Synopses & Reviews
A thoughtful, poignant novel that explores the creation of artificial intelligence — illuminating the very human need for communication, connection, and understanding
In a narrative that spans geography and time, from the Atlantic Ocean in the seventeenth century to a correctional institution in Texas in the near future, told from the perspectives of five very different characters, Speak considers what it means to be human, and what it means to be less than fully alive.
A young Puritan woman travels to the New World with her unwanted new husband. Alan Turing, the renowned mathematician and code breaker, writes letters to his best friend's mother. A Jewish refugee and professor of computer science struggles to reconnect with his increasingly detached wife. An isolated and traumatized young girl exchanges messages with an intelligent software program. A former Silicon Valley wunderkind is imprisoned for creating illegally lifelike dolls.
All five characters are attempting to communicate — with estranged spouses, lost friends, future readers, or computer programs that may or may not understand them. Although each speaks from a distinct place and moment in time, they all share the need to express themselves while simultaneously wondering if they will ever be heard, or understood. In dazzling and electrifying prose, Louisa Hall explores how the chasm between computer and human — shrinking rapidly with today's technological advances — echoes the gaps that exist between ordinary people.
Review
“SPEAK is that rarest of finds: a novel that doesnt remind me of any other book Ive ever read. A complex, nuanced, and beautifully written meditation on language, immortality, the nature of memory, the ethical problems of artificial intelligence, and what it means to be human.” Emily St. John Mandel, author of Station Eleven
Review
“SPEAK reads like a hybrid of David Mitchell and Margaret Atwood; a literary page turner that spans four centuries and examines the idea of who and what we define as human. Louisa Hall has written a brilliant novel.” Philipp Meyer, author of The Son
Review
Hall subtly weaves a thread through a temporally diverse cast of narrators. Like all good robot novels, Speak raises questions about what it means to be human as well as the meaning of giving voice to memory. Booklist (starred review)
Review
“strange, beautiful and unputdownable” New York Post, "The Best Novels to Read this Summer"
Review
“Hall capably weaves the stories to form a beautiful rumination on the nature of memory and the frailty of human relationships.” Library Journal (starred review)
Review
“While the novels ambitions are high-concept, Halls narrative is notable for its persuasive heart… Speak gazes boldly forward and lovingly back in order to report on the nature of what it means to be human now.” Elle
Review
“Hall delivers a dystopian A.I. novel with real heart and soul. Told through 17th century diary entries, letters by Alan Turing, court transcripts in 2040 and instant messages between a bot and a young, brokenhearted girl, this book is strange, beautiful and unputdownable.” New York Post, Summer Round Up
Review
“[A] stunning new novel... Comparisons to Margaret Atwood, David Mitchell, and Helen Phillips will abound, but the remarkable Speak is a unique creation that stands on its own.” -Bustle Bustle.com
Review
“Stunning and audacious… Its not just one of the smartest books of the year, its one of the most beautiful ones, and it almost seems like an understatement to call it a masterpiece.” NPR
Review
“Louisa Hall grapples with what it means to be human and how artificial intelligence will fit into those definitions in her ambitious new novel… Its a complicated but compulsively readable tale, blending the voices of people who wonder whether theyll ever be heard or, more importantly, understood.” Austin American-Statesman
Review
“Speak leaves its conclusions to its readers, to flip back and forth among the characters differing points of view and decide for themselves - and is all the more engaging for it.” Salt Lake Tribune
Review
“Enter Louisa Halls remarkable July novel Speak, which features not one, but five narrators: each inhabits separate geographical and temporal locations, but all reflect, in some way, on humanitys relationship with artificial intelligence.” Bustle, What You Should Read This Summer Based On Your Zodiac Sign
Review
“In Speak, distinct voices from distinct eras ponder human connection… Call it the influence of David Mitchell or Hari Kunzru, but Speak is a kaleidoscope of a book… it is a novel that wants to raise big questions about how we know one another and ourselves.” Los Angeles Times
Review
“Speak is a poignant reminder that language has mystery, and that questions of authenticity will always be with us.” Tampa Bay Times
Review
“[A]mbitious… The novels conceit might appeal to fans of David Mitchell, though Ms. Hall is mostly interested in plumbing the sensitive depths of her characters rather than tightening the screws of a mind-blowing schematic.” New York Times
Review
“Halls empathy suffuses each characters voice, and the letters from Turing are especially touching.” New York One
About the Author
Louisa Hall grew up in Philadelphia. After graduating from Harvard, she played squash professionally while finishing her premedical coursework and working in a research lab at the Albert Einstein Hospital. She holds a PhD in literature from the University of Texas at Austin, where she currently teaches literature and creative writing, and supervises a poetry workshop at the Austin State Psychiatric Hospital. She is the author of the novel The Carriage House, and her poems have been published in The New Republic, Southwest Review, Ellipsis, and other journals.