Crosstalk

By: Connie Willis

Narrated by: Mia Barron

Length: 18 hrs and 45 mins

Publisher's summary

Part romantic comedy and part social satire, here one of science fiction's most lauded authors examines the consequences of having too much connectivity, and what happens in a world where, suddenly, nothing is private. One of science fiction's premiere humorists turns her eagle eye to the crushing societal implications of telepathy.

In a not-too-distant future, a simple outpatient procedure that has been promised to increase empathy between romantic partners has become all the rage. So when Briddey Flannigan's fiancé proposes that he and Briddey undergo the procedure, she is delighted! Only, the results aren't quite as expected. Instead of gaining an increased empathetic link with her fiancé, Briddey finds herself hearing the actual thoughts of one of the nerdiest techs in her office. And that's the least of her problems.

©2016 Connie Willis (P)2016 Recorded Books

Critic reviews

"An engaging and satirical look at relationships, technology, and connectivity in the digital age is expertly narrated by Mia Barron.... Barron does an outstanding job of distinguishing between the conversations in Briddey's head and those happening in real life as well as adding authenticity to each of the characters Briddey interacts with." ( AudioFile)

Disappointed

I love Connie Willis but must say that I wanted to smack the lead character and yell at the narrator. I realize this is a rather extreme reaction but seriously when the narrator can't even pronounce the lead characters name properly it is nothing but irritating

Liked This One More than I Imagined I Would

A little more than halfway through the book, I ended up buying a copy as a gift for a friend. This is a very sweet, lighthearted love story that unfolds in a very tender way. I feel like the end was a little rushed, or at least intruded on by another character, but I overall enjoyed the book. I didn't expect it to suck me in as deeply as it did, and I found myself excited to find out what was gonna happen next.

A great read! Kept me thinking, searching reality

This book is a fanciful story. But the author has done a beautiful job pulling you into it. The story is well thought out and consistent in all the details. The characters are believable and narration was great. I don't usually read Fantasy, but this book kept me thinking. And it comes with a terrific twist at the end! BTW: EED is not a real medical procedure - or is it?...

Interesting concept

Interesting concept, but the main character was annoying. Also the twist wasn’t enough for me.

Voice Acting distracting

I loved Willis's To Say Nothing of the Dog, and this was a good second to it. There is a lot of extra dialogue/monologue, but considering the context, it makes sense. However, with all that dialogue, the voice acting needed to be spot on, and it wasn't. It was not bad, mind you: There was plenty of inflection and such, but the voices were drastically different from how I would have heard it in my head and I feel like at times, the voices she chose gave toouch away (if that makes sense). Overall, a very good book, though.

Slow at first, but good

It's a little slow to get going and was predictable ib a couple places, but a fun story and well thought out.

Could have been so much better.

I kept listening for the potential. The premise was intriguing and there were a few likeable characters. (The protagonist, unfortunately, was hard to like - she's incredibly dense and needlessly antagonistic, and it's hard to see why anyone who could read her mind would be attracted to her.)

But the foreshadowing was unbelievably heavy-handed. There wasn't a single plot-twist that I didn't see coming, which made all of the belabored setbacks en route to those plot twists get frustrating and tiresome. I didn't give up, because there was cleverness that was interesting and I wanted to see how it all resolved. But, it didn't read like it was written for adults, and yet I can't see kids having the patience for it. It could maybe make a good movie, albeit fluffy, if done well. But as a book... I don't understand what happened to Connie Willis. The Doomsday Book was sooo much more nuanced and subtle and substantial.

loved it!

This is one of the best books I've ever read, an excellent story! I wish it ended!

Not great

I really enjoyed Doomsday Book by Connie Willis so I decided to give this a try. I struggled a lot with the story and even more with the characters— especially the main character. She seemed both too naive and too suspicious all at the same time. I couldn’t root for her and instead found myself frustrated with her inability to use reason or pick up on a modicum of interpersonal behavior. I’m disappointed I stuck with the book because not even the ending could save it.

Clever amusing and great pace

I wish the language was PG13 like the rest of the store but the 4 letter words fit in just the right pace. I’d like to have read this with my eyes but the Aunts Voice as performs here was too fun to have missed it.