  | I REVIEW BOOKS ON THE LAST SUNDAY OF EVERY MONTH The premise is shot to hell by the very existence of this post and, I have to assume, others: I AM TALKING (writing) ABOUT THIS right now! It took me a minute to get the hang of the tone of this despite enjoying the author’s online presence and poetry and poetic online presence for a while now. Much like the eternal question “can a dog be twins?” we must ask, can a book of offhand internet-poisoned poetry be a heartfelt work of autofiction, if not an eschatological tome? Or let’s not split hairs: an engaging novel! Don’t answer that. It’s a fake question. When the writer as a poet creates a novel we don’t necessarily get a novel-length poem. Like the book-long works of Mark Baumer, there’s an adjustment period. The mind wants to connect the dots but these dots aren’t necessarily made for connecting (they might not even be dots! catch my drift? I’m sorry, no). Part 1 certainly reads like a selection of tweets, albeit ones that have been binge-eating and are now passed out in the sun. |
But a surprising thing happens in Part 2: thoughts are filled with life, humanity, and all the sadness that comes with it. There’s even a thread, based on the dreaded “actual events” (re, autofiction, which stands for autoerotic asphyxiation). I don’t mean to make light but what this book told me is that it’s OK to laugh sometimes. And also: log-off.
CHRONOLOGICALLY
⫷ MOVIE #1,493 - (YOU ARE HERE) - MOVIE #1,495 ⫸
⫷ MOVIE #1,493 - (YOU ARE HERE) - MOVIE #1,495 ⫸
No One Is Talking About This is the debut novel by American poet Patricia Lockwood, published in 2021. It was a finalist for the 2021 Booker Prize, was one of the New York Times' 10 best books of 2021, and won the 2022 Dylan Thomas Prize. The novel focuses on an unnamed woman who is extremely active on social media. It was released on February 16, 2021.
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