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deedireads's review against another edition
challenging
funny
reflective
sad
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.5
All my reviews live at https://deedispeaking.com/reads/.
TL;DR REVIEW:
No One Is Talking About This isn’t going to be for everyone, but it was for me. It’s abstract, but really captures the claustrophobic feeling of the current zeitgeist.
For you if: You like to read poetry.
FULL REVIEW:
TL;DR REVIEW:
No One Is Talking About This isn’t going to be for everyone, but it was for me. It’s abstract, but really captures the claustrophobic feeling of the current zeitgeist.
For you if: You like to read poetry.
FULL REVIEW:
“It was a mistake to believe that other people were not living as deeply as you were. Besides, you were not even living that deeply.”
There was, perhaps, no literary fiction more polarizing in 2021 than No One Is Talking About This. As it was shortlisted for both the Booker Prize and the Women’s Prize, I don’t think there’s any arguing that Lockwood has done something big here — but I totally understand why it didn’t work for some people. Personally, I liked it a lot.
It’s a short novel — I read it in one sitting — broken into two parts. The first is a series of vignettes about “the portal” (like the internet or maybe just Twitter, but like, turned up to 11), where the narrator is famous and to which she is addicted. In the second part, a family tragedy wrenches her away from the foggy, disoriented life she’d been leading.
Okay, so: I really think that to enjoy this book, you have to enjoy reading poetry. Lockwood is also a poet, and it shows. Reading poetry is often more about feeling than anything else; you have to sort of just relax and notice what kinds of emotions and images the poem stir up as you go, and THAT is the whole point of it. So too here, especially in part one. If that’s not your thing, you aren’t going to like this. But I did. And I’ll also say that I listened to the audiobook as I read along in print, and I think it made a HUGE difference. Highly recommend.
I was really impressed by how this book was absurd but also hit so, so close to home. It captures a claustrophobic feeling that you can’t name about the current zeitgeist. The trap of liberal perfectionism, the urge to look away but absolute inability to do so, the pain of having loved ones with a completely different moral compass, the competing desire to join in and also reject all of it, the paradox of your own personality. How it takes a tragedy to pull us off the hamster wheel but then everything shrinks and slows, and that might be when we start to live the most.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Child death
Moderate: Grief
lauhiggs's review against another edition
challenging
emotional
sad
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? N/A
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.5
First part of this book I was completely and utterly lost. A mish-mash of Twitter-esque style paragraphs for 120 pages. It felt so disjointed and not like a story at all. Looking back on it I can see that it follows an unnamed woman who’s life revolves around “the portal” otherwise known as the internet.
The second half was devastating. Such a sad auto-fiction story of an unimaginable, unavoidable loss. Which finally gave sense to the first half, nothing matters more than family.
I think this isn’t a very accessible book for all. And definitely not what I was expecting.
The second half was devastating. Such a sad auto-fiction story of an unimaginable, unavoidable loss. Which finally gave sense to the first half, nothing matters more than family.
I think this isn’t a very accessible book for all. And definitely not what I was expecting.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Grief and Child death
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
amarchetta's review against another edition
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
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
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
redbow's review against another edition
emotional
funny
reflective
sad
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Content Warnings
Moderate: Child death, Chronic illness, Grief, and Terminal illness
Minor: Abortion
These topics are a part of the book but, imho they are treated with great respect and grace.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
deezy's review against another edition
emotional
funny
hopeful
reflective
sad
fast-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? It's complicated
5.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Child death, Death, Grief, Medical content, and Pregnancy