Review: No One is Talking About This by Patricia Lockwood
This review is, in part, the story of finding an internet-themed book via my favorite musician’s Twitter. Given that this musician is also a well-loved novelist and a committed feminist, I was fully prepared to have been recommended something unique, something impactful, and something that goes straight for your heart. I got all these things and then some, but I could never have imagined the delivery, nor the place this tale would take me.
No One Is Talking About This, Patricia Lockwood’s bizarre and devastating debut novel, is told in ambiguous, poetic snippets that mirror the way we receive information on the internet. This can be a little confusing at first, particularly given that the internet is only ever referred to as “the portal.” Once you settle into this narrative style, you’re introduced to the protagonist, a woman who has gained internet fame via a viral social media post asking whether dogs can have twins.
The way she navigates her sudden celebrity, as well as all her feelings about and interactions with the portal, often lead the reader to hold her in less-than-high regard. Does a woman who has never taken a writing class in her life deserve to have a million followers, to do talks in front of loving fans, or simply enjoy herself for a job? What if she’s good at it? What if she’s attractive enough for Insta? And what if she’s the kind of forward-thinking lady who has no issue with strangers’ fetishes for her feet (it’s terrifyingly easy to get any woman’s foot pics from a quick Google search)?
That is to say, you’re left questioning the types of people, and particularly women, who earn internet stardom.
Just as you really start to judge this protagonist, who can’t have a conversation unless it’s dripping in sarcasm and can’t keep away from her phone even if it’s locked up, the story changes. While the protagonist is overseas, a text from her mother about her sister’s pregnancy changes everything. Suddenly, any concerns about the protagonist’s ridiculous lifestyle seem petty compared to her niece’s life. Her niece is born with an exceptionally rare disease. In the era of standing out, and despite the main character's addiction to fame, likes, and views, the rarity of this disease is far from a blessing. It numbers the newborn child’s days.
Lockwood herself has quite a bit of internet fame…and she has also suffered the loss of a family member from this disease. Her ability to get introspective about the times, the internet, and social media is fun and exquisitely told but nothing new: she is part of a generation of people who are fully aware they have infinite knowledge at their fingertips, but still decide to watch videos of dogs skateboarding. The loss of a loved one and a semi-autobiographical look at the journey it takes a person on isn’t new, either. John Green, vlogging pioneer and best friend to the man who introduced me to No One is Talking About This, gained fame for his story about that same kind of loss.
As such, unique and eloquent writing isn’t enough to make Lockwood’s first novel stand out. And yet, and somewhat ironically, I haven’t stopped talking about this book.
Here’s why.
I am someone who will never have kids – by choice. And as much as I appreciate stories about the struggles of motherhood, getting to read a story about the difficulties of being an aunt to a child who will absolutely die young affected me to my core. It's important to remember that women aren't always mothers, but that doesn't change their femininity. That we are still affected by the well-being of our best friends' kids, our nieces and nephews, and our students. No One Is Talking About This manages to represent both sides of the childless woman. Yes, we get to pursue more hobbies, go on more vacations, live by whimsy, and at times we'll be more job-oriented than most mothers. We also hold our best friends’ hands when they check their pregnancy tests. We babysit, nurture, and love. We also care deeply about loved ones. We are no less female, and our stories deserve to be written, as well.
I write this as my oldest, closest friend goes through a difficult pregnancy. As I worry about her health and the health of her son-to-be. I write this because I have turned to Lockwood's novel for the support I know it will provide. I struggle with how casually I viewed the protagonist, knowing she will drop everything to spend numbered days with her niece. It is not the laughter or the tears Lockwood pulled from me that leads me to call No One Is Talking About This my 2021 Book of the Year. It’s the jumbled feelings I wish I didn’t have about the validity of the protagonist’s surprise success, and the clear compassion I feel for her as she gives it all up.
No One Is Talking About This is not your typical novel. It’s among many books that make me ask, “When can we get a subgenre for novels written by poets?” Laced in metaphor to mirror the confusing layers of information one gets from the internet and told in two main parts rather than three acts, it’s the kind of book you finish in an afternoon, as long as you can get past the daunting and dizzying first few pages. I’ve never gone from laughing to sobbing the way I did reading this book. John Green, eat your heart out.
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