Fiction - Literary, Realism, 1960s, LGBTQ, Feminism. NYRB Trade Paperback. Found browsing the shelves at Kepler’s Books in Menlo Park.
Over the course of several months, the author transcribed 1500 pages of dialogue and whittled it down to this slim novel documenting the interactions of three friends over one summer in the Hamptons. Remove a few political references and this book feels like it could be written today. It’s forthright, conversational and personal, an amazing achievement for such a unique concept.
Over the course of several months, the author transcribed 1500 pages of dialogue and whittled it down to this slim novel documenting the interactions of three friends over one summer in the Hamptons. Remove a few political references and this book feels like it could be written today. It’s forthright, conversational and personal, an amazing achievement for such a unique concept.
abby_writes's review
4.0
I'm giving this 4 stars for its ability to transcend generations and still be relevant. Plus it's cool and experimental and very 1960's.