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camillatd's review against another edition
challenging
emotional
funny
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
Man, this book is SO good. It's unlike anything else I have ever read. I don't even want to explain it too much--just (check the content warnings and) read it. Lockwood's prose is incredible, and she lays bare truths about internet culture, society, family, and relationships with razor sharp sentences. This book is weird, wonderful, and an absolutely necessary and biting commentary on Being Online.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Child death, Terminal illness, and Grief
Moderate: Abortion, Ableism, and Pregnancy
Minor: Sexual content
kelsea's review against another edition
dark
funny
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
Content Warnings
Graphic: Child death
Minor: Ableism
nakutski's review
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
na_no's review against another edition
emotional
funny
hopeful
reflective
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
5.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Grief, Death, and Terminal illness
Moderate: Ableism
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
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
klfgasaway's review against another edition
challenging
dark
emotional
funny
hopeful
reflective
sad
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Child death, Terminal illness, and Grief
Moderate: Abortion and Pregnancy
Minor: Ableism
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
fayewilsoon's review
challenging
emotional
funny
hopeful
inspiring
reflective
sad
medium-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? It's complicated
3.5
I both hated and loved this book, read it on a night shift at work. Found it to be challenging and reflective in part one yet also really annoying a lot of the time, whilst I think the second half was beautiful. Although I understood a lot of the media references in the book it was very america focused in terms of language and honestly the audience generally. I liked the lack of names used in the book and instead "she" "her sister" "the dictator".
Content Warnings
Graphic: Child death, Medical content, and Terminal illness
Moderate: Ableism and Abortion