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Talk Talkby T. C. Boyle
Review-a-Day (What is Review-a-Day?)"If you are one of the 26.5 million veterans whose personal information was on that stolen laptop, stop reading right now. And under no circumstances should you buy Talk Talk, the latest novel by T. C. Boyle. The rest of us, though, will certainly enjoy the PEN-Faulkner Award-winner's satirically clever take on that most modern of crimes, identity theft. (Although be warned: Side effects include a creeping feeling of paranoia and an overwhelming urge to purchase a shredder.)" Yvonne Zipp, The Christian Science Monitor (read the entire CSM review) "The idea of Dana Halter chasing Dana Halter has the makings of a postmodern house of mirrors — at least until the thief quickly sheds Halter's name, abandoning with it Boyle's typical authorial puzzle and any sense of palpable predicament. What ensues is a soggy, spiritless chase from West Coast to East....In the end, ironically, it's the thief's loss that we care about, not Halter's. That might be Boyle's point. But if so, it's also the fleshiest, most intriguing crime in the book." Tom Chiarella, Esquire (read the entire Esquire review) "Compelling characters, a plot built for speed, a canvas that stretches coast to coast — all the ingredients for a gripping tale are here. Yet Boyle is his own worst enemy....Boyle's fatal addiction to adjectival clauses and piled-on explanatory metaphors slows the story down even more. And under the made-for-TV script and lumbering prose lurks an essentially adolescent vision of male-female relations: women are enigmatic forces of nature that no man can hope to understand, let alone control. Still the bright young Turk, Boyle may have grown older, but he has yet to grow up." Scott Prater, Atlantic Monthly (read the entire Atlantic Monthly review) Synopses & ReviewsPublisher Comments:The bestselling author of The Inner Circle and Drop City returns with a timely new novel about a woman in desperate pursuit of a man who has stolen her identity.
The first time Bridger saw Dana she was dancing barefoot, her hair aflame in the red glow of the club, her body throbbing with rhythms and cross-rhythms that only she could hear. He was mesmerized. That night they were both deaf, mouthing to each other over the booming bass. And it was not until their first date, after he had agonized over what CD to play in the car, that Bridger learned that her deafness was profound and permanent. By then, he was falling in love. Now she is in a courtroom, her legs shackled, as a list of charges is read out. She is accused of assault with a deadly weapon, auto theft, and passing bad checks, among other things. Clearly there has been a terrible mistake. A man — his name is William "Peck" Wilson, as Dana and Bridger eventually learn — has been living a blameless life of criminal excess at Dana's expense. And as Dana and Bridger set out to find him, they begin to test to its limits the life they have started to build together. Talk Talk is both a thrilling road trip across America and a moving story about language, love, and identity from one of America's finest novelists. Review:"If stories about missing government laptops and hacked databases have got you shredding your bank statements and paying cash at restaurants, brace yourself for another jolt of paranoia. T. Coraghessan Boyle's new novel about identity theft is so perfectly aligned with the day's news that the FBI should search his house for stolen credit cards. 'Talk Talk' grabs hold of the fragile structures that... Washington Post Book Review (read the entire Washington Post review) Review:"On the surface, this novel of identity theft delivers page-turning suspense, but it also delves deeper into the essence of identity....By the riveting climax, characters and readers alike recognize that the very concept of a fixed, static identity is a delusion." Kirkus Reviews Review:"[F]unny, engaging and suspenseful, and sadly undermined by a forced, slap-dash ending that feels as if it had been grafted on at the last minute in a desperate effort to find some way of bringing this novel to a close." Michiko Kakutani, The New York Times Review:"The early chapters are a Kafkaesque horror story of bewildering accusations, sullen cops, and loony cellmates....The novel flies along on the power of Boyle's propulsive and exquisitely perceptive prose. (Grade: B)" Entertainment Weekly Review:"[Boyle] delivers a fast-paced, edge-of-your-seat thriller....He proves that he can muster his literary chops to maintain the tension as well as any old pro of the genre." The Oregonian (Portland, OR) Review:"The continuity errors distracted this reviewer, and missing details make the novel more frustrating than riveting. Still, Boyle's many fans will probably want to go along for the ride." Library Journal Review:"For all their literary flair, Boyle's books feature honest-to-God plots....And for those who like a little literary meat in their summer page-turners, Boyle's knack for nuanced and intelligent characterization and language hasn't deserted him here." Rocky Mountain News Review:"[Boyle's] fixation on the foodie habits of his characters is emblematic of how Boyle's work suffers when...he tries to define people's status by what they buy and eat as opposed to more timeless measures." Minneapolis Star Tribune Review:"Talk Talk stands out as nothing short of an uncomfortable masterpiece — as simultaneously overwhelming, treacherous, beautiful and boiling over with hellacious revelation as its ultimate subject: life in 21st century America." Los Angeles Times Review:"Boyle once again delivers an entertaining story with his usual laser commentary....It is a bonus with his writing: Beyond the plot is this underworld of fanciful words, at the ready to send a reader straight to Webster's." USA Today Review:"Don't be fooled by its title: There's nothing chatty about T.C. Boyle's 11th novel. Talk Talk is his least discursive, most tautly paced book to date....Talk Talk opens at full throttle and never slackens." San Francisco Chronicle Review:"Boyle takes readers on a wild ride where sensation and thirst for justice overwhelm the need for likelihood....Unlike less confident writers, he never begs for a reader's sympathy on behalf of his protagonists." New York Times Review:"Boyle's carefully cadenced sentences unwind in bursts of thought that almost tumble out of control, mimicking an unruly inner voice, bringing the reader inside the character's mind and heart." Chicago Sun-Times Review:"Boyle's energetic style will keep you reading, even when you think you know what's going to happen next. The truth is, you probably don't." Dallas Morning News Synopsis:Over the past twenty-five years, T.C. Boyle has earned wide acclaim and an enthusiastic following with such adventurous, inimitable novels as The Tortilla Curtain, Drop City, and The Road to Wellville. For his riveting eleventh novel, Boyle offers readers the closest thing to a thriller he has ever written, a tightly scripted page turner about the trials of Dana Halter, a thirty-three-year-old deaf woman whose identity has been stolen. Featuring a woman in the lead role (a Boyle first), Talk Talk is both a suspenseful chase across America and a moving story about language, love, and identity from one of America's most versatile and entertaining novelists. About the AuthorT. C. Boyle is the author of twelve novels, including World's End (winner of the PEN/Faulkner Award), Drop City (a New York Times bestseller and finalist for the National Book Award), and The Inner Circle. His most recent story collections are Tooth and Claw and The Human Fly and Other Stories. What Our Readers Are SayingAdd a comment for a chance to win!
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