No One Is Talking About This by Patricia Lockwood is a contemporary fiction novel that explores the impacts of social media and the internet as well as family tragedy. The narrator of the book has recently become internet famous, and the first half of the book chronicles her thoughts and actions as someone who is extremely online. She refers to social media as “the portal” and is constantly creating posts, whether humorous or political or both. However, roughly halfway through the book she receives some worrying texts from her mother regarding her sister’s pregnancy. The rest of the book covers the very personal and intimate aspects of tragedy, as the author wonders: why is no one talking about this?
This novel was an interesting read, and had several lines that I thought were beautifully worded. However, it sometimes got too lost in metaphors and themes and the book began to feel too scripted and less natural. The book made me examine my relationship with the internet and was an overall fascinating book. I would recommend it to just about anyone, but especially those who are interested in exploring the dynamics of social media in the modern age. I would give it three stars.