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Crosstalk by Connie Willis
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Crosstalk (edition 2016)

by Connie Willis (Author)

MembersReviewsPopularityAverage ratingMentions
9967420,714 (3.67)80
Fiction. Romance. Science Fiction. HTML:Science fiction icon Connie Willis brilliantly mixes a speculative plot, the wit of Nora Ephron, and the comedic flair of P. G. Wodehouse in Crosstalk—a genre-bending novel that pushes social media, smartphone technology, and twenty-four-hour availability to hilarious and chilling extremes as one young woman abruptly finds herself with way more connectivity than she ever desired.
NAMED ONE OF THE BEST BOOKS OF THE YEAR BY NPR
In the not-too-distant future, a simple outpatient procedure to increase empathy between romantic partners has become all the rage. And Briddey Flannigan is delighted when her boyfriend, Trent, suggests undergoing the operation prior to a marriage proposal—to enjoy better emotional connection and a perfect relationship with complete communication and understanding. But things don't quite work out as planned, and Briddey finds herself connected to someone else entirely—in a way far beyond what she signed up for.
It is almost more than she can handle—especially when the stress of managing her all-too-eager-to-communicate-at-all-times family is already burdening her brain. But that's only the beginning. As things go from bad to worse, she begins to see the dark side of too much information, and to realize that love—and communication—are far more complicated than she ever imagined.
Praise for Crosstalk
"A rollicking send-up of obsessive cell phone usage in too-near-future America . . . [Connie] Willis's canny incorporation of scientific lore, and a riotous cast . . . make for an engaging girl-finally-finds-right-boy story that's unveiled with tact and humor. Willis juxtaposes glimpses of claimed historical telepaths with important reflections about the ubiquity of cell phones and the menace that unscrupulous developers of technology pose to privacy, morality, and emotional stability."—Publishers Weekly
"An exhilarating and laugh-inducing read . . . one of those rare books that will keep you up all night long because you can't bear to put it down."—Portland Book Review
"A fun technological fairy tale."BookPage
"One of the funniest SF novels in years."Locus

Praise for Connie Willis

"A novelist who can plot like Agatha Christie and whose books possess a bounce and stylishness that Preston Sturges might envy."The Washington Post
"If anyone can be named 'best science fiction writer of the age,' it's Connie Willis."Analog
"One of America's finest writers . . . Willis can tell a story so packed with thrills, comedy, drama and a bit of red herring that the result is apt to satisfy the most discriminating, and hungry, reader."The Denver Post
"Willis can tell a story like no other. . . . One of her specialties is sparkling, rapid-fire dialogue; another, suspenseful plotting; and yet another, dramatic scenes so fierce that they burn like after-images in the reader's memory."The Village Voice
"The Best of Connie Willis? Isn't that like sorting through diamonds?"Lytherus.
… (more)
Member:ogreatwebbo
Title:Crosstalk
Authors:Connie Willis (Author)
Info:Del Rey (2016), Edition: First Edition, 512 pages
Collections:Your library
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Work Information

Crosstalk by Connie Willis

  1. 00
    Made for Love: A Novel by Alissa Nutting (Litrvixen)
    Litrvixen: Both feature a procedure that couples can undergo to be able to sense each other’s emotions.
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» See also 80 mentions

Showing 1-5 of 73 (next | show all)
(2016)Very good tale of telepathy. Briddey thinks that her and her fiance Trent will become better partners if they have an EED implanted in their brains, but instead it causes a latent abiltiy to read minds to be triggered in her. She soon learns that telepathy is nothing to be trifled with as it can have dire consequenses. An engineer where she works C.B. helps her cope and eventually they actually connect as he, along with her niece Maeve , invent a jammer to keep all the voices out.KIRKUS REVIEWThink smartphones and social media are threatening privacy? Imagine if you could hear everyone's thoughts¥and they could hear yours.In her new novel, Hugo and Nebula winner Willis (All Clear, 2010, etc.), a master of door-slamming, hide-behind-the-furniture farce, takes as her theme cellphonesÂ¥or, more broadly, what therapists refer to as ?boundary issues.? The protagonist, Briddey Flannigan, works at a small communications technology company where everyone is always in each other's business. Briddey has agreed to have an EEDÂ¥a minor neurosurgical procedureÂ¥to enhance her emotional connection with her boyfriend, Trent Worth, a square-jawed up-and-comer who's working on the company's next-gen smartphone and hints he'll propose to her if the operation goes well. The office gossips may be swooning over Trent, but Briddey's equally intrusive extended family membersÂ¥which includes Aunt Oona's chapter of the Daughters of IrelandÂ¥have their own strong opinions about brain surgery and suitable husbands. Dodging phone calls and selling white lies suddenly gets a lot harder when Briddey starts hearing voices in her head and realizes that her private thoughts aren't so private after all. Is it the second sight? True love? Schizophrenia? A breakthrough in smartphone tech? MaybeÂ¥but mostly it's a critique of modern society and an unsurprising metaphor for the perils and joys of human connection.In other hands this novel could have been mere clich?, but Willis' exuberant humor and warmhearted, fast-paced plotting transform it into a satisfying, if old-fashioned, romantic comedy.Pub Date: Oct. 4th, 2016ISBN: 978-0-3455-4067-6Page count: 512ppPublisher: Del Rey/BallantineReview Posted Online: July 31st, 2016Kirkus Reviews Issue: Aug. 1st, 2016
  derailer | Jan 25, 2024 |
I picked this up based solely on the author. I've read her before but not recently and I recall enjoying what I read. With this book - I loved everything about it.

It starts out with a woman excited that her handsome, successful boyfriend wants to get a trendy surgical implant that will enhance their emotions but worried that her close knit and intrusive family will mess up her plans.

The real focus of the book is the unintended consequences of her surgery and the Wild and crazy path it leads her down after the implant triggers her telepathic ability.

Romance, action, sci-fi theory and wacky characters all in just the right ratio. ( )
  hmonkeyreads | Jan 25, 2024 |
Kind of a sci-fi rom-com novel. This struck me as somewhat lighter fare than I've seen from Willis. But her fantastic writing skills are on display here, nonetheless.
[Audiobook note: The narrator, Mia Barron, was quite good.] ( )
  Treebeard_404 | Jan 23, 2024 |
An enjoyable read with a strong middle, but didn't achieve the synergistic, sparkling genius of Willis's best novels.

Here, Willis is a better character writer than ever. Briddey and C.B. aren't super complex, but they are enjoyable to follow and come alive on the page. Willis has excelled in characterization before, especially in her short fiction, but sometimes her books are so tightly plotted that the characters become wooden. That definitely wasn't a problem here, at least with her main characters.

The premise is great, many of the requisite plot twists are satisfying, and the central thesis is, I think, a pretty profound one: that technology is so crippling not because it replaces social connection, but because it connects us far too well, and we need privacy and silence to maintain our sense of self.

Alas, I felt that in Willis's attempt to write a lighter, looser screwball comedy, many elements of the story were implausible or disappointing, and the last few chapters, in particular, suffered from improbable coincidences and poor storytelling.

As a Connie Willis completist, I'm glad I read this, but definitely don't make it your first foray into her novels. ( )
  raschneid | Dec 19, 2023 |
This is my third Willis book, and it's not nearly as long (but is still 500 pages). Her dialogue is very detailed, and her characters talk about normal, mundane things in addition to the main plot, which I really like, though her style isn't for everyone.

Some of the drawbacks include quite a bit of profanity, including the names of God and Jesus used as curse words; sexual references, and a perspective that insinuated sex (especially telepathic sex) as the greatest thing ever; parts of the plot were also predictable.

Willis has included a child prodigy/genius in every book of hers that I've read. I'm getting a little bored with this trope!

But overall, I did enjoy the idea of telepathy as it played out, and the complications that would arise from it were it real. ( )
  RachelRachelRachel | Nov 21, 2023 |
Showing 1-5 of 73 (next | show all)
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» Add other authors (2 possible)

Author nameRoleType of authorWork?Status
Connie Willisprimary authorall editionscalculated
Barron, MiaNarratorsecondary authorsome editionsconfirmed
Foster, JonCover artistsecondary authorsome editionsconfirmed
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Epigraph
"In Ireland the inevitable never happens
and the unexpected constantly occurs."

John Pentland Mahaffy
"In every crowd are certain persons who seem just like the rest, yet they bear amazing messages."

Antoine de St. Exupery, Night Flight
"Listen up."

Ghost Town
Dedication
To the inimitable - and irreplaceable - Mary Stewart
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By the time Briddey pulled into the parking garage at Commspan, there were forty-two text messages on her phone.
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(Click to show. Warning: May contain spoilers.)
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Fiction. Romance. Science Fiction. HTML:Science fiction icon Connie Willis brilliantly mixes a speculative plot, the wit of Nora Ephron, and the comedic flair of P. G. Wodehouse in Crosstalk—a genre-bending novel that pushes social media, smartphone technology, and twenty-four-hour availability to hilarious and chilling extremes as one young woman abruptly finds herself with way more connectivity than she ever desired.
NAMED ONE OF THE BEST BOOKS OF THE YEAR BY NPR
In the not-too-distant future, a simple outpatient procedure to increase empathy between romantic partners has become all the rage. And Briddey Flannigan is delighted when her boyfriend, Trent, suggests undergoing the operation prior to a marriage proposal—to enjoy better emotional connection and a perfect relationship with complete communication and understanding. But things don't quite work out as planned, and Briddey finds herself connected to someone else entirely—in a way far beyond what she signed up for.
It is almost more than she can handle—especially when the stress of managing her all-too-eager-to-communicate-at-all-times family is already burdening her brain. But that's only the beginning. As things go from bad to worse, she begins to see the dark side of too much information, and to realize that love—and communication—are far more complicated than she ever imagined.
Praise for Crosstalk
"A rollicking send-up of obsessive cell phone usage in too-near-future America . . . [Connie] Willis's canny incorporation of scientific lore, and a riotous cast . . . make for an engaging girl-finally-finds-right-boy story that's unveiled with tact and humor. Willis juxtaposes glimpses of claimed historical telepaths with important reflections about the ubiquity of cell phones and the menace that unscrupulous developers of technology pose to privacy, morality, and emotional stability."—Publishers Weekly
"An exhilarating and laugh-inducing read . . . one of those rare books that will keep you up all night long because you can't bear to put it down."—Portland Book Review
"A fun technological fairy tale."BookPage
"One of the funniest SF novels in years."Locus

Praise for Connie Willis

"A novelist who can plot like Agatha Christie and whose books possess a bounce and stylishness that Preston Sturges might envy."The Washington Post
"If anyone can be named 'best science fiction writer of the age,' it's Connie Willis."Analog
"One of America's finest writers . . . Willis can tell a story so packed with thrills, comedy, drama and a bit of red herring that the result is apt to satisfy the most discriminating, and hungry, reader."The Denver Post
"Willis can tell a story like no other. . . . One of her specialties is sparkling, rapid-fire dialogue; another, suspenseful plotting; and yet another, dramatic scenes so fierce that they burn like after-images in the reader's memory."The Village Voice
"The Best of Connie Willis? Isn't that like sorting through diamonds?"Lytherus.

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