No One Is Talking About This
up:: Books
- Type:fiction
- Author:: Patricia Lockwood
- Year published:: 2021
- Shortlisted on the Women’s Price for Fiction 2021.
- Discovered through Leena Norms.
Reflection/Review
This book describes one woman’s life with and in the internet, described as “the portal”. Through the birth of her sisters baby which is afflicted by a condition, she learns to treasure every moment with the baby. This allows her to see what is truly important.
The book is written in a surreal poetic style. It reflects the erratic nature of the internet. What stood out to me was how it highlights the randomness and emotional ups and downs in the infinite scrolling.
I found this a compelling portrait of life in “the portal”. The poetic language was something different to what I usually read. Especially Instagram and TikTok eerily resemble the described world of the portal. The lack of emotional or thematic cohesion on Twitter was something I struggled with before. News on Afghanistan mingled with productivity tricks and pictures of dogs. This book leads me to want to break free from my phone more often and spend time on what or who matters.