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 enlarge | Author: T.c. Boyle
Publisher: Viking Adult
Category: Book
List Price: $25.95
Buy New: $6.42
You Save: $19.53 (75%)
New (7) Used (8) Collectible (1) from $4.45
Avg. Customer Rating:  46 reviews
Sales Rank: 157160
Format: Bargain Price
Media: Hardcover
Number Of Items: 1
Pages: 352
Shipping Weight (lbs): 1.3
Dimensions (in): 9.1 x 6.1 x 1.3
Dewey Decimal Number: 813.54
ASIN: B0015VT2MA
Publication Date: July 6, 2006
Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days
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| Customer Reviews:
 The title should scare you away February 17, 2008
4 out of 5 found this review helpful
Life is simply too short to spend any part of it reading things that are less than edifying. If you own a vintage MG, there is an excellent repair manual, printed in England, bound in oilcloth, long out of print, that I highly recommend. Now that is edifying. And so it goes; you may have a beloved cookbook on the preparation of organ meats....you know, brains, kidneys, intestine. This is something worthwhile, although it is clearly not to everyone's taste.
But when it comes to fiction, one must pick and choose carefully; there is simply so much out there that is really good, that a week wasted on a work of prose fiction that does not move you should get you angry. T.C. Boyle is a competent writer; no, he is actually a pretty good writer, but is that enough for you? I am going to bet that as you, despite my recommendation, read the last page of this book you will wonder why you did not watch the latest episode of "America's Next Top Model" instead. Even if you think that is a waste of time, it is only an hour and you can crochet while watching, something that is difficult to do while reading a book. Mind you, it really isn't a "bad" book, just not up to snuff. This should not be the first Boyle book that you read. Try something else, e.g., "The Road to Wellville". Then you can say that you've read a Boyle novel and then go on to Flaubert.
Another worthwhile novel from T.C. Boyle February 17, 2008
0 out of 1 found this review helpful
I didn't like this as much as I liked Drop City but it was a great read. I was kind of stressed out at the beginning because the ordeal of the deaf female protagonist was rendered so palpable by Boyle's masterful portrayal of circumstances...I settled into reading this and I couldn't put it down. I think I'm going to start regularly reviewing my credit reports. I don't like to write reviews that spoil the novel for the person just looking for a general feel of a book that they are thinking about reading, so I would say that you should read this if you are a Boyle fan and have read his other novels. If you haven't read any of his other stuff, at least read Drop City first, and maybe Tortilla Curtain and A Friend of The Earth. This is by far the most rolicking ride of those, but the backdrops--a jail cell, the open road traversing America from west to east, the insides of stale smoky bars, third rate restaraunts, and the depressing doldrums of a mother's dingy apartment...all leave one longing for fresh air. There's a little of that in the beginning, but always with such stress associated with it that you really want to get away into something very different when you finish this. Also, if you know nothing of deaf culture, this will be an eye opener for you. What little I know of deaf culture I learned from a deaf woman, so some of what was revealed in the book simply reinforced the knowledge that initially surprised and moved me profoundly regarding the deaf experience. I might recommend the book solely on that basis.
 The Boyle Train Keeps on Rolling February 11, 2008
1 out of 3 found this review helpful
In this book and in his career, Boyle never slows down. Boyle continues to build on his many strengths as a novelist in Talk Talk. While this novel starts out at an unprecedented pace, Boyle use a few sentences every now and then to slow things down and treat the reader to some virtuoso prose. Dana and Bridger's adventure is hectic, unpredictable, and fascinating. Peck, an unambiguous villain, is still a delightful character with whom anyone can relate.
Boyle's resolutions always make me close the book with a feeling of great satisfaction, and Talk Talk's ending was definitely no different. If you haven't yet read TC's work, this is a great introduction to his fantastic collection.
Talk about fine writing! December 12, 2007
1 out of 3 found this review helpful
I've never read TC Boyle before and this book turned me into a fan. The story has its own merits but the writing is so spectacularly flawless that every word goes down like a well turned-out chocolate mousse. The author blends subtly the high and low cultures and the result is a well synchronized medley of sights and sounds. Highly recommended.
 Talk, Talk, Talk, Talk ENUF! November 8, 2007
3 out of 4 found this review helpful
This book has a great premise. A deaf woman is arrested and thereby learns her identity ahs been stolen. The arrest, booking and jailing are compellingly wrought at the outset of the book.
Since the "justice system" can not help her, she decides to go after the thief herself. Her boyfriend joins her and the chase is on. Eventually we meet the thief, a thoroughly despictable figure and the book follows the Dana (the deaf woman) and Bridger (the boyfriend) and the thief (man of many names). As the thief realizes they are on his trail he leaves California for his old haunting ground of New York and they follow. With abundant serendipity, they track him east. Along the way, the thief also steals Bridger's identity. Accompanying the thief is Natalia, a Russian immigrant and her daughter. Even after she learns he's a thief, but not his real name, she stays with him.
Great plot, but boy does this book wear the reader down. Every thought and emotion is analyzed and reanalyzed. Talk Talk is extremely wordy.
Worse, the verbosity is made more punishing by the fact that none of the characters are at all likeable. Dana is as self-centered as they come. Even though she drags her boyfriend away from his job and life, she treats like an afterthought constantly bothering her with his attempts at aid and interpretation. The chip on her shoulder is deepened by her "difference" as a deaf person.
Bridger is a vacuous videogamer appendage to Dana. He seems like a real sweet guy, but there's nothing to him, except to be the whipping post for Dana and then the thief.
The thief should be interesting, but he goes off the deep end as the pressure mounts and is very predictable. His lady friend, Natalia, is with him only for the shopping and his cooking. She apparently is also there to annoy the thief with her less than convincing anger at his deceit.
Three stars because the plot premise is so good. You need a lot of patience to enjoy the plot, however. The start was terrific and showed off Boyle's good writing skills. The ending picked up, but the middle forty percent plodded.
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