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A review by hernamewaslily
No One Is Talking About This by Patricia Lockwood
3.0
Split into two parts, Patricia Lockwood’s ‘No One is Talking About This,’ follows a woman who is well-known on the internet with the first part concerning her adventures in “the portal” (the internet), and the second part taking a more dramatic turn when she gets a text from her mum about a family emergency.
The first part reads like a twitter feed with its short, staccato paragraphs that build up to present a bigger commentary on the internet at large and its effects on our culture. Those who, like myself, spend an embarrassing amount of time online will recognise the references to memes and news stories (however this does make me wonder the experience of reading this novel be like if you are not as online) which makes for a fun read. Moreover, Lockwood has a great sense of humour and her observations are incredibly astute without being too New York Times op-ed in tone. The second part shifts in tone and offers a more traditional narrative with an exploration of grief. Lockwood still interjects with comical observations on goings-on in the portal, which helps the novel not get bogged down by the much more sombre tone.
Some criticism about this novel has suggested that it feels like two different books in one, and whilst I can see where they are coming from, I think that that is sort of the point. It draws on this idea of the internet being one life and reality being another, and what happens when one becomes all-consuming.
I’d recommend this for fans of Lauren Oyler’s book, ‘Fake Accounts,’ (which I won’t lie, I did not like at all) but there are definitely similarities so if you, 1) enjoyed it, you’ll probably like this, or 2) disliked it, this offers a much better exploration of the internet’s effect on reality.
The first part reads like a twitter feed with its short, staccato paragraphs that build up to present a bigger commentary on the internet at large and its effects on our culture. Those who, like myself, spend an embarrassing amount of time online will recognise the references to memes and news stories (however this does make me wonder the experience of reading this novel be like if you are not as online) which makes for a fun read. Moreover, Lockwood has a great sense of humour and her observations are incredibly astute without being too New York Times op-ed in tone. The second part shifts in tone and offers a more traditional narrative with an exploration of grief. Lockwood still interjects with comical observations on goings-on in the portal, which helps the novel not get bogged down by the much more sombre tone.
Some criticism about this novel has suggested that it feels like two different books in one, and whilst I can see where they are coming from, I think that that is sort of the point. It draws on this idea of the internet being one life and reality being another, and what happens when one becomes all-consuming.
I’d recommend this for fans of Lauren Oyler’s book, ‘Fake Accounts,’ (which I won’t lie, I did not like at all) but there are definitely similarities so if you, 1) enjoyed it, you’ll probably like this, or 2) disliked it, this offers a much better exploration of the internet’s effect on reality.