I was familiar with Patricia Lockwood only from having read her warmly comedic 2017 memoir "Priest Daddy", which is an enjoyable window into growing up in an absurd family situation - her father was a "married priest" and her family life not exactly "the norm". No One is Talking is centered on the culturally overwhelming phenomenon of the internet, called "the portal" in the book, and the addictive and negative effects of its overuse (basically a universal phenomenon). The book is divided into two parts - the first is a fragmented trip through the "portal", or more accurately, through the mind of a person who is immersed in the internet. Much of it describes outrageous mems and the kind of toxic interaction among users that substitutes for social discourse these days. The style of the book, disconnected fragments usually with no apparent connection, mimics the internet experience well. The perversion of language and of humor are constant themes, but it's essentially plotless. In the second half of the book, an event occurs that blasts her virtual existence into reality - her sister has a child who is severely disabled. Coming to terms with the heartache of the situation and the real, raw emotions makes the virtual world recede from its occupation of her soul. The book was shortlisted for the Booker Prize in 2021, and is a very interesting critical look at the subtle, colonizing, addicting phenomenon of the internet and its effects, and in the second half, a raw and agonizing look at an impossible situation. Although the narrator's sister's mother says at one point in the story, "I can't see anything good in this", at least the emotions are real and pure, liberated from internet influence.
For a review of the book from the Guardian, click here: https://www.theguardian.com/books/2021/feb/12/no-one-is-talking-about-this-by-patricia-lockwood-review-life-in-the-twittersphere
