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A review by echokitsune
The Secret Talker by Geling Yan
4.0
This book was riveting! I began and finished it in one day. Hongmei is a Chinese immigrant who is settled into her marriage with her college professor husband. She is a professional student, currently working her way through her PhD, when one day she receives an email from a stranger.
This person seems to know her deepest secrets as well as her daily routine. At first, Hongmei is unnerved and gives "The Secret Talker" rebuttals, but before long she is sucked into the intrigue, passion, and excitement of the illicit and often passionate exchange between this faceless stranger.
Hongmei grows to trust this person and feels like they know one another on a deeper level than even her husband could know her. She finds herself confessing dark secrets from her past as well as thoughts she hadn't even voiced aloud to herself.
This novel explores the common human theme of yearning. Even the most happily married of people often think about alternate paths, or lovers, or possibilities. This novel explores one woman's interpersonal struggles while also shining a light on the idea of happy relationships. This novel was unnerving enough at times to feel like a thriller, but I think at its heart it is a sociological analysis of what it means to be satisfied.
This person seems to know her deepest secrets as well as her daily routine. At first, Hongmei is unnerved and gives "The Secret Talker" rebuttals, but before long she is sucked into the intrigue, passion, and excitement of the illicit and often passionate exchange between this faceless stranger.
Hongmei grows to trust this person and feels like they know one another on a deeper level than even her husband could know her. She finds herself confessing dark secrets from her past as well as thoughts she hadn't even voiced aloud to herself.
This novel explores the common human theme of yearning. Even the most happily married of people often think about alternate paths, or lovers, or possibilities. This novel explores one woman's interpersonal struggles while also shining a light on the idea of happy relationships. This novel was unnerving enough at times to feel like a thriller, but I think at its heart it is a sociological analysis of what it means to be satisfied.