The Mookse and the Gripes discussion

No One is Talking About This by Patricia Lockwood

Do we discuss here or on the Women's Prize thread

Ideally neither?

Ideally both.

It is a dilemma though - remember this happened last year, one ends up with split debates.

However the Women's Prize has lost all momentum from their decision to postpone, so I'd suggest here?

I'd suggest here unless the comments relate specifically to the Women's Prize.

I’m happy for you, Sam! I liked this book. I think it was the smartest of the Women’s Prize list.

Sam and I have been championing this book for a long time - and will continue to do so

Maybe a Women's/Booker double is on the cards?

Almost no chance - not least as if it wins the Women's Prize the Booker will pick something else I suspect.

Actually interesting how little overlap between the prizes

My favourite book published/read this year so far. Still think about it often!

I've heard so much discussion about this one that I feel like I've read it already even though I haven't.

Roman Clodia wrote: "I've heard so much discussion about this one that I feel like I've read it already even though I haven't."

I know what you mean, but I find a lot of the talk is only gut reactions to the initial reading and echoes the same thoughts. I find the book has much more depth. I cringe when I hear the book defined as a Twitter book since I only think the Twitter aspect was what she chose to explore her themes. The book that seemed closest in similarity IMO, was The Living Sea of Waking Dreams, where both books were trying to bring understanding to absurdities in present life, especially in our troubles with compassion and communication.

Thanks, Sam - good to know there's more to the Lockwood than what I've heard. Now that it's on the list, I'll get to it sooner.

I am tempted to reread this one, because I really liked the writing and the key themes of the book. The only problem I had with it is that I personally could not relate to the narrator's experience with the portal -- that is, with her particular drug of choice. Pop culture memes and related content are my idea of Twitter (or Portal) hell. Argh!!!

Sam makes a good point about the similarities with The Living Sea of Waking Dreams. For what it's worth, I had a much easier time relating to Anna's social media experience in that book i.e. the constant doom-scrolling (Australian wildfires, etc.).

First video review: https://youtu.be/olvMHwjCFq0

I am a Twitter user, but didn’t recognize any of the viral Twitter stories or memes Lockwood mentions, but it’s not necessary to be familiar with Twitter, other than that it’s a social media platform where one can be read by untold millions of strangers, to enjoy Lockwood’s humor and insights. And Lockwood is a smart writer so it’s an enjoyable, topical book. I wasn’t as moved by the family crisis, but I don’t know that it’s necessary to feel emotional about the family crisis to get what Lockwood is saying about current social media consumption and its effects.

For podcast listeners there is an interesting interview with Lockwood on London Book Review podcast from March 24.

There are a lot of champions of No One on this thread. Unfortunately, I'm not one of them. I thought the first half was mildly interesting, but the second half felt emotionally contrived and overwrought. I don't want to dampen anyone's enthusiasm for this book, but I'm curious if anyone else felt the same way.

Yes. Apart from the mildly interesting bit which is flattering it a little.

David wrote: "There are a lot of champions of No One on this thread. Unfortunately, I'm not one of them. I thought the first half was mildly interesting, but the second half felt emotionally contrived and overwr..."

I would gave agreed with you, but what seemed the most contrived was based on true dianosis of a relative. From then on, I felt what she chose to do with it was justified by the theme of compassion.
David hits on another theme of some of the books on the list. Many feel contrived but I did not feel it detracted from the work. Secomd Place, A Passage North, Light, Perpetual, and Klara all share this to a degree, though i thought they all got away with it.

I think if you want to see what emotionally contrived looks like (not that that is a bad thing by the way - fiction is by definition normally contrived) then wait for the excellent Powers. Like Sam I can’t see that a book like this which is very close to a memoir/auto-fiction can really be contrived.

Contrived is something intentionally created, so yes, all fiction is contrived, but good fiction doesn’t “show the work” to use a math phrase. It isn’t obvious that this is the part where you feel sad and here’s something heartwarming now.

I didn’t feel emotionally manipulated by the second half, because I didn’t find it all that moving, I couldn’t connect to the family. The emotional impact for me was **SPOILER ALERT** the family’s fear and frustration at the Ohio laws that put Lockwood’s sister’s life at risk; even her Priestdaddy, formerly active in the anti-choice movement, was horrified that he might lose his daughter.

I think one of the really strong aspects of the last part was how the family’s prior beliefs were shaken in different ways. The very religious Priestdaddy had his anti-abortion views suddenly shaken as you say but at the same time the protagonist suddenly found more consolation in a faith she had previously rejected or neglected.

Was there a character called Priestdaddy in the book?

(Must admit I remember very little about it)

No, but Lockwood’s previous book, Priestdaddy, was about her father, a priest, and the family’s involvement with the anti-choice movement.

I thought this was her debut novel?

Gumble's Yard - Golden Reviewer wrote: "I think one of the really strong aspects of the last part was how the family’s prior beliefs were shaken in different ways. The very religious Priestdaddy had his anti-abortion views suddenly shake..."

Right! That was the point of the book wasn’t it? Or one of the points: that real life experience has a way of shutting down the social media static where one is either for or against in divisive issues and allows us to see how real people are impacted by “issues,” and without a public persona to maintain we can be open to other ways of being. Lockwood was free to re-examine the faith she was raised in with no need to defend or explain herself to millions of followers.

That’s a brilliant way to put it Wendy

Priestdaddy is a memoir Paul

Ah OK - I had been confused whether this was a debut or not as I saw on another forum someone commenting on the right-author-wrong-Booker thing of Lockwood, Ishiguro and Spufford all being listed for not their best work.

I'm pretty familiar with the internet culture Lockwood depicts in No One is Talking About This and I thought her representation of it was brilliantly done (bit sick of patronising coverage of 'internet novels' but it's the first one I've seen where someone really knows what they're talking about, Dave Eggers could take some notes). Priestdaddy is one of my favourite memoirs of all time and NOITAT has a similar generosity and eccentric insight. Excited to see it here.

Good to hear.

I do think it isn't just a case of being active on Twitter though (as you comment in your review) to appreciate this but being on a particular aspect of Twitter.

To me I saw the Portal as more like TikTok - silly memes etc - Twitter for me is a very different medium (e.g. very politically influential, and a huge impact on Covid for good - real-time collaborative epidemiology - and bad - false information on eg vaccine risks)

The judges' citation:

'How does the relentlessly self-ironising and unserious language of the social media adept deal with the actualities of ordinary, terrible human suffering? Can influencers find any words for loss? No One is Talking About This is a brilliantly funny book about tragedy and survival. It never takes itself seriously; it never takes seriously its own lack of seriousness either. A very uncomfortable book, which makes its fundamental and simple compassion all the more powerful.

Gumble's Yard - Golden Reviewer wrote: "Actually interesting how little overlap between the prizes"

Yes I noticed that as well. This is the only one this year, and if memory serves there were none last year.

This is currently my favorite of the longlisted titles and my second favorite (after Transcendent Kingdom) of the shortlisted Women's Prize titles. Lockwood's talent as a writer is staggering. I am hardly ever on Twitter and found parts of the first section of the novel weird, but even so I was stunned by the writing and by what Lockwood was doing. I found the second part beautifully rendered and incredibly moving and not at al contrived. I agree that its fate for the Women's Prize (which I don't think it will win) will impact its fate for the Booker.

I regret my use of the word "contrived" back in post 19. That was a poor word choice. The second half still didn't land for me, but it's nice to see it resonated with a lot of people. I'll gladly be in the minority on this one.

I think you are in about a 50/50 split David - it feels like this is the marmite book - in the early rankings there are already quite a few top and bottom places.

Feels more than that as marmite implies love-hate, whereas here it is love / what's all the fuss about. I didn't dislike it, it just left me indifferent.

That said I can see this squeezing on to my shortlist.

It is even Marmite internally - the two halves are very different...

I think I would compare to either marmite chocolates or the new chilli flavoured marmite - two different but great things which combine brilliantly.

More like the boring brown colour you get when you mix playdough together.

I told you not to mix the play-do colors, Paul. I hope you put the lids back on or it will be dried out when you want to play with it again.

Rather grateful this one has dried up (aka been sold to WeBuyBooks) so I don’t have to play with (read) it again.

I read this book only because it was on the Women's Prize longlist and absolutely hated the first half. But, based on GY's review of the book, I did not pitch it in the trash and loved the second half. I think it is very topical and quite different from the other three on the longlist I have read. I think it will make the shortlist.

My review -- https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...

Pleased to have helped

Do you think the second half (the 5 star) bit would work as well if there wasn’t the first half (the hated, 2 star bit)? Ie does the 2nd justify the awful 1st half?

I thought both halves were excellent so I cannot really answer.

That was for Linda whose review said she hated the first half and gave it 2 stars.

No Paul, I do not thing the second half would have worked as well without the first half. The first half I hated because I just do not get why anyone would engage with social media in that way, so I was repelled. It was similar to my response when reading Eileen - it was a situation when, for me, it did not matter whether the writing itself was good or bad as I was repelled by the activity. For me, the second half was reality showing how meaningless the activities of the first half were.

That is the bit where I struggled with the first half as well.

It didn’t seem to be about our social media world. It seemed to be about a particularly infantile way of using it.