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Topics of Conversation

Miranda Popkey (Goodreads Author)

2.79 · Rating details · 6,335 ratings · 1,092 reviews

A compact tour de force about sex, violence, and self-loathing from a ferociously talented new voice in fiction, perfect for fans of Sally Rooney, Rachel Cusk, Lydia Davis, and Jenny Offill.

"Shrewd and sensual, Popkey's debut carries the scintillating charge of a long-overdue girls' night. --O, The Oprah Magazine

A Best Book of the Year by TIME, Esquire, Real Simple, ...more

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Hardcover, 224 pages

Published January 7th 2020 by Knopf Publishing Group

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Aug 10, 2020 Kat rated it it was ok

huh

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Jan 05, 2020 Angela rated it did not like it

I found this book to be pretentious and disengaging. Aside from the fact that none of the characters were likable, the book itself is written in primarily run-on sentences. If I wanted to read a Faulkner book, I would have and would have enjoyed it more, because Faulkner tells stories. I cannot for the life of me figure out why so many people are A) liking this book or B) saying they couldn't put it down. I found it very easy to put down actually. I wanted to throw it across the room. ...more

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Mar 01, 2020 Skyler Autumn rated it really liked it

Shelves: surprise

4 Stars

This is how Miranda Popkey should feel about the bashing she's getting on Goodreads:

description

This book is great. Smart, intelligent and full of intricate thought-provoking conversations that stay with you. BUT if you're going to get all upset reading a book with run on sentences may I suggest picking up something else or just removing the stick from your ass. ...more

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Jan 02, 2020 Book of the Month added it

Why I love it
by Cristina Arreola

Topics of Conversation is my worst nightmare come true: a book in which my darkest, most shameful, most secret thoughts are laid bare on the page. The title of this brisk, slim novel hints at its atypical structure—in lieu of a conventional plot, this novel takes us through twenty disparate years of the unnamed narrator’s life.

Each chapter of this debut is a different conversation taking place during the unnamed narrator’s life, from college years to newlywed stat ...more

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Feb 05, 2020 Rachel rated it it was ok

Shelves: 2020, literary-fiction, disaster-women

In a way I feel a bit bad contributing to this book's overwhelmingly negative reception, because I do think it has more going for it than its low Goodreads rating might suggest, and I can see where others could get something out of it. But at the same time, this did literally nothing for me, so here we are.

The Rachel Cusk comparisons are a dime a dozen, and I will spare you from that seeing as I've never read Rachel Cusk; I will instead address the Sally Rooney comparisons. Both authors interr In a way I feel a bit bad contributing to this book's overwhelmingly negative reception, because I do think it has more going for it than its low Goodreads rating might suggest, and I can see where others could get something out of it. But at the same time, this did literally nothing for me, so here we are.

The Rachel Cusk comparisons are a dime a dozen, and I will spare you from that seeing as I've never read Rachel Cusk; I will instead address the Sally Rooney comparisons. Both authors interrogate themes on womanhood, sex, sexuality, and give voice to a subset of young women who may have never seen these topics addressed so starkly in fiction. But for me the difference between these two authors lies in the fact that Rooney explores themes through character, and Popkey explores themes at the expense of character. The aptly unnamed narrator of Topics of Conversation feels like a prototype of Generic Young Woman Angst - maybe that's the point, maybe not - but her struggles all felt very Grand and Societal without being grounded in the microcosm enough to hold my interest. Basically: this is a book of commentary and ideas, and that's not an inherently bad or valueless thing; I just failed to engage with it.

Anyway, the thing that actually grated on me more than anything was Popkey's writing. This book is largely told in chunks of dialogue; characters relaying monologues to the narrator. I found that Popkey attempted to imitate the features of verbal speech in a way that came across to me as forced and labored; it was peak stylized MFA-prose. "Her hair was down and her cheeks were stiff and pink from smiling and the freckles on her neck, down her forearms, dotting her ankles, they were shining, they were giving off some kind of heat, she was glowing."

Again, I don't think this was a bad book, and if it interests you, I'd definitely encourage you to pick it up; it just wasn't what I was looking for and I found it rather unremarkable at the end of the day. ...more

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Nov 19, 2019 Paris (parisperusing) rated it it was amazing

Shelves: 2020, books-that-broke-my-effing-heart, arc, debuts, favorite-books, unputdownable-books, reads-for-relief, publisher-sent, reads-for-understanding

“There is, below the surface of every conversation in which intimacies are shared, an erotic current. Sometimes this current is so hot it all but boils and other times it’s barely lukewarm, hardly noticeable, but always the current is present, if only you plunge your hands in just an inch or two farther down in the water. This is regardless of the gender of the people involved, of their sexual orientations. This is the natural outcome of disclosure, for to disclose is to reveal, to bring out int “There is, below the surface of every conversation in which intimacies are shared, an erotic current. Sometimes this current is so hot it all but boils and other times it’s barely lukewarm, hardly noticeable, but always the current is present, if only you plunge your hands in just an inch or two farther down in the water. This is regardless of the gender of the people involved, of their sexual orientations. This is the natural outcome of disclosure, for to disclose is to reveal, to bring out into the open what was previously hidden. And that unwrapping, that denuding, is always, inevitably sensual.” — Topics of Conversation, Miranda Popkey

Miranda Popkey's debut novel Topics of Conversation poignantly articulates just how lonesome the coming-of-age journey can be for a woman. The story starts with the introduction of an unnamed female speaker who, across 20 years, outlines her existential quest to marriage, divorce, and motherhood through an expedition of heart-to-hearts with people she encounters along the way. Each chapter is a new episode of her experience, landmarked by place and time and discussion, and as Popkey’s roaming narrator exits one life, she enters another, rendering the reader a spectator to the heart-stabbing epiphanies that call her back down to earth.

In Italy, she offers an ear to her friend’s mother as she ashes away the veil of her unhappy marriage and Ann Arbor imperils the terrifying ease by which attractive white men become predators overnight. Though it is Los Angeles, the bedrock for the book, that unlocks the myth of true love as something rehearsed, of intimacy as illusion, and where our speaker’s self-medicated slip into melancholia begins. Depression becomes the safe stupor to which she absconds after squandering her marriage, but it is the way shame helms her poignant reawakening that sets Popkey ahead of her class as one of the most perceptive voices to strike the page.

With Topics of Conversation, Popkey weaves a gossamer of light and conviction for any woman lost in the throes of shame and uncertainty. I took this book with me everywhere. Each chapter has been inked, dogeared, coffee-stained; all signs of real love. There were so many bits in this story I know others will find as fascinating as I had: the woman recounting Norman Mailer’s abuse of his wife; the one-night affair our heroine spends with the sophisticated sadist in that San Francisco hotel; the union of mothers pouring with testimonies of moments that culminated in the left turn of their lives. What’s more to admire about Popkey’s way with style is the colloquial cadence she uses to pace her prose, peppering the narrative with pauses and ruminations without sparing that acerbic sincerity we millennials hate to love.

Topics of Conversation is an unputdownable anthem about the pains of self-discovery, of facing the fear of one’s reflection, and the embarrassment of laying claim to unspeakable desires. Halle Butler and Catherine Lacey lovers, this one is for you.

(Thanks, Knopf friends, for sending me Popkey's debut before it releases in January.)

If you liked my review, feel free to follow me @parisperusing on Instagram. ...more

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Mar 11, 2020 Doug rated it it was ok · review of another edition

2.5, rounded down.

I have to say, the really low ratings on this book here on GR are probably the result of a really stupid marketing ploy that backfired- when you compare a so-so debut work to the likes of Cusk, Rooney, Davis and Offill ... and then utterly fail to deliver anything close to that, naturally people are going to be mad and react accordingly. Aside from that, Popkey, much like her surely autobiographical protagonist, suffers from delusions of grandeur herself - when her character as ...more

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Jan 15, 2020 Larry H rated it it was ok

Miranda Popkey's Topics of Conversation is a novel of commentary on issues about gender, sex, and violence, framed as conversations.

I’m going to call this review a #maybeitsmenotyou review. I read a lot, as many of you know, and I feel like I “get” themes and issues and situations even if I can’t personally identify with them. But every so often a book comes along and it doesn’t work for me and I wonder if maybe it’s because I can’t identify with the characters or subject matter.

I’m going to ...more

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Feb 05, 2020 Claire Reads Books rated it it was ok

I finished this novel (which is actually just a collection of inane MFA short stories about ”bad women”) two weeks ago, and it was so forgettable, uninspiring, and blatantly derivative that I only just remembered to log it on Goodreads. Just go read Rachel Cusk instead.

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Jan 03, 2020 Roemer rated it did not like it

Ugh. I so wanted to love this one. And maybe it’s just above me. But I was truly bored to tears. I made myself push through and finish since it’s only 202 pages but ugh. The writing especially in the first story was so hard to focus on as it was one long, backtracking, run-on sentence after another. A lot of people clearly enjoyed this, but it was not for me.

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Jan 28, 2020 Will rated it really liked it

Intelligent and thought-provoking, painful and disquieting, angry but with a touch of dark humor - there are many more descriptions that I could apply to Topics of Conversation, Miranda Popkey’s debut novel. Impressive will certainly do, to keep it simple. I was impressed.

There have been many comparisons to authors such as Rachel Cusk, Sally Rooney and Jenny Offill. I have yet to read a review that doesn’t make these comparisons. They are fair and may provide a helpful guideline for curious read ...more

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Jan 13, 2020 Stephani rated it did not like it

Sooo disappointed in Book of the Month (BOTM).

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Dec 01, 2019 The Nerd Daily rated it it was amazing

Originally published on The Nerd Daily | Review by Beth Mowbray

Reading the synopsis alone for Topics of Conversation evokes a powerful set of emotions. Take a look: “Miranda Popkey writes of desire, disgust, motherhood, loneliness, art, pain, feminism, anger, envy, and guilt … composed almost exclusively of conversations between women—the stories they tell each other, and the stories they tell themselves, about shame and love, infidelity and self-sabotage …” Stunning, right?

This novel opens with Originally published on The Nerd Daily | Review by Beth Mowbray

Reading the synopsis alone for Topics of Conversation evokes a powerful set of emotions. Take a look: “Miranda Popkey writes of desire, disgust, motherhood, loneliness, art, pain, feminism, anger, envy, and guilt … composed almost exclusively of conversations between women—the stories they tell each other, and the stories they tell themselves, about shame and love, infidelity and self-sabotage …” Stunning, right?

This novel opens with an unnamed female narrator in Italy. The year is 2000, she has just completed her undergraduate program in English and after the summer, she will begin a graduate program studying the same. In the meantime, however, she enjoys reading the journals of Sylvia Plath and discussing affairs with older professors alongside the mother of the children she babysits. If that doesn’t set a mood, then what does?

Popkey’s story then unfolds across two decades, each chapter a different time and place, a different life experience, a different conversation. Throughout these scenes, the narrator winds her way through life in a way which rings true to the female experience while also commenting on the inherent struggles. She goes to graduate school, moving out into the world in an attempt to define her life beyond. She navigates a marriage which turns into a sense of being trapped, feeling lost in her own life. She shares friendships that come and go, infatuations with the lives of others. And she attempts to bond with her mother, as well as with other mothers, while still desperately trying to maintain her own sense of self. Or even figure out what that might be.

Topics of Conversation is not just about these vignettes, though—it is also about the type of people who live within them. Many themes thread their way throughout and identity is arguably the foundation of this text. Popkey deftly explores the way women learn to “be” in the world. The way expectations are both overtly and subtly modelled by others. The way one blindly picks up on these influences and, in turn, models them in their own life, denies them, or fights against them.

Popkey also speaks broadly to patterns of intimacy and control in romantic and sexual relationships. Most strikingly on display are the traditional power dynamics and ways in which men attempt to “keep” their women: through jealousy, envy, fathering them, promising them the world, and retracting such promises. She exposes the masculine desire for control which springs not from their power, but from the lack thereof. She confronts the standard constructs of women being raised to believe they shouldn’t desire or enjoy sex. And what it means, how others react, if they do. The concept of women being judged with a double-standard, judged for doing the same things men have always done, is not new after all.

What is perhaps most interesting, though, is how Popkey then turns this idea on its head and speaks to that which often goes unspoken: The uncontrollable desire to be controlled. The relief of not having to make decisions for oneself. And the guilt, the shame, in having such desires. The reader is exposed to the results of both accepting and challenging the traditional power dynamic. How self-esteem (or the lack thereof) and the innate desire for approval drive one’s actions and choices. The narrator very directly describes herself as a “monster”—she feels anger and disgust toward herself, feels unlovable. In many ways this connects back to the issue of control, as she takes comfort in being told what to do, does not easily embrace kindness, and often does not appear comfortable with being treated well.

Throughout the novel the narrator always appears to be thinking of the “better” story, imagining how she might make her life more exciting. Feeling like she is missing something, wanting more. Maybe the narrator would have made different choices, in hindsight, as many would. It may be that she regrets the many points where she could have done something different, but did not. Perhaps this comes from a discomfort in our society with women actually expressing what they want. The same rules do not necessarily apply, however, within same sex relationships and Popkey also explores this intimacy. Not a sexual intimacy, although there is an underlying current of the erotic in some of these platonic relationships, but rather the intimacy created by sharing secrets, building a bond, and understanding one another through shared experiences.

The honesty and depth of the narrator’s story speaks broadly to the female experience, particularly expected gender roles and preconceived notions of sex and relationships. With a candor seldom seen, Topics of Conversation explores how these “norms” are internalized and challenges them in ways both subtle and overt, serious and exaggerated. Miranda Popkey has a voice that is witty and biting—you won’t want to miss this debut. It may just be one of my favourite releases for 2020! ...more

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Jan 11, 2020 Kimberly rated it did not like it

Shelves: book-of-the-month-club-selections

This book bored me to tears. It really has no plot-it’s just a series of short stories taken from an unnamed narrator’s life, like a bunch of snapshots. The writing style wasn’t for me. At least it only took me an hour or so to read.

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Nov 11, 2019 Jonathan rated it it was amazing

Remember the name Miranda Popkey right now. Her debut book “topics of conversation” comes out in January and it is one you will not want to miss. I was reminded of Sally Rooney and Melissa Broder but a little more intellectual and grown up. Not taking away from either of those two women and their ability to write a great novel that I enjoy but Popkey is the real deal. Smart, innovative, and brutally honest about tough subjects. Mainly focused on the normalization of women’s sexuality and how gen ...more

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Nov 10, 2019 Sarah rated it liked it

Shelves: netgalley, fiction

[Still going to re-read this closer to publication, but I want to get some initial thoughts up before the year is out!]

I can see this being one of the big reads of 2020 - Miranda Popkey's novel stands up on its own merits, but for purposes of comparison I'd agree with the Goodreads blurb which recommends it for readers of Rachel Cusk and Jenny Offill, though at times I was reminded of the clarity in Sally Rooney's writing as well.

The story follows an unnamed woman over the course of 15 years th ...more

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Jan 13, 2020 Toni Erickson rated it did not like it

I’m sorry, but I can’t stand this book. Hate to say that, but it’s the cold truth. DNF at 108. I wanted to like it so bad, but I just can’t. I don’t think I enjoyed any part of it, and the best description I can give is: it sucks.

For starters, I hate the structure. It’s filled with run-on sentences and odd grammar. I mean, I get it (I think); it’s written like you were talking to yourself in your head, or at least that’s how I’m interpreting it. But it’s not adding anything to the story. It’s no I’m sorry, but I can’t stand this book. Hate to say that, but it’s the cold truth. DNF at 108. I wanted to like it so bad, but I just can’t. I don’t think I enjoyed any part of it, and the best description I can give is: it sucks.

For starters, I hate the structure. It’s filled with run-on sentences and odd grammar. I mean, I get it (I think); it’s written like you were talking to yourself in your head, or at least that’s how I’m interpreting it. But it’s not adding anything to the story. It’s not artistic, it’s annoying. If it was written in proper grammar, it wouldn’t have ruined the intended effect. It probably would have made the book actually make more sense. Not for me, not with this subject matter.

Also, maybe I’ve met far too many trash people in my life, but I wasn’t overly shocked at any of the brutal honesty or so-called intimacy in this book. I will say: there was one chapter, one scene, where the narrator is so brutally honest with another man in a hotel room, and that was the only part I thought was actually good. I think it was a self awareness that would resonate with a lot of people in that situation. Don’t want to reveal anything about it, but you’d know it when you got to it. However, don’t read this book just for that. Maybe the good stuff was closer to the end, but if I read half your book and I’m miserable, you’ve lost your chance. I didn’t think it was profound or poignant or any other pretentious descriptor. It’s a woman who’s met some other men and women, some of them trash, some a mess. Now I enjoy a good mess in my reading sometimes but with this book, I was like please get it together. Your mess is not cute.

I was just bored reading this. Bored and disappointed. I didn’t find the writing style or subject matter impressive or highly thoughtful at all. I found myself thinking I couldn’t wait for this reading experience to be over, clearly not enjoying myself, so I just put it down. Maybe I don’t get it, maybe I’m not appreciating it, call it what you will, but it’s probably one of the worst books I’ve ever read. ...more

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Feb 06, 2020 Katie Long rated it really liked it

I swore I was not going to mention Rachel Cusk in my review because everyone else already has, but she really is the only frame of reference if you want an idea of Popkey’s style. Popkey has a darker, more subversive, sensibility than Cusk’s that I am interested to see how she develops as she continues her career. 3.5 rounded up.

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Mar 27, 2020 Jerrie (redwritinghood) rated it liked it

This was an interesting look at sexual and relationship experiences among women. The narrator records conversations with various women over a 20 year period, but there is little diversity in the types of women or the types of experiences. The narrator seems self-obsessed, but the author seemed to be aware of that. Intentional? Maybe, but I’m not sure to what end. This is often smart and insightful, but the writing style is very fragmented.

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Jan 13, 2020 Madison added it

🙄

y’all really tried it with hyping this book up...

this book has... so many words... without really saying anything at all. it’s like, a movie that a first year male film student raves about and then you watch it and you’re like, the fuck? so he goes in detail regurgitating bullshit to you and then you die of boredom.

it wasn’t until Los Angeles, 2012 that I really started getting annoyed and realized that people just don’t talk like this!! every single character, or “topic of conversation”, is j ...more

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Jan 17, 2020 Leah rated it did not like it

Shelves: 2020-reads

I cannot adequately put into words how deeply disappointing and honestly upsetting this book was to me. Truly, the 4 and 5 star reviews have me completely baffled; maybe I missed the underlying message here, but this book, at its core, conveyed such a strong theme of hate and resentment that it truly disturbed me. The women throughout these pages were not inspiringly erotic or bravely feminist; rather, they were hate-filled, conceited, and apathetic characters devoid of any sort of intriguing de ...more

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Jan 12, 2020 Darryl Suite rated it it was amazing

Even though I'm feeling sick, I had to finish this book tonight. This novel did it for me. There was something compulsive and addictive about it; I felt like I had to devour it. Some of the themes horrified me, stimulated me, enraptured me; made me wince or nod my head begrudgingly while thinking my, my, myyyy. This book shouldn't have worked for me, but it did, it really did. I'm definitely going to write a full review once I stop feeling feverish (from the sickness and/or maybe even from my gu ...more

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Jan 23, 2020 Katie rated it it was amazing

I loved this book. Beautifully written. Raw and magnetic. There is an undercurrent of desire running through every sentence. Highly recommend for readers who enjoy novels that are a little more lyrical/experimental/unusual.

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Apr 27, 2020 Sahil Javed rated it really liked it

Shelves: contemporary

Topics of Conversation follows the conversations between a woman who is never named and the people she meets throughout the span of her life. The book focuses on conversations mainly between women, about identity, shame, desire, sex and love.

“Remarkable how hard it is for women to admit they’re angry. Not annoyed or upset or irked or miffed or any sentiment that might be captured in a text message that ends in a series of exasperated question marks. Angry.”

It took me a little while Topics of Conversation follows the conversations between a woman who is never named and the people she meets throughout the span of her life. The book focuses on conversations mainly between women, about identity, shame, desire, sex and love.

“Remarkable how hard it is for women to admit they’re angry. Not annoyed or upset or irked or miffed or any sentiment that might be captured in a text message that ends in a series of exasperated question marks. Angry.”

It took me a little while to figure out how I truly felt about this book. And in the end, although I don’t think it is a perfect book, I did enjoy reading it. There were times I felt like the conversations between characters went on forever, so at times I felt lost in all of the speech. I also felt like because there was so much speech, there was always an effort to break up the big paragraphs of talking with actions, which almost always felt repetitive after a few pages. I mean, the amount of cigarettes that were smoked throughout one conversation that happened in the book. I lost count. However, I think the conversations that were discussed were so interesting, because they were mainly between women, so it was women discussing subjects and taking ownership of their own views and experiences with sex and the kind of shame that is thrust open women for admitting that they enjoy sex. I do have to say though that the ending felt really abrupt to me but then I don’t really know how I would have wanted this book to end because it wasn’t really told like a traditional story.

“There is, below the surface of every conversation in which intimacies are shared, an erotic current. Sometimes this current is so hot it all but boils and other times it’s barely lukewarm, hardly noticeable, but always the current is present, if only you plunge your hands just an inch or two farther down in the water. This is regardless of the gender of the people involved, of their sexual orientations. This is the natural outcome of disclosure, for to disclose is to reveal, to bring out into the open what was previously hidden. And that unwrapping, that denuding, is always, inevitably sensual. Nothing binds two people like sharing a secret.”

One of the most interesting things about this book is its protagonist, because she’s so hard to swallow. But one of the things I appreciate most is that the author never tries to make you like or pity the main character. She is just presented how she is, and although she was not the nicest, she was the most interesting with how she viewed the world. Watching her develop throughout the years, you get the sense that she sort of self-sabotages her life several times, and also that there’s some underlying feelings of shame in the way she views herself and her experiences with sex. And I feel like those were never really explained or developed enough fully, they were just sort of there. But I liked that approach. That the author never really makes this character go on a journey that changes herself. It’s just recounting conversations she’s had with people throughout her life.

“The point is, who cares about understanding why. The point is there is no reason. No one has a plan for you and your life doesn’t have a soundtrack, it’s just a series of”—she shrugged—“accidents and split-second decisions and coincidences and demographics, where you live and when you were born and who your parents were and how much money they had.”

Overall, despite feeling at times that this book dragged, I enjoyed Topics of Conversation mainly because the nameless narrator is so interesting. Do I think this is a book I’ll ever reread? No. But is it a book I’ll remember? Maybe. ...more

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Jan 26, 2020 Ola rated it it was ok

Shelves: book-of-the-month-club

Miranda Popkey's Topics of Conversation is a pretentious wax poetic novel written in a painfully dull manner.

The book's interesting-sounding premise is supposedly a "dive into a woman's most intimate thoughts" through only conversations. Unfortunately, this is quite tedious in execution primarily because of the insufferable writing style. I usually enjoy literary works, so I was not scared away when others called Topics of Conversation pretentious or too cerebral, but this novel is not literary Miranda Popkey's Topics of Conversation is a pretentious wax poetic novel written in a painfully dull manner.

The book's interesting-sounding premise is supposedly a "dive into a woman's most intimate thoughts" through only conversations. Unfortunately, this is quite tedious in execution primarily because of the insufferable writing style. I usually enjoy literary works, so I was not scared away when others called Topics of Conversation pretentious or too cerebral, but this novel is not literary, instead, very MFA-ey. The writing style is very verbose, full of strange non sequiturs, run-on sentences, and fragments. For example, a sentence from the novel typical of the overall style is:

"I didn't know her that well, this ten-ant, this not-girl, this woman, but she was slightly older and very beautiful and she carried herself like she was one body, a whole, not a collection of dis-jointed limbs, and for this reason I believed her to be very intelligent and I was in awe of her and a little bit in love with her and also I loathed her, not furiously or passionately but attentively, careful to keep the flame of— it wasn't quite hatred; something closer to envy, something tinged with lust— anyway, whatever flame I was nurturing I was nurturing it with care, so that, on this night as on all nights, it was burning fierce."

Huh?! This irrelevant quote shows up in one of the more compelling chapters that discussed consent. So while a few of the "topics of conversations" (i.e., consent, desire, power, infidelity) were even engaging, the rambling, self-indulgent, and distracting writing took away from each subject "explored". Topics of Conversation is only around two hundred pages, but it felt twice as long because of the writing. I took very little away from the book, even though I know there were weighty points buried somewhere in it. Instead, I spent most of my focus deciphering what was going on and who was talking.

Unfortunately, most of Topics of Conversation was immediately forgotten because of the unrealistic "conversation" style. ...more

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Jan 17, 2020 Mel rated it really liked it

Shelves: own-it

Wow, this book presents some serious Rachel Cusk and Ali Smith vibes. Cusk and Smith are among my favorite female writers so it was hard not to inhale Popkey's prose. The surprise while reading was how though the narrator (is she unnamed?? I can't remember a name) remains the same throughout and her personal life is sometimes vaguely and sometimes specifically alluded to, the story isn't really hers. The story lies in the interaction and the players she's surrounded by changes in each chapter, a ...more

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Jan 28, 2020 Monica Kim: Reader in Emerald City rated it liked it

Shelves: 2020

“There is, below the surface of every conversation in which intimacies are shared, an erotic current. Sometimes this current is so hot it all but boils and other times it’s barely lukewarm, hardly noticeable, but always the current is present, if only you plunge your hands in just an inch or two farther down in the water. This is regardless of the gender of the people involved, of their sexual orientations. This is the natural outcome of disclosure, for to disclose is to reveal, to bring out int “There is, below the surface of every conversation in which intimacies are shared, an erotic current. Sometimes this current is so hot it all but boils and other times it’s barely lukewarm, hardly noticeable, but always the current is present, if only you plunge your hands in just an inch or two farther down in the water. This is regardless of the gender of the people involved, of their sexual orientations. This is the natural outcome of disclosure, for to disclose is to reveal, to bring out into the open what was previously hidden. And that unwrapping, that denuding, is always, inevitably sensual.” — Miranda Popkey, Topics of Conversation
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Well, Miranda Popkey’s debut novel “Topics of Conversation” was an interesting read. Honestly, the main reason I chose it as one of my January Book of the Month selections was because I was curious. I was surprised that I liked it more than I had expected, but I did went in with ZERO expectation. However, I do want to put it out there, this isn’t going to be for everyone. I enjoyed it in bits here & there, but there were parts that bored me and had me questioning my choice. I highly recommend you read the reviews before picking up this book to get a better sense of what you’re getting into. In fact, the reviews may be more interesting than the book itself. After reading reader’s & book critics’ reviews, I find it even more interesting that there’s such a stark difference between the two. It’s like Susan Choi’s novels, majority of the readers didn’t like it so much, but the critics absolutely loves it. It had me thinking whom the intent audience was the novel written for. 🤔 After finishing the novel, I can see why it’s being compared to the likes of Sally Rooney, Rachel Cusk, Lydia Davis, and Jenny Offill; but there’s also touch of Ottessa Moshfegh in there. So if you love those authors, you’ll love this one.
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Essentially, this novel is a commentary on issues about gender, sex, violence, power, motherhood, and relationships framed as a series of conversations between an unnamed narrator and other women. Spanning almost twenty years of the unnamed narrator’s life, each chapter centers around a conversation that took place with different people at different places at different stages of the narrator’s life. These conversations, wide-ranging in topic, but pertaining to women’s life, are about relationships, sex, sexual violence, infidelity, and the inequities & inequalities between genders. These conversations are with friends, colleagues, lovers, spouses, strangers, and fellow students. These conversations take place in different places at difference stages of the narrator’s life— in Ann Arbor, as a graduate student, in San Francisco, Los Angeles and other California cities, as twenty- & thirty-something navigating life, marriage, and work, then in San Joaquin Valley, as a divorced single mother. And some other cities in between all of these. So as you can tell, topics of each conversation changes & evolves as we witness the unnamed narrator going through different stages of life — from a recent college graduate to a divorced single mother, and everything in between.
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I don’t really have a conclusive opinion for this novel, but it was kind of like getting a glimpse into someone’s diary on female identity as it evolves over time. Some may call it, bold and provocative, some may say it’s boring and pretentious, it’s going to be a highly subjective matter. The writing style was bit hard to follow — sentences & paragraphs are very long, and novel has no concrete structure. And the conversation were redundant, unnamed narrator having the same conversation over and over again. Her sad point-of-view and self-deprecating words were really depressing at times. But I also think Popkey did a great job of capturing wide-range of female identity, emotions, and experiences as it evolves over time. Many of the topics covered were important, thought-provoking, and relatable to certain extent. Overall, most satisfying enough...Raw, honest, and painful mediation on female identity, self-discovery, and desires. 🤓✌️📖 ...more

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Jan 05, 2020 Jaclyn (sixminutesforme) rated it really liked it

Following a woman in a series of conversations across her adult life, the parts of this novel felt like dipping in and out of interconnected short stories. That said, the strength for me was in the component parts, rather than an overall takeaway - each conversation is a mesmerizing, topical and emotively driven interlude into snippets of the narrator’s life and those of the women she speaks with. They touched on themes of desire in many of its manifestations (the most effectively written being ...more

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Feb 04, 2020 Jenny (Reading Envy) rated it liked it

Shelves: reviewcopy, read2020, ebooks

This book is in conversation with many tv shows and books I like (the author lists them in the back) and each chapter is a conversation between women about events that took place off the page. I would say it feels like it almost works but ultimately I'm more engaged by the texts it intends to be in conversation with. I also found the prose to be needlessly awkward with sentence fragments I often had to read out loud to fully understand (and they didn't seem conversational as much as incomplete.) ...more

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Jan 18, 2020 Meghan rated it did not like it

Did I, do I, loathe every moment spent with this book? Yes. The use — or shall I say, misuse — of commas in this book and the flagrant disregard for sensible punctuation in general made for a very distracting read. (Yes, I know it’s called “style”.)

While I *think* there were some interesting topics of exploration in this book, it’s really hard to say b/c my disdain for the writing style and narrator completely overshadowed anything else. Sorry, not for me.

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“What I’m saying is that my life, like the lives of most people, lacks an origin story. I mean one with any explanatory power. Which means that my son could turn out any way and for any reason or for no reason at all.” — 3 likes

“To flirt was to expose one's desires, an act inherently shaming.” — 2 likes

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