The title refers to the habit deaf people have of vocalising – often unconsciously, since they cannot hear themselves doing it – while signing. They are communicating in two ways at once, hence ‘Talk Talk’.The ‘heroine’ of this book, Dana Halter, is deaf. Her identity is stolen by one William ‘Peck’ Wilson, resulting in great trauma for her when she is pulled over for a minor traffic violation. Wilson has a string of violations under the name Dana Halter and she is arrested, remanded in custody, and only released with great difficulty. She is looked on with some suspicion by the hearing because of the way she speaks. She is also blamed by the (hearing) principal of the college where she works, Dr Koch, for missing classes and being late marking papers, this despite the fact that none of it is her fault. When he makes his displeasure clear she tells him where to get off and, as a result, her contract is terminated. She is very angry and decides to track down the ID thief, whose mug-shot she has seen thanks to the police.Her boyfriend, Bridger Martin, does his best to help, as a result of which he nearly loses his job and is violently attacked by Wilson when they finally catch up with him. The damage to his throat is serious.The narrative is mostly chronological, save for points where they story having been told from Dana/Bridger’s viewpoint, it is told again from Wilson’s (or vice versa). It is therefore easy to follow and, since it involves Dana/Bridger pursuing Wilson, it becomes to an extent a novel of the road. The mechanics of ID theft are well handled and the story is convincing.The main interest lies in character. Dana has a marked stubborn streak and there are indications this is a result of being a deaf person in a hearing world. Bridger tries hard to help her, but she often blames him for things which aren’t his fault and – despite the physical trauma he undergoes – is effectively abandoned by Dana as she goes in search of a new job. She has to do this, of course, but she doesn’t seem any too concerned about leaving him. As the book suggests at a couple of points, relationships between deaf and hearing people rarely last.Most interesting is the character of Wilson, who tried to make a go of it on the straight as a cook but gave up for reasons including being cheated on by his wife, Gina. He might have handled this better but for their daughter, of whom he is very fond. His descent begins when he attacks his wife’s boyfriend and ends up in jail, where he meets Sandman, the person who teaches him the ropes of ID theft. Why work for it when you can get it for nothing on other people’s plastic?His relationships with his new partner, Natalia, and her irritating daughter Madison are well portrayed, as is his genuine interest in cooking quality food. But the fact that his victims Dana and Bridger succeed in tracking him down unnerves him greatly, causing him to behave irrationally and turn his violence on his victims. The book ends when he attacks Dana on a railway platform and she asks him what he wants. He realises he doesn’t know and walks away. Dana makes no attempt to pursue him, which amazes Bridger, who has undergone serious surgery on her behalf in their attempt to track him down and subject him to the judicial system.Wherever the scene is, Boyle makes you feel you are there.
"Kasnila je, uvijek kasni, to joj je mana, svjesna je, ali nije mogla pronaći torbu, a kad ju je uspjela locirati (ispod plave samtene jakne na vješalici za kapute u predsoblju), nije mogla naći ključeve."Ovako počinje uradak T. Coraghessana Boylea, svojevrstan psihološki triler o nečemu što čovjek s ovih prostora baš i ne može zamisliti. Kašnjenje i gubitak ključeva bili su mačji kašalj za ono što je toga dana predstojalo Dani Halter, gluhonijemoj profesorici engleskog jezika, u Školi za gluhe u San Roqueu. Činjenica da nije stala na znak STOP nije razlog za uhićenje, ali za Danu to je bio početak noćne more: izdavanje čekova bez pokrića, krađa automobila, posjedovanje opojnih droga, oružani napad, optužbe su se samo nizale...Bespomoćna Dana bila je zarobljena u zatvoru i u svijetu čujućih ljudi, za koje je bila samo čudovište koje je ispuštalo samo neartikulirane glasove, budući da nije bila gluha od rođenja. Srećom, na svojoj strani imala je dragog čovjeka Martina Bridgera, filmskog crtača za specijalne efekte, koji će također kao i njegova djevojka, postati žrtva krađe identiteta.Peck Wilson, smeće od čovjeka, živjelo je na tuđi kredit. Kad bi ispraznio račune i kartice jedne osobe, poput sokola bi se ustremio na drugu, uživajući u svemu što mu život pruža. Ali još jedan dokaz da se novcem ne može kupiti sreća je raspad njegova braka i udaljenost od voljene kćeri, zbog boravka u zatvoru. Nova žena u životu postala je samo uteg oko vrata, sretna što je pronašla novu kravu muzaru koja će platiti novu odjeću, šminku, igračke njene kćeri i hrpu nepotrebnih stvari za kuću.Dana i Martin sami postaju detektivi i kreću u potragu za čovjekom koji im je ukrao identitet, jer pomoći od policije nema, s obzirom da se - koje li ironije - radi o zločinu u kojem nema žrtava.Preporučujem ovu knjigu, za vrijeme čitanja koje sam se stalno pitala: što bih ja učinila da sam na Daninom mjestu?
What do You think about Talk Talk (2006)?
This book starts off at a breakneck speed as within the first few pages Dana Halter finds herself stopped by the police & arrested on charges she knows nothing about. Her situation worsens as it comes to light as to what charges she is being held on & the horror of her predicament is increased by the fact that Dana is deaf & unable to protest her innocence easily. The idea of being accused of a crime I haven’t committed is abhorrent to me & coupled with the thought of identity theft, this storyline had me completely engrossed….sadly it didn’t last. As the story progressed it took a less than credible turn as Dana & boyfriend Bridger decide to track down the culprit themselves (seemingly easily of course!) While at the outset I felt both horror & pity for Dana’s situation I really didn’t like her. I’m not sure why the author chose to make her deaf, the identity theft scenario to my mind would have worked just as well for a “hearing” person. The way the tale was written meant it was easy to forget Dana’s lack of hearing so I’m confused at what the purpose of it was, as other than at the beginning of the book, it failed to get across the problems a deaf person copes with in a hearing world …but that’s just IMHO.As to the other characters, well Bridger was a bit non-descript & Dana mark 2, for all his crimes, struck me as a pathetic loser & Natalia was a stereotypical gold digger.To be honest as the book neared the end I didn’t really care what happened to any of the characters though the end still managed to be a disappointment.
—Plum-crazy
The two protagonists, Dana and Bridger, were thrust into a horrible situation when Dana's identity was stolen, but the pair really didn't handle the problem realistically or well, which was aggravating to read (Bridger phoning the identity thief--and using his own personal cell to do it, no less--never seemed like a good idea to me). On top of this, the antagonist, about whom every other chapter is devoted, is so unrepentantly evil--absolutely no ambiguity there--that I found him just painfully unpleasant to read. And what a disappointment of an ending! On so many levels. The plot initially drew me in, but I still found it a slow, frustrating, unexpectedly-boring read. For me, "the chase" became tedious very quickly. If I wasn't so averse to leaving books unfinished, this would have been returned to the library a lot sooner than it was.
—Laura
Boyle is an excellent writer. His book "The Inner Circle", which was about sex researcher Kinsey was excellent (MUCH better than the movie with Liam Neeson). However, he missed the boat with this thriller. He creates a thoroughly despicable sociopath villain, then lets him escape at the end of the book! This is definitely against all thriller rules and was most unsatisfying. In addition, the hero and heroine behave in a really stupid way, running off in pursuit of a man they know to be dangerous
—Kit
