Reviews with content warning for Suicide - Talking at Night

Although this is the first lit fic i could actually finish is several months, there is something about it that really perturbs me. It's not just that rollercoaster ride of emotions i can only equate to a Disney princess film, but also, something about the introduction of the brother's sexuality, the focus on developing his reactions to it rather than actually developing him into an endearing character before writing him into what reads like a pretty clique ending--almost like he was developed to be the "token" in a contemporary novel just so people would buy it. Like when people say "I have a friend who's <insert Black, Latino, Trans person, gay> here.

Another thing that perturbs me about this book is the ending. I had to fight the urge to skip ahead in some parts of the story...to will myself not to just skip to the last page, only to get to the last page and have the author give out. I don't always need a happy ending, but some kind of ending would have been nice.

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lkhillery's review against another edition

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dark emotional reflective sad medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? No
Loveable characters? No
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

I had to push through the first half of this book and almost gave up. I flew through the second half though. At times heartbreakingly sad and at other times infuriating. I wish I could yell at these characters to move on with their lives.

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fmasterson16's review against another edition

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dark emotional hopeful sad tense medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? N/A
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.25

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emmamc02's review against another edition

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hopeful reflective sad medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Loveable characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.5

Will understands yearning like nobody else.
The mutual pining, the tension... its everything.

Although Rosie did make some questionable choices tbh, Will did kind of deserve better...

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nineinchnails's review against another edition

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challenging sad medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? No
Loveable characters? No
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

2.75

i genuinely wanted to like this so badly but it just falls flat. i think reading this with the normal people comparisons in mind ruined this for me because i love normal people and, aside from the lack of speech marks, they had very little in common. the writing felt stilted and shallow so i struggled feeling connected to our main characters (i found the other characters a lot more intriguing though) and it doesn't help that i found them very annoying. i tend to like "unlikeable" characters but will and rosie were boring above all else. the prose comes off quite tryhard tumblrina to me but i can see why some people might enjoy it this book just wasn't for me.

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murderousscottishgremlin's review against another edition

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emotional reflective medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

4.0

A poignant narrative and some beautiful prose. However, the Rooney-esque lack of speech marks did annoy me.

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yajairat's review against another edition

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emotional reflective sad medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.0

Overall a good read! I liked that this romance was healing for them. I love books that focus on the transformative power of relationships, especially between two people that are going through hardships.

I was not a big fan of the lack of quotation marks in this case. I’ve read them before and had no issue, but for some reason I found myself having to reread certain parts of the book. I also thought there was not enough focus on some of these topics that were affecting the main characters. The analysis felt a bit half hearted to me.

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brittanymccubbs's review against another edition

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dark emotional sad medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

5.0

This story follows Rosie and the two most important people in her life - her twin brother Josh, and his friend Will. We see Rosie and Will move through many different relationships throughout their lives. Their love stretches from romantic to friendship to no contact. This book exemplifies what it means to be a human, living in a messy world, and trying to find your place. Over the course of multiple decades, we get to see how Rosie and Will shift to be what the other person needs. We get to see Rosie chase her dreams, her desires, and find out what it is she truly wants out of the world.

As someone in their 20s, this book helped remind me that life is long. We can reinvent ourselves over and over again. People can come in and out of our lives, and what we want now might not be what we want in 10 years. Or 20 years. And that’s okay. Nothing is permanent. This book reminds us that life is fragile and short, and we should only be doing what we want to do, not trying to live up to other people’s standards, or do what we think seems right in the world.

This book is reminiscent of Normal People by Sally Rooney, but it holds its own as an emotionally charged work of art. I loved this book so much and I think it really, truly is just a human book. This is real fiction. It’s what happens when two people come together in various ways time after time, and the way tragedy, love and grief shape us.

I practically SOBBED when I read the part about Josh dying. I did not expect that at all and ooooof.

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