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Reviews of Talk Talk by T.C. Boyle

Talk Talk

by T.C. Boyle

Talk Talk by T.C. Boyle X
Talk Talk by T.C. Boyle
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     Not Yet Rated
  • First Published:
    Jul 2006, 352 pages

    Paperback:
    Jun 2007, 352 pages

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Book Summary

A deaf woman is accused of multiple crimes - and only her new love stands beside her as they try and discover the truth. 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

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.

She was running late, always running late, a failing of hers, she knew it, but then she couldn't find her purse and once she did manage to locate it (underneath her blue corduroy jacket on the coat tree in the front hall), she couldn't find her keys. They should have been in her purse, but they weren't, and so she'd made a circuit of the apartment — two circuits, three — before she thought to look through the pockets of the jeans she'd worn the day before, but where were they? No time for toast. Forget the toast, forget food. She was out of orange juice. Out of butter and cream cheese. The newspaper on the front mat was just another obstacle. Piss-warm — was that an acceptable term? Yes — piss-warm coffee in a stained mug, a quick check of lipstick and hair in the rearview mirror, and then she was putting the car in gear and backing out onto the street.

She may have been peripherally aware of a van flitting by in the opposite direction, the piebald dog sniffing ...

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Reviews

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In Talk, Talk, Boyle explores the whole concept of identity, not just identity theft. As the fake Dana chops and changes his identity and the real Dana fights to be understood in a hearing world, readers will question how we define our own identity and how others perceive us by the identity we display...continued

Full Review (546 words)

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(Reviewed by BookBrowse Review Team).

Media Reviews

Kirkus Reviews
By the riveting climax, characters and readers alike recognize that the very concept of a fixed, static identity is a delusion.

Publishers Weekly
As Dana and Bridger hurtle across the country and the tension mounts, Boyle drops crumbs of wisdom in signature style, and readers will be hot on the trail.

The New York Times - Michiko Kakutani
Using his gift for manic invention and freewheeling, hyperventilated prose, Mr. Boyle does an antic job...wittily dancing around his theme of identity and identity theft, even as he orchestrates a sense of foreboding and suspense.

Library Journal
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.

Reader Reviews

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Beyond the Book

According to the Javelin/Better Business Bureau Survey of February 2007, 8.4 million USA adults were victims of identity theft fell in 2007, although this is down about 2 million since 2003 it is still an awful lot of people! The total fraud amount was $49 billion, with an average loss of almost $6,000 per person, and an average resolution time of 40 hours.

A summary of the US Federal Trade Commission's advice on protecting yourself against identity theft.....

Deter identity thieves by safeguarding your information.

    ...

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Read-Alikes

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