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The Secret Talker
A woman reclaims her own story in this taut and wholly original psychological tale from one of China’s literary superstars.
Hongmei is the perfect Chinese wife: beautiful, diligent, passive. Glen is the perfect American husband: intelligent, caring, well-off. From the outside, Hongmei and Glen's life in the San Francisco Bay Area seems perfect. But at home, their marriage is falling apart. Post-its left on the fridge are their primary form of communication.
When Hongmei receives a beguiling email from a secret admirer, naturally she’s intrigued. But what starts out as harmless flirting with an internet stranger quickly turns into an all-consuming emotional affair. As Hongmei spills more and more about her dark past as a military intelligence officer-in-training in China, she falls deeper and deeper into a tense cat-and-mouse game. Desperate and self-destructive, she embarks on an investigation into her emailer’s secret history…one that may tear her life and marriage apart forever.
A domestic suspense turned on its head, The Secret Talker elegantly examines how repressed desire and simmering silence can upend even the most idyllic marriage. As Hongmei pursues her stalker, her identity and agency come into question, and the chase curveballs into a captivating journey of self-actualization. Yan Geling pierces the human psyche to reveal devastating and emotional truths – and an ending that will leave readers speechless.
Hongmei is the perfect Chinese wife: beautiful, diligent, passive. Glen is the perfect American husband: intelligent, caring, well-off. From the outside, Hongmei and Glen's life in the San Francisco Bay Area seems perfect. But at home, their marriage is falling apart. Post-its left on the fridge are their primary form of communication.
When Hongmei receives a beguiling email from a secret admirer, naturally she’s intrigued. But what starts out as harmless flirting with an internet stranger quickly turns into an all-consuming emotional affair. As Hongmei spills more and more about her dark past as a military intelligence officer-in-training in China, she falls deeper and deeper into a tense cat-and-mouse game. Desperate and self-destructive, she embarks on an investigation into her emailer’s secret history…one that may tear her life and marriage apart forever.
A domestic suspense turned on its head, The Secret Talker elegantly examines how repressed desire and simmering silence can upend even the most idyllic marriage. As Hongmei pursues her stalker, her identity and agency come into question, and the chase curveballs into a captivating journey of self-actualization. Yan Geling pierces the human psyche to reveal devastating and emotional truths – and an ending that will leave readers speechless.
155 pages, Kindle Edition
First published January 1, 2004
1842 people are currently reading
4936 people want to read
About the author
Geling Yan
83 books231 followersGeling Yan (嚴歌苓) is one of the most acclaimed novelists and screenwriters writing in the Chinese language today and a well-established writer in English. Born in Shanghai, she served with the People's Liberation Army (PLA) during the Cultural Revolution, starting at age twelve as a dancer in an entertainment troupe.
After serving for over a decade with the PLA (including tours in Tibet and as a war correspondent during the Sino-Vietnam border conflict), Ms. Yan was discharged with a rank equivalent to Lieutenant Colonel. She published her first novel in 1986 and ever since has produced a steady stream of novels, short stories, novellas, essays and scripts. Her best-known novels in English are The Secret Talker, published by HarperCollins; Little Aunt Crane published in the UK by Random House affiliate Harvill Secker; The Flowers of War, published in the U.S. by The Other Press and elsewhere by Random House's Harvill Secker; The Banquet Bug (The Uninvited in its UK edition - written directly in English); and The Lost Daughter of Happiness, (translated by Cathy Silber) both published by Hyperion in the US and Faber & Faber in the UK. She has also published a novella and short story collection called White Snake and Other Stories, translated by Lawrence A. Walker and published by Aunt Lute Books.
Many of Geling Yan's works have been adapted for film and television, including internationally distributed films Xiu Xiu: The Sent-Down Girl (directed by Joan Chen) and Siao Yu (directed by Sylvia Chang; produced by Ang Lee). Chinese director Zhang Yimou made The Flowers of War, a big-budget film based on her work set during the 1937 Rape of Nanking, starring Academy Award winning actor Christian Bale; Coming Home 归来, based on her novel The Criminal Lu Yanshi 陆犯焉识, and One Second 一秒钟, also based on that novel.
Ms. Yan has also written numerous scripts based on her own and other authors' work, both in English and Chinese, including a script for a biopic on the iconic Peking opera star Mei Lanfang for director Chen Kaige (released as Forever Enthralled 梅兰芳) starring Leon Lai and Zhang Ziyi. She wrote the script for Dangerous Liaisons 危險關係, a Chinese-language film directed by South Korean director Hur Jin-ho and starring Zhang Ziyi, Jang Dong Gun and Cecilia Cheung. Her novel Fang Hua 芳华 is the basis a film of the same name (English title Youth) directed by Chinese director Feng Xiaogang 冯小刚. Her novel A City Called Macau 妈阁是座城 was made into a film directed by Li Shaohong 李少红, released in 2018.
Geling Yan a member of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences and of France's Société des Gens de Lettres. She is affiliated with the Hollywood screenwriters' union, Writers' Guild of America, west, and is a former member of the Chinese Writers' Association (中国作家协会).
Geling Yan went to the United States at the end of 1989 for graduate study. She holds a Master's in Fine Arts in Fiction Writing from Columbia College, Chicago. To date she has published over 40 books in various editions in Mainland China, Taiwan, Hong Kong, the US, the UK and elsewhere; has won over 30 literary and film awards; and has had her work adapted or written scripts for numerous film, TV and radio works. Her works have been translated into twenty-one languages: Arabic, Bulgarian, Czech, Dutch, English, Farsi, French, German, Hebrew, Italian, Japanese, Korean, Portuguese, Romanian, Russian, Spanish, Swedish, Thai, Uyghur, and Vietnamese, and her English-language novel The Banquet Bug/The Uninvited was translated into Chinese. She currently lives in Berlin, Germany.
She has been subject to an unofficial but effective ban in China since March 2020, when she wrote and promulgated an essay on the Chinese government's initial handling of COVID-19. Her future Chinese-language work will be published by her own publishing company, New Song Media GmbH.
For non-Chinese language publishing she is represented by Agence Astier-Pécher.
After serving for over a decade with the PLA (including tours in Tibet and as a war correspondent during the Sino-Vietnam border conflict), Ms. Yan was discharged with a rank equivalent to Lieutenant Colonel. She published her first novel in 1986 and ever since has produced a steady stream of novels, short stories, novellas, essays and scripts. Her best-known novels in English are The Secret Talker, published by HarperCollins; Little Aunt Crane published in the UK by Random House affiliate Harvill Secker; The Flowers of War, published in the U.S. by The Other Press and elsewhere by Random House's Harvill Secker; The Banquet Bug (The Uninvited in its UK edition - written directly in English); and The Lost Daughter of Happiness, (translated by Cathy Silber) both published by Hyperion in the US and Faber & Faber in the UK. She has also published a novella and short story collection called White Snake and Other Stories, translated by Lawrence A. Walker and published by Aunt Lute Books.
Many of Geling Yan's works have been adapted for film and television, including internationally distributed films Xiu Xiu: The Sent-Down Girl (directed by Joan Chen) and Siao Yu (directed by Sylvia Chang; produced by Ang Lee). Chinese director Zhang Yimou made The Flowers of War, a big-budget film based on her work set during the 1937 Rape of Nanking, starring Academy Award winning actor Christian Bale; Coming Home 归来, based on her novel The Criminal Lu Yanshi 陆犯焉识, and One Second 一秒钟, also based on that novel.
Ms. Yan has also written numerous scripts based on her own and other authors' work, both in English and Chinese, including a script for a biopic on the iconic Peking opera star Mei Lanfang for director Chen Kaige (released as Forever Enthralled 梅兰芳) starring Leon Lai and Zhang Ziyi. She wrote the script for Dangerous Liaisons 危險關係, a Chinese-language film directed by South Korean director Hur Jin-ho and starring Zhang Ziyi, Jang Dong Gun and Cecilia Cheung. Her novel Fang Hua 芳华 is the basis a film of the same name (English title Youth) directed by Chinese director Feng Xiaogang 冯小刚. Her novel A City Called Macau 妈阁是座城 was made into a film directed by Li Shaohong 李少红, released in 2018.
Geling Yan a member of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences and of France's Société des Gens de Lettres. She is affiliated with the Hollywood screenwriters' union, Writers' Guild of America, west, and is a former member of the Chinese Writers' Association (中国作家协会).
Geling Yan went to the United States at the end of 1989 for graduate study. She holds a Master's in Fine Arts in Fiction Writing from Columbia College, Chicago. To date she has published over 40 books in various editions in Mainland China, Taiwan, Hong Kong, the US, the UK and elsewhere; has won over 30 literary and film awards; and has had her work adapted or written scripts for numerous film, TV and radio works. Her works have been translated into twenty-one languages: Arabic, Bulgarian, Czech, Dutch, English, Farsi, French, German, Hebrew, Italian, Japanese, Korean, Portuguese, Romanian, Russian, Spanish, Swedish, Thai, Uyghur, and Vietnamese, and her English-language novel The Banquet Bug/The Uninvited was translated into Chinese. She currently lives in Berlin, Germany.
She has been subject to an unofficial but effective ban in China since March 2020, when she wrote and promulgated an essay on the Chinese government's initial handling of COVID-19. Her future Chinese-language work will be published by her own publishing company, New Song Media GmbH.
For non-Chinese language publishing she is represented by Agence Astier-Pécher.
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Displaying 1 - 29 of 423 reviews
April 13, 2021
Destiny
I almost stopped reading this book a third of the way through but I'm glad I decided to finish it.The reason I didn't give it a 4 is it took so long for me to get involved.It's actually a charming story when you get to the end. I chose this at no cost as a prerelease from Amazon Prime.
I almost stopped reading this book a third of the way through but I'm glad I decided to finish it.The reason I didn't give it a 4 is it took so long for me to get involved.It's actually a charming story when you get to the end. I chose this at no cost as a prerelease from Amazon Prime.
January 30, 2021
“You make me feel like I have nowhere to hide. No, like there’s nowhere I can be.”
The Secret Talker does an excellent job of diving way into the psyche of a repressed woman named Hongmei who has lived her life hiding thoughts and feelings from those closest to her—and more troublingly, from herself.
She is married now, for the second time, living with a professor named Glen in Northern California. But one day, out of the blue, she receives an email from a secret talker, who has observed her in a restaurant and proceeds to analyze every breath, bite and laugh. He assures her she shouldn’t be alarmed—that he wishes her no ill will—yet the emails keep coming. He (or is it a he?) seems to know everything about her. And unlike so many stalkers, the aim is not to flatter Hongmei; in fact, the secret talker often mentions how disappointed he is in her, consistently misspelling the word.
Intrigued yet laid bare, Hongmei begins to reveal herself to her secret talker, providing details of her life that have not been shared with anyone else. The lure of not being tied down with beautiful misunderstandings or lies is liberating to her. In return, she finds out a few things about her stalker’s own hidden life.
Let me be clear that this book is not a thriller, and anyone coming into it with that mindset will be – well, disappointed. Rather, it is a psychological study of how we yearn to reveal ourselves and ease our burdens (think of the stalker as a priest in a confessional). And how by freedom is the byproduct of the highest degree of honesty. The twist at the end may be guessed by observant readers but satisfies nonetheless.
The Secret Talker, scheduled to be turned into a movie, suffers from what I suspect is a less-than-ideal translation from the Chinese. As someone who reads many translated books, I believed, in several instances, that a more proactive translator could have created that extra level of angst or suspense. That is not to say the book is a clunky read – far from it. I am rating The Secret Talker 3.5 stars, rounded up, and I am most grateful to Harper Via (an imprint of Harper Collins) for providing me with an advance galley in exchange for an honest review.
The Secret Talker does an excellent job of diving way into the psyche of a repressed woman named Hongmei who has lived her life hiding thoughts and feelings from those closest to her—and more troublingly, from herself.
She is married now, for the second time, living with a professor named Glen in Northern California. But one day, out of the blue, she receives an email from a secret talker, who has observed her in a restaurant and proceeds to analyze every breath, bite and laugh. He assures her she shouldn’t be alarmed—that he wishes her no ill will—yet the emails keep coming. He (or is it a he?) seems to know everything about her. And unlike so many stalkers, the aim is not to flatter Hongmei; in fact, the secret talker often mentions how disappointed he is in her, consistently misspelling the word.
Intrigued yet laid bare, Hongmei begins to reveal herself to her secret talker, providing details of her life that have not been shared with anyone else. The lure of not being tied down with beautiful misunderstandings or lies is liberating to her. In return, she finds out a few things about her stalker’s own hidden life.
Let me be clear that this book is not a thriller, and anyone coming into it with that mindset will be – well, disappointed. Rather, it is a psychological study of how we yearn to reveal ourselves and ease our burdens (think of the stalker as a priest in a confessional). And how by freedom is the byproduct of the highest degree of honesty. The twist at the end may be guessed by observant readers but satisfies nonetheless.
The Secret Talker, scheduled to be turned into a movie, suffers from what I suspect is a less-than-ideal translation from the Chinese. As someone who reads many translated books, I believed, in several instances, that a more proactive translator could have created that extra level of angst or suspense. That is not to say the book is a clunky read – far from it. I am rating The Secret Talker 3.5 stars, rounded up, and I am most grateful to Harper Via (an imprint of Harper Collins) for providing me with an advance galley in exchange for an honest review.
September 29, 2023
whyyyyyyyyy
September 19, 2020
Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for proving me with an E-ARC.
I truly loved the set up and premise of THE SECRET TALKER. There's a sort of allure that comes from the unknown, from the dark, and Hongmei's struggle between complacency and a hunger for novelty taps into that seduction. However, as much as I loved the idea of this book, I was still felt feeling as though it was left largely unfinished, as though we were reading the outline or a draft.
There are a plethora of themes included in the book concerning marriage, ambition, cultural difference, identity, and I really liked how they were incorporated to the core of Hongmei's dilemma/struggle, but none explored at significant depth. The same can be said for the plot details themselves, while somewhat forming an answer at the end, these story threads are very loosely tied together with no real structure. The clues are disparate, often random, and more often than not, baseless.
Moreover, the thriller aspect of the book (in which Hongmei plays cat and mouse with a stalker) barely leaves an impact since Hongmei herself never fears this interaction in the first place. From the very get go, she is itching for change, and I believe the book could have benefitted from first showcasing her dissatisfaction with idyllic American life before jumping into the thick of the "thriller" aspect of it.
What I will say about this book is that its undoubtedly unique, and it has the bones of a truly captivating novel. I was still drawn to see the answer to all these strange occurrences, and Yan makes Hongmei a compelling character on her own right. That being said, this book really needs to be more deeply fleshed out on: (1) a cultural level (ie. how the difference in American and Chinese culture plays into Hongmei's satisfaction) // (2) a personal level (ie. how Hongmei's hometown and past informs and haunts her actions even now and // and (3) a relationship level (ie. exploring the parallels between both of Hongmei's dissolving marriages. Beyond this, more clues as to why the ending is how it is (the motive for this entire plot is a bit too convoluted), as well as tightening up the details, would have made this intriguing premise into a much more cerebral and whole piece.
I truly loved the set up and premise of THE SECRET TALKER. There's a sort of allure that comes from the unknown, from the dark, and Hongmei's struggle between complacency and a hunger for novelty taps into that seduction. However, as much as I loved the idea of this book, I was still felt feeling as though it was left largely unfinished, as though we were reading the outline or a draft.
There are a plethora of themes included in the book concerning marriage, ambition, cultural difference, identity, and I really liked how they were incorporated to the core of Hongmei's dilemma/struggle, but none explored at significant depth. The same can be said for the plot details themselves, while somewhat forming an answer at the end, these story threads are very loosely tied together with no real structure. The clues are disparate, often random, and more often than not, baseless.
Moreover, the thriller aspect of the book (in which Hongmei plays cat and mouse with a stalker) barely leaves an impact since Hongmei herself never fears this interaction in the first place. From the very get go, she is itching for change, and I believe the book could have benefitted from first showcasing her dissatisfaction with idyllic American life before jumping into the thick of the "thriller" aspect of it.
What I will say about this book is that its undoubtedly unique, and it has the bones of a truly captivating novel. I was still drawn to see the answer to all these strange occurrences, and Yan makes Hongmei a compelling character on her own right. That being said, this book really needs to be more deeply fleshed out on: (1) a cultural level (ie. how the difference in American and Chinese culture plays into Hongmei's satisfaction) // (2) a personal level (ie. how Hongmei's hometown and past informs and haunts her actions even now and // and (3) a relationship level (ie. exploring the parallels between both of Hongmei's dissolving marriages. Beyond this, more clues as to why the ending is how it is (the motive for this entire plot is a bit too convoluted), as well as tightening up the details, would have made this intriguing premise into a much more cerebral and whole piece.
June 22, 2021
This book will not be popular.
It's a pseudo therapy session life story told inside out and through the interchanges with a silent (unknown identity) talker over lengthy internet email exchanges. Is it random catfishing, obsession stalking, heartfelt stranger who "cares", or how does all of it affect our prime protagonist who is the known end correspondent?
It gets extremely repetitious in her own redundant druthers of "next want" or "disinterest"radar. Because of her background from a small river town in Southern China, some of the past tales of her own and ancestor experiences during the Revolutionary years and Red Guard periods- it kept me reading. But this is way too esoteric for more than a handful of psych majors and past analysts retired to have a strong pivotal interest.
At exactly the half way point I knew who the silent talker unknown email exchanger was. This woman was too smart not to get the gist a whole lot earlier. It really isn't much of a thriller at all unless you don't understand the dynamic of the creepy unknown identity. For me it was no thriller whatsoever.
Some of the prose was so self-involved and minutia that it became a task to read despite the short length. I read it in just over an hour. Didn't have to return to it, and I might not have. Elites with too much time to brood, think, and posit effusions while plotting life's enthusiasm levels. Mainly centered on sexual interest quotient, rejection, loyalty, and duplicity habits. Much less on true friendship.
It was my monthly serendipity, knowing nothing about it read pick. I picked it solely from the cover which is exquisite.
2.5 stars rounded up for the Glen expertise.
It's a pseudo therapy session life story told inside out and through the interchanges with a silent (unknown identity) talker over lengthy internet email exchanges. Is it random catfishing, obsession stalking, heartfelt stranger who "cares", or how does all of it affect our prime protagonist who is the known end correspondent?
It gets extremely repetitious in her own redundant druthers of "next want" or "disinterest"radar. Because of her background from a small river town in Southern China, some of the past tales of her own and ancestor experiences during the Revolutionary years and Red Guard periods- it kept me reading. But this is way too esoteric for more than a handful of psych majors and past analysts retired to have a strong pivotal interest.
At exactly the half way point I knew who the silent talker unknown email exchanger was. This woman was too smart not to get the gist a whole lot earlier. It really isn't much of a thriller at all unless you don't understand the dynamic of the creepy unknown identity. For me it was no thriller whatsoever.
Some of the prose was so self-involved and minutia that it became a task to read despite the short length. I read it in just over an hour. Didn't have to return to it, and I might not have. Elites with too much time to brood, think, and posit effusions while plotting life's enthusiasm levels. Mainly centered on sexual interest quotient, rejection, loyalty, and duplicity habits. Much less on true friendship.
It was my monthly serendipity, knowing nothing about it read pick. I picked it solely from the cover which is exquisite.
2.5 stars rounded up for the Glen expertise.
April 2, 2021
Lost in Translation, Perhaps?
This book was billed as part literary fiction and part psychological thriller on the First Reads page as well as at a favorite book review site from which I originally downloaded this book. To me, this book is not a psychological thriller at all. If the part about the cyber-stalker is supposed to be the thriller aspect, it completely fails because the heroine is so accepting of her stalker, seemingly completely unafraid, and even goes so far as to share secrets with him It's hard to build up much stalking thriller drama when the “victim” acts in such a way. The author summarized and told us about the heroine and stalker’s emails. I think it would have been much more impactful to actually read them, at least some (if not all). The heroine describes the stalker’s emails early on as sounding like a blend of Neil Gaiman and Emily Bronte. That's hard for me to imagine, so I would have liked to have read it myself! Frankly, this book has a fair amount of telling rather than showing. In fact, it feels more like the author’s detailed outline rather than a true novel itself. The author had an interesting premise, but its promise did not feel fulfilled to me. The book needed more fleshing out, more showing. It has a few surprises along the way, but I found the end disappointing and somewhat confusing. I feel like I have more questions than answers after completing the book. But it was so poorly done that I don't think I actually care enough to have them answered.
I received a free copy of this book, but that did not affect my review.
My book blog: https://www.readingfanaticreviews.com
This book was billed as part literary fiction and part psychological thriller on the First Reads page as well as at a favorite book review site from which I originally downloaded this book. To me, this book is not a psychological thriller at all. If the part about the cyber-stalker is supposed to be the thriller aspect, it completely fails because the heroine is so accepting of her stalker, seemingly completely unafraid, and even goes so far as to share secrets with him It's hard to build up much stalking thriller drama when the “victim” acts in such a way. The author summarized and told us about the heroine and stalker’s emails. I think it would have been much more impactful to actually read them, at least some (if not all). The heroine describes the stalker’s emails early on as sounding like a blend of Neil Gaiman and Emily Bronte. That's hard for me to imagine, so I would have liked to have read it myself! Frankly, this book has a fair amount of telling rather than showing. In fact, it feels more like the author’s detailed outline rather than a true novel itself. The author had an interesting premise, but its promise did not feel fulfilled to me. The book needed more fleshing out, more showing. It has a few surprises along the way, but I found the end disappointing and somewhat confusing. I feel like I have more questions than answers after completing the book. But it was so poorly done that I don't think I actually care enough to have them answered.
I received a free copy of this book, but that did not affect my review.
My book blog: https://www.readingfanaticreviews.com
September 9, 2020
I like the main character of this book a lot. Even though she has some questionable qualities and does things I would never do, I appreciate how honest she is about it. On another note...
I've experienced my fair share of internet weirdos. So much so that when reading this book, I was confused why Hongmei would even entertain some weirdo showing up in her inbox. She has NO IDEA who this person is, but yet, she continues to message them and tell them her deepest secrets? And even when she changes emails, they still find her? I'm sorry, but I would be reporting to that to the police ASAP.
Also, I think I know what happened in the end of this book. But I am still a little confused. SPOILERS BELOW, but can someone please tell me if I have the ending right?
SPOILERS:
Ok, can someone tell me if I have the end correct?
Was her husband, Glen, the secret talker? What I understood was, he was the secret talker. He was also the one who was accused years ago of raping his daughter. He supposedly committed suicide in the wilderness 10/12 years ago, but since his car was found a month after the "suicide", they couldn't find his body. However, he went into hiding and obtained a new identity. (Hence all the talk throughout the novel about changing identities and leaving the past behind.) He even went to China, which is where he met Hongmei. He had been talking to Hongmei as the secret talker the whole time, and Hongmei revealed all the secrets to him through email (unknowing it was actually Glen) and said things she could never admit to her her husband's face, Glen. His daughter discovered he was actually alive just a few months prior. Glen had given his daughter Hongmei's shawl that she lost. Oh, and his daughter was the one Nini interviewed, which is how Hongmei knew exactly where she lived at the end of the novel. Hongmei ended up reading Glen's letter at the end, confirming he was the secret talker by misspelling "disappointed," and finally went to meet him at the EndUp.
Is that right?
I've experienced my fair share of internet weirdos. So much so that when reading this book, I was confused why Hongmei would even entertain some weirdo showing up in her inbox. She has NO IDEA who this person is, but yet, she continues to message them and tell them her deepest secrets? And even when she changes emails, they still find her? I'm sorry, but I would be reporting to that to the police ASAP.
Also, I think I know what happened in the end of this book. But I am still a little confused. SPOILERS BELOW, but can someone please tell me if I have the ending right?
SPOILERS:
Ok, can someone tell me if I have the end correct?
Was her husband, Glen, the secret talker? What I understood was, he was the secret talker. He was also the one who was accused years ago of raping his daughter. He supposedly committed suicide in the wilderness 10/12 years ago, but since his car was found a month after the "suicide", they couldn't find his body. However, he went into hiding and obtained a new identity. (Hence all the talk throughout the novel about changing identities and leaving the past behind.) He even went to China, which is where he met Hongmei. He had been talking to Hongmei as the secret talker the whole time, and Hongmei revealed all the secrets to him through email (unknowing it was actually Glen) and said things she could never admit to her her husband's face, Glen. His daughter discovered he was actually alive just a few months prior. Glen had given his daughter Hongmei's shawl that she lost. Oh, and his daughter was the one Nini interviewed, which is how Hongmei knew exactly where she lived at the end of the novel. Hongmei ended up reading Glen's letter at the end, confirming he was the secret talker by misspelling "disappointed," and finally went to meet him at the EndUp.
Is that right?
February 16, 2021
Thanks to netgalley for an advanced copy to review; unfortunately, this was not it for me and I stopped about ten percent in.
So, I thought I was going to get a decent domestic thriller, and did not.
I understand you lose some things in translation - I'm reading several novels translated from Chinese at the moment, actually - but the bones of this book were bad from the start. The narrative jumped right in, describing an email from a creepy stranger to Hongmei, who reads it and is attracted by the invasive, mansplaining stalker she's gained. So much about this was an immediate nope, I hope others can find it who may enjoy it.
So, I thought I was going to get a decent domestic thriller, and did not.
I understand you lose some things in translation - I'm reading several novels translated from Chinese at the moment, actually - but the bones of this book were bad from the start. The narrative jumped right in, describing an email from a creepy stranger to Hongmei, who reads it and is attracted by the invasive, mansplaining stalker she's gained. So much about this was an immediate nope, I hope others can find it who may enjoy it.
May 12, 2021
THE SECRET TALKER is a secret stalker, both cyber and real-world—someone that the main character Hongmei seems all too enamored with, revealing more about herself through their email correspondence.
‘Desperate and self-destructive, she embarks on an investigation into her emailer’s secret history…one that may tear her life and marriage apart forever.’
Though THE SECRET TALKER isn’t a favorite for me, it’s definitely one I want to reread in the future.
Thank you, NetGalley and HarperCollins Publishers Inc., for loaning me an eGalley of THE SECRET TALKER with the request for an honest review.
‘Desperate and self-destructive, she embarks on an investigation into her emailer’s secret history…one that may tear her life and marriage apart forever.’
Though THE SECRET TALKER isn’t a favorite for me, it’s definitely one I want to reread in the future.
Thank you, NetGalley and HarperCollins Publishers Inc., for loaning me an eGalley of THE SECRET TALKER with the request for an honest review.
May 17, 2024
Read for AAPI month
September 25, 2020
4 stars
Utilizing tropes common in domestic thrillers, The Secret Talker is a lyrical study on buried secrets, deceptive harmony, and wandering desire in a seemingly steady marriage.
Once you accept the rather archaic method of exchange Geling Yan chose as the primary narrative device (it has been a long time since I personally write / receive meaningful, lengthy emails; texting and other apps have since taken its place.), it's a rather effective storytelling device; organically revealing events in a stream of consciousness manner, providing suspense and twist without feeling overtly manipulative.
Being an #ownvoices novel, the Chinese protagonist feels authentic, and her cultural background and upbringing is what validate the realism of The Secret Talker's narrative; the trope can only be sustained convincingly with a conflicting immigrated Chinese's state of mind: glorification of the Western culture (and maintaining it at all cost), internal turmoil beneath a placid facade (unwilling to be seen broken), and disdain, but the same time, nostalgic for one's humbled root.
The ending twist is emotionally rewarding, if not The Sixth Sense level surprisingly, nor as flawlessly executed. The puzzle pieces come together abruptly with many conveniences, as if the author has hit the minimum page count for the assignment, rather than letting the narrative reach its resolution in an appropriate pacing. This shortcoming aside, the reveal does warrant The Secret Talker a second read-through, as it alters the reader's interpretation of a specific character.
The Secret Talker is more literary fiction than thriller, it uses suspenseful scenarios as catalyst to deep dive into a character's psyche, rather than purely for their shock value. If you are a fan of beautiful prose and well-rounded, flawed protagonist, this book is worth a try.
***This ARC was provided by the publisher via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. Much appreciated!***
Utilizing tropes common in domestic thrillers, The Secret Talker is a lyrical study on buried secrets, deceptive harmony, and wandering desire in a seemingly steady marriage.
Once you accept the rather archaic method of exchange Geling Yan chose as the primary narrative device (it has been a long time since I personally write / receive meaningful, lengthy emails; texting and other apps have since taken its place.), it's a rather effective storytelling device; organically revealing events in a stream of consciousness manner, providing suspense and twist without feeling overtly manipulative.
Being an #ownvoices novel, the Chinese protagonist feels authentic, and her cultural background and upbringing is what validate the realism of The Secret Talker's narrative; the trope can only be sustained convincingly with a conflicting immigrated Chinese's state of mind: glorification of the Western culture (and maintaining it at all cost), internal turmoil beneath a placid facade (unwilling to be seen broken), and disdain, but the same time, nostalgic for one's humbled root.
The ending twist is emotionally rewarding, if not The Sixth Sense level surprisingly, nor as flawlessly executed. The puzzle pieces come together abruptly with many conveniences, as if the author has hit the minimum page count for the assignment, rather than letting the narrative reach its resolution in an appropriate pacing. This shortcoming aside, the reveal does warrant The Secret Talker a second read-through, as it alters the reader's interpretation of a specific character.
The Secret Talker is more literary fiction than thriller, it uses suspenseful scenarios as catalyst to deep dive into a character's psyche, rather than purely for their shock value. If you are a fan of beautiful prose and well-rounded, flawed protagonist, this book is worth a try.
***This ARC was provided by the publisher via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. Much appreciated!***
November 12, 2023
WHAT?
WHAT?
WHAT?
alright so i read some critical reviews before starting this which was a bad move won’t do that again i saw the book in a negative light while reading and it just felt wrong
but i’ll still try to be honest
i cracked the code 32 pages BEFORE hongmei that the secret talker was the wrongly accused father and that made me feel powerful and strong but then they just throw in that it is GLEN? WHAT HOW DOES WHAT ITS GLEN WHAT HOW WHAT IT WHY
they had soooooo many false accusations like it seemed like it was the guy that came out the bathroom in a rush but no it’s the guy who can give her the keys to the roof but no it’s this guy with a newspaper but no it’s this other girl AND IT WAS JUST GLEN? HOW IS THAT EVEN POSSIBLE!!!!!
i guess maybe because he was out so late so often so it half made sense but that’s so awkward to have to hear all these things your wife is saying about you like that like she was brutally honest i’m hurt for him
he seemed like a great guy too when she exploded and said she was going to a motel i was kinda mad at her because he was treating her with nothing but kindness and she was acting like a spoiled child that wasn’t getting her way and no one understands her cause shes just so different and mysterious
the one thing i can say i liked was the mystery on who it was and the mystery of the gender because it was really interesting to me how different the mood was when it switched from possibly male to female.
like it really did seem so dark, mysterious, and heavy when it seemed to be a man and then almost as soon as it seemed like it was a woman it got lighter and more carefree idk
yeah i picked this out randomly so it was to be expected it could’ve been worse she could’ve just left and never found out anything then i would’ve been mad
i was confused by the familiarity of the daughter and hongmei she kept mentioning familiar eyes and it seemed like she knew the daughter or was closer than you would think but that might’ve been cause glen was father
WHAT?
WHAT?
alright so i read some critical reviews before starting this which was a bad move won’t do that again i saw the book in a negative light while reading and it just felt wrong
but i’ll still try to be honest
i cracked the code 32 pages BEFORE hongmei that the secret talker was the wrongly accused father and that made me feel powerful and strong but then they just throw in that it is GLEN? WHAT HOW DOES WHAT ITS GLEN WHAT HOW WHAT IT WHY
they had soooooo many false accusations like it seemed like it was the guy that came out the bathroom in a rush but no it’s the guy who can give her the keys to the roof but no it’s this guy with a newspaper but no it’s this other girl AND IT WAS JUST GLEN? HOW IS THAT EVEN POSSIBLE!!!!!
i guess maybe because he was out so late so often so it half made sense but that’s so awkward to have to hear all these things your wife is saying about you like that like she was brutally honest i’m hurt for him
he seemed like a great guy too when she exploded and said she was going to a motel i was kinda mad at her because he was treating her with nothing but kindness and she was acting like a spoiled child that wasn’t getting her way and no one understands her cause shes just so different and mysterious
the one thing i can say i liked was the mystery on who it was and the mystery of the gender because it was really interesting to me how different the mood was when it switched from possibly male to female.
like it really did seem so dark, mysterious, and heavy when it seemed to be a man and then almost as soon as it seemed like it was a woman it got lighter and more carefree idk
yeah i picked this out randomly so it was to be expected it could’ve been worse she could’ve just left and never found out anything then i would’ve been mad
i was confused by the familiarity of the daughter and hongmei she kept mentioning familiar eyes and it seemed like she knew the daughter or was closer than you would think but that might’ve been cause glen was father
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
May 20, 2023
the premise of this story was intriguing-a secret talker reaches out to homgmei through email revealing they know her every movement, giving stalker vibes... but, homgmei while saying she didn't like how they knew her every move, didn't seem too alarmed that she had a stalker.
here's where it gets funky: instead, she reveals intimate details about her life; secrets that even her husband, glen, doesn't know about. basically, she had an emotional affair with this random person. why? because homgmei knows she isn't faithful, she craves newness. she knows what she is doing is wrong. through the exchanges, we understand homgmei simply craves to be understood, to free herself from the chains of holding back her full self.
spoiler: the secret talker ends up being glen. there was some foreshadowing here so i expected it to be him. i'm not sure why hongmei couldn't figure this out on her own. so many clues were pointing to him. she's only introspective about her own behaviour. kinda stupid of her. she kept saying she wanted to figure out who this secret talker was but if only she looked at the clues rather than keep talking to them????
i feel like there was a lot to the story which was lost in translation. there wasn't much left to the imagination. it was blatantly said. the story was a bit choppy, jumping back and forth between different settings in a disorganized manner.
here's where it gets funky: instead, she reveals intimate details about her life; secrets that even her husband, glen, doesn't know about. basically, she had an emotional affair with this random person. why? because homgmei knows she isn't faithful, she craves newness. she knows what she is doing is wrong. through the exchanges, we understand homgmei simply craves to be understood, to free herself from the chains of holding back her full self.
spoiler: the secret talker ends up being glen. there was some foreshadowing here so i expected it to be him. i'm not sure why hongmei couldn't figure this out on her own. so many clues were pointing to him. she's only introspective about her own behaviour. kinda stupid of her. she kept saying she wanted to figure out who this secret talker was but if only she looked at the clues rather than keep talking to them????
i feel like there was a lot to the story which was lost in translation. there wasn't much left to the imagination. it was blatantly said. the story was a bit choppy, jumping back and forth between different settings in a disorganized manner.
February 23, 2021
Thank you to NetGalley and HarperVia for providing a copy of the ebook in exchange for an honest review.
RTC closer to publication date.
RTC closer to publication date.
April 7, 2021
I absolutely love the premise of this story. Hongmei is bored and unhappy in her marriage to Glen, her American husband who provides for her but somehow she feels never SEES her. Then a mysterious e-mail comes her way and now she gets involved and eventually obsessed about the person obsessing about her. Got that?
I really wanted to like this story... I really did. I even put it down at 66% through and while I usually never pick up books I put down, I realized this was a novella and I may as well finish ... plus my interest was piqued to see where Hongmei's journey would take her. Here are some issues I had: this is marketed as a thriller, but the thriller aspect is hard to really find here. Sure we have an anonymous person stalking Hongmei but as she continues to engage this person and basically turn the tables, the lack of fear and only sleightened increase of paranoia does not lend to that thriller atmosphere. However, I do find that the thriller aspect in most translated books tend to be more subtle and not in your face, which can lend a very tense atmosphere... but alas, that's not found here either. I also felt like this story was a bit incomplete... the entirety of setting up to the final *explanation* felt lacking.
What I did like is that in learning more and more of Hongmei as she opens up to her "admirer", we get a pretty compelling character. While I didn't agree with some of her actions, I could understand needing that excitement in her life. The cultural aspect of American and Chinese clashing a bit playing into her dissatisfaction is relatable and in learning of her past experiences lends to why she is acting the way she is now.
Overall I feel like this could've been fleshed out a bit more. Don't go into this expecting the standard thrilling thrills you'd expect from a thriller... you won't find it. But you will find an intricate story of Hongmei, who is worth getting to know.
I really wanted to like this story... I really did. I even put it down at 66% through and while I usually never pick up books I put down, I realized this was a novella and I may as well finish ... plus my interest was piqued to see where Hongmei's journey would take her. Here are some issues I had: this is marketed as a thriller, but the thriller aspect is hard to really find here. Sure we have an anonymous person stalking Hongmei but as she continues to engage this person and basically turn the tables, the lack of fear and only sleightened increase of paranoia does not lend to that thriller atmosphere. However, I do find that the thriller aspect in most translated books tend to be more subtle and not in your face, which can lend a very tense atmosphere... but alas, that's not found here either. I also felt like this story was a bit incomplete... the entirety of setting up to the final *explanation* felt lacking.
What I did like is that in learning more and more of Hongmei as she opens up to her "admirer", we get a pretty compelling character. While I didn't agree with some of her actions, I could understand needing that excitement in her life. The cultural aspect of American and Chinese clashing a bit playing into her dissatisfaction is relatable and in learning of her past experiences lends to why she is acting the way she is now.
Overall I feel like this could've been fleshed out a bit more. Don't go into this expecting the standard thrilling thrills you'd expect from a thriller... you won't find it. But you will find an intricate story of Hongmei, who is worth getting to know.
January 27, 2025
I’m not going to be a moralist about this book because fiction is a vehicle to explore a wider range of human motivations and experience and cannot always be a means of promoting national values or whatever propaganda nonsense. But I also want to clarify that me liking this book does not mean I personally endorse infidelity or extramarital affairs okay! What people do with their lives is their business and I think the why is more important than the what. With that out of the way…
The protagonist is a Chinese woman, Hongmei, currently married to a much older American called Glen. Their marriage has stagnated. Years ago, she was the one who gave up her rank, reputation, first marriage, and unborn child for him. She’s only twenty-eight but she feels like her life is already over, and the longer she steeps in discontentment the more desperate and flighty she feels. Just then, she starts getting emails from someone who seems to be watching her extremely closely, stalking her throughout the day, who seems able to look into her apartment, through her clothes, and also into her heart. This mysterious emailer courts her over the internet without revealing their name or even their gender and she soon finds herself pulled into this strange relationship.
They confide in each other; for Hongmei, this emailer is the only person she shares her deepest darkest secrets with; for the emailer, they reveal that they have an estranged daughter who they long to reconnect with. Hongmei tries to play detective and find out who’s been stalking her but it’s also because their words touch her core and made her confront the fact that she yearns for a someone-out-there who is not Glen. But the truth she finds is not going to be what she expects. I had to circle back to the front after I reached the end to reread the parts I missed.
The protagonist is a Chinese woman, Hongmei, currently married to a much older American called Glen. Their marriage has stagnated. Years ago, she was the one who gave up her rank, reputation, first marriage, and unborn child for him. She’s only twenty-eight but she feels like her life is already over, and the longer she steeps in discontentment the more desperate and flighty she feels. Just then, she starts getting emails from someone who seems to be watching her extremely closely, stalking her throughout the day, who seems able to look into her apartment, through her clothes, and also into her heart. This mysterious emailer courts her over the internet without revealing their name or even their gender and she soon finds herself pulled into this strange relationship.
They confide in each other; for Hongmei, this emailer is the only person she shares her deepest darkest secrets with; for the emailer, they reveal that they have an estranged daughter who they long to reconnect with. Hongmei tries to play detective and find out who’s been stalking her but it’s also because their words touch her core and made her confront the fact that she yearns for a someone-out-there who is not Glen. But the truth she finds is not going to be what she expects. I had to circle back to the front after I reached the end to reread the parts I missed.
April 15, 2021
via my blog: https://bookstalkerblog.wordpress.com/
𝐑𝐚𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐫, 𝐡𝐞 𝐰𝐚𝐬 𝐥𝐢𝐤𝐞 𝐚 𝐠𝐡𝐨𝐬𝐭, 𝐬𝐞𝐜𝐫𝐞𝐭𝐥𝐲 𝐭𝐚𝐤𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐩𝐚𝐫𝐭 𝐢𝐧 𝐡𝐞𝐫 𝐥𝐢𝐟𝐞, 𝐮𝐧𝐝𝐞𝐭𝐞𝐜𝐭𝐞𝐝.
It is interesting it takes a secret talker, a seemingly ‘infatuated’ stranger, to force the real Hongmei out of her safe little exterior. She isn’t as self-possessed as she seems, as happy with the state of her comfortable marriage, which she admits cost she and her husband so much at the start. A relationship that was itself once dangerous. Hongmei begins to correspond with a stranger through email, a man who seems to have gleaned a lot about her emotional state, her very soul even, just through observation. It seems harmless as she carefully responds to him. His attentions become unnerving, though he says he doesn’t want to cause trouble between she and her husband Glen, a professor she once risked her entire life in her native China for. But the probing, the intimacy that is budding between them, is reminding Hongmei of her real self, the woman she has buried behind the quiet demeanor of a devoted wife. His questions are reminding her of the village where she was born, the secrets of her childhood that she has never shared with Glen, and making her question every choice she made, every step she took to escape herself and her origins. She shares the history of her village with the secret talker, about the Chinese resistance, all the things she had erased. Shocking herself, she speaks truths that have never been revealed to Glen because so much between them has been built on her own lies, and how can you open yourself to vulnerability with your husband when deception is the glue of your love?
Ending up in America, sunny California doesn’t seem like the world she was desperate to be carried away to. Every world she has imagined, outside her little village, has brought nothing but disappointment and the same can be said about men. When she first set eyes on Glen, an older, western, foreign professor, she is a first lieutenant working as a military interpreter while taking classes to further her education. Her life then, as now, was going well, including her the life she had with her then partner. Something about Glen immediately bewitched her, and her beauty made her just as irresistible to him. Their pursuit was reckless, dangerous. Looking at their life now, there doesn’t seem to be even a remnant of that passion. So much has happened between them since then allowing a distance to grow, impossible to traverse. Glen isn’t the man she once hungered to conquer, isn’t forbidden fruit any longer. He is still a good man, a provider, solid. While she is still beautiful, intelligent, she finds herself in a numb state, but with the confessions she shares with this nameless person, everything feels charged with eroticism. How can she engage this man, with her husband often a room away? How guilty she feels, how elicit an act secret talking can be, and yet it feels like she is stepping back into her true skin. Why is she revealing so much, stripping herself naked, to the bone? Is this a foolish mistake? For once, she isn’t in charge, she isn’t the one in pursuit. “𝘏𝘰𝘸 𝘤𝘰𝘶𝘭𝘥 𝘴𝘩𝘦 𝘩𝘢𝘷𝘦 𝘴𝘶𝘯𝘬 𝘴𝘰 𝘭𝘰𝘸? 𝘏𝘦𝘳 𝘣𝘰𝘥𝘺 𝘩𝘢𝘥 𝘳𝘶𝘯 𝘰𝘧𝘧, 𝘮𝘪𝘭𝘦𝘴 𝘢𝘸𝘢𝘺.” Where is this betrayal going to take her? She is tormented by guilt, shame and anger- lots of anger, at the stranger and curiously, at Glen too! Isn’t he to blame for the state they are in too? Will she unmask this person, this stranger who is like a ghost, creeping along her skin, privy to her every secret?
Hongmei enlists the help of her friend, thinking to outwit the man who has been ‘hiding behind a shelter of words’, it only serves to complicate things more, makes the truth so much harder to discern. Hongmei begins to obsess over their interactions, to dismiss her own reality again. There is so much she herself is blind to. Her cultural identity isn’t a separate thing from her identity as woman, a wife. For Glen, as much as herself, their culture has molded them and yet their emotions aren’t really as divided as they imagine. Her past was one where people are always watching, an attention that becomes expected, everything one wants felt dangerous. That was one thing I thought about, regarding the start of she and Glen’s love, the constant eyes, the threat that always loomed based on cultural demands. It’s important, I believe, to why she is numb when things are stable. Maybe I am wrong, it was just my take away. I think being older, having been married a long time, I am reading this book from a different perspective than I would at say, 20. Fresh love is about the thrill of the chase, seduction but as love matures it is a different animal. Hongmei has needs and rather than confront them it’s easier to escape what has been built. Things settle and often we bottle up things that gnaw at us just to keep the illusion of contentment, as to not rupture the peace we think we’ve made. But delving deeper into the life of the person she has been communicating with could be the final straw in her marriage… dare she go down the rabbit’s hole?
This was an engaging read and I actually loved the ending, one I didn’t expect. The emotions are beautiful and sometimes biting. As more about Hongmei’s past is revealed, you begin to understand the reasons she seems to be willing to turn away from Glen but she turns away from herself just as much. Mysterious, quietly suspenseful, and heartbreaking. It is a psychological tale where the main character gets lost in a maze sometimes of her own making, not just the secret talker’s manipulations. A beautifully written slow burn.
Publication Date: May 4, 2021
HarperVia
𝐑𝐚𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐫, 𝐡𝐞 𝐰𝐚𝐬 𝐥𝐢𝐤𝐞 𝐚 𝐠𝐡𝐨𝐬𝐭, 𝐬𝐞𝐜𝐫𝐞𝐭𝐥𝐲 𝐭𝐚𝐤𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐩𝐚𝐫𝐭 𝐢𝐧 𝐡𝐞𝐫 𝐥𝐢𝐟𝐞, 𝐮𝐧𝐝𝐞𝐭𝐞𝐜𝐭𝐞𝐝.
It is interesting it takes a secret talker, a seemingly ‘infatuated’ stranger, to force the real Hongmei out of her safe little exterior. She isn’t as self-possessed as she seems, as happy with the state of her comfortable marriage, which she admits cost she and her husband so much at the start. A relationship that was itself once dangerous. Hongmei begins to correspond with a stranger through email, a man who seems to have gleaned a lot about her emotional state, her very soul even, just through observation. It seems harmless as she carefully responds to him. His attentions become unnerving, though he says he doesn’t want to cause trouble between she and her husband Glen, a professor she once risked her entire life in her native China for. But the probing, the intimacy that is budding between them, is reminding Hongmei of her real self, the woman she has buried behind the quiet demeanor of a devoted wife. His questions are reminding her of the village where she was born, the secrets of her childhood that she has never shared with Glen, and making her question every choice she made, every step she took to escape herself and her origins. She shares the history of her village with the secret talker, about the Chinese resistance, all the things she had erased. Shocking herself, she speaks truths that have never been revealed to Glen because so much between them has been built on her own lies, and how can you open yourself to vulnerability with your husband when deception is the glue of your love?
Ending up in America, sunny California doesn’t seem like the world she was desperate to be carried away to. Every world she has imagined, outside her little village, has brought nothing but disappointment and the same can be said about men. When she first set eyes on Glen, an older, western, foreign professor, she is a first lieutenant working as a military interpreter while taking classes to further her education. Her life then, as now, was going well, including her the life she had with her then partner. Something about Glen immediately bewitched her, and her beauty made her just as irresistible to him. Their pursuit was reckless, dangerous. Looking at their life now, there doesn’t seem to be even a remnant of that passion. So much has happened between them since then allowing a distance to grow, impossible to traverse. Glen isn’t the man she once hungered to conquer, isn’t forbidden fruit any longer. He is still a good man, a provider, solid. While she is still beautiful, intelligent, she finds herself in a numb state, but with the confessions she shares with this nameless person, everything feels charged with eroticism. How can she engage this man, with her husband often a room away? How guilty she feels, how elicit an act secret talking can be, and yet it feels like she is stepping back into her true skin. Why is she revealing so much, stripping herself naked, to the bone? Is this a foolish mistake? For once, she isn’t in charge, she isn’t the one in pursuit. “𝘏𝘰𝘸 𝘤𝘰𝘶𝘭𝘥 𝘴𝘩𝘦 𝘩𝘢𝘷𝘦 𝘴𝘶𝘯𝘬 𝘴𝘰 𝘭𝘰𝘸? 𝘏𝘦𝘳 𝘣𝘰𝘥𝘺 𝘩𝘢𝘥 𝘳𝘶𝘯 𝘰𝘧𝘧, 𝘮𝘪𝘭𝘦𝘴 𝘢𝘸𝘢𝘺.” Where is this betrayal going to take her? She is tormented by guilt, shame and anger- lots of anger, at the stranger and curiously, at Glen too! Isn’t he to blame for the state they are in too? Will she unmask this person, this stranger who is like a ghost, creeping along her skin, privy to her every secret?
Hongmei enlists the help of her friend, thinking to outwit the man who has been ‘hiding behind a shelter of words’, it only serves to complicate things more, makes the truth so much harder to discern. Hongmei begins to obsess over their interactions, to dismiss her own reality again. There is so much she herself is blind to. Her cultural identity isn’t a separate thing from her identity as woman, a wife. For Glen, as much as herself, their culture has molded them and yet their emotions aren’t really as divided as they imagine. Her past was one where people are always watching, an attention that becomes expected, everything one wants felt dangerous. That was one thing I thought about, regarding the start of she and Glen’s love, the constant eyes, the threat that always loomed based on cultural demands. It’s important, I believe, to why she is numb when things are stable. Maybe I am wrong, it was just my take away. I think being older, having been married a long time, I am reading this book from a different perspective than I would at say, 20. Fresh love is about the thrill of the chase, seduction but as love matures it is a different animal. Hongmei has needs and rather than confront them it’s easier to escape what has been built. Things settle and often we bottle up things that gnaw at us just to keep the illusion of contentment, as to not rupture the peace we think we’ve made. But delving deeper into the life of the person she has been communicating with could be the final straw in her marriage… dare she go down the rabbit’s hole?
This was an engaging read and I actually loved the ending, one I didn’t expect. The emotions are beautiful and sometimes biting. As more about Hongmei’s past is revealed, you begin to understand the reasons she seems to be willing to turn away from Glen but she turns away from herself just as much. Mysterious, quietly suspenseful, and heartbreaking. It is a psychological tale where the main character gets lost in a maze sometimes of her own making, not just the secret talker’s manipulations. A beautifully written slow burn.
Publication Date: May 4, 2021
HarperVia
July 2, 2022
Very quick read. I think the translation didn’t do this book justice. I’m still confused about a portion of the Big Twist Ending and there seems to be some serious plot holes.
April 11, 2021
Thank you to NetGalley for an ARC of
The Secret Talker.
Based on the blurb, I expected the narrative to be more suspenseful, dramatic, fast paced but instead, this was a slightly creepy story about a woman named Hongmei and the emails she's exchanging with a stranger, who knows more about her than she is comfortable with.
Yet, this person does not know everything about Hongmei, the dutiful Asian wife to Glen, a college professor, and Hongmei needs to confront the scars of her past before her marriage and life can move on.
There were parts I liked:
The author makes some insightful comments about marriage, the sacrifices immigrants are forced to make, namely women (of course), and the few choices available to women seeking a better life.
I wouldn't call this a crime drama; there's little urgency and more a slow peeling back of the onion layers that Hongmei has grown to protect herself.
I guessed the secret talker's identity early on and the revelation at the end felt anti-climatic, mostly because there was insufficient exposition (or maybe the translation didn't do it justice).
This was a quick read, but I found myself wanting more.
I didn't dislike Hongmei but I still didn't know much about her and I was curious about her childhood, how she survived and how her trauma shaped the woman she is now.
If this had just been about Hongmei, the story might have held my interest longer.
What I didn't like:
I found Hongmei's friend irritating and an unnecessary detail that pulled me out of the narrative.
The translation wasn't bad; some phrases sounded awkward but I got the gist.
The tone and style of writing, which may be due to the translation, felt stiff, but that might also just be the author's trademark.
I really wanted to like this more.
Based on the blurb, I expected the narrative to be more suspenseful, dramatic, fast paced but instead, this was a slightly creepy story about a woman named Hongmei and the emails she's exchanging with a stranger, who knows more about her than she is comfortable with.
Yet, this person does not know everything about Hongmei, the dutiful Asian wife to Glen, a college professor, and Hongmei needs to confront the scars of her past before her marriage and life can move on.
There were parts I liked:
The author makes some insightful comments about marriage, the sacrifices immigrants are forced to make, namely women (of course), and the few choices available to women seeking a better life.
I wouldn't call this a crime drama; there's little urgency and more a slow peeling back of the onion layers that Hongmei has grown to protect herself.
I guessed the secret talker's identity early on and the revelation at the end felt anti-climatic, mostly because there was insufficient exposition (or maybe the translation didn't do it justice).
This was a quick read, but I found myself wanting more.
I didn't dislike Hongmei but I still didn't know much about her and I was curious about her childhood, how she survived and how her trauma shaped the woman she is now.
If this had just been about Hongmei, the story might have held my interest longer.
What I didn't like:
I found Hongmei's friend irritating and an unnecessary detail that pulled me out of the narrative.
The translation wasn't bad; some phrases sounded awkward but I got the gist.
The tone and style of writing, which may be due to the translation, felt stiff, but that might also just be the author's trademark.
I really wanted to like this more.
March 14, 2021
This book has an intriguing plot: a young Chinese woman, Hongmei, living in America begins receiving emails from a stranger who seems to intimately know her every move. Against her better judgment, Hongmei begins a long and tortured correspondence with this person, revealing more about herself than she’s honestly ever revealed to anyone. She has had a troubled life: sexual abuse as a child, arrest, and torture when suspected of being a spy, and finally moving to the United States with the help of her school professor and now husband, Glen.
I thoroughly enjoyed the tenseness of the exchanges in the emails, the rabbit hole that Hongmei can’t seem to avoid, and the history of her youth in a strict regime. The last few pages seemed a bit scattered, but I’m hoping after I’ve given it more consideration, the intent of the author will become more clear to me. Overall, this was a captivating and enjoyable read.
Sincere thanks to NetGalley and HarperVia for an ARC in exchange for my honest review. The publishing date is May 4, 2021.
I thoroughly enjoyed the tenseness of the exchanges in the emails, the rabbit hole that Hongmei can’t seem to avoid, and the history of her youth in a strict regime. The last few pages seemed a bit scattered, but I’m hoping after I’ve given it more consideration, the intent of the author will become more clear to me. Overall, this was a captivating and enjoyable read.
Sincere thanks to NetGalley and HarperVia for an ARC in exchange for my honest review. The publishing date is May 4, 2021.
December 5, 2021
Aún no decido cómo me siento con respecto a este libro. La escritura es impecable y la trama mantiene cautivo al lector. Poco a poco a poco, a través de una relación secreta que la protagonista desarrolla con un admirador virtual, vamos descubriendo partes de su vida desde su juventud en China, su militancia en el partido comunista, su primer matrimonio, hasta su llegada a Estados Unidos, para casarse con quien fuera su profesor de inglés. Hongmei comienza a recibir una serie de correos de un admirador secreto, quién reconoce su belleza y parece seguirla paso a paso, reconociendo gestos y miradas que, de acuerdo a él, delatan que no es feliz en su matrimonio. Y la realidad es que Hongmei es una mujer sumamente compleja, y esto me gustó, lo mismo la manera en que la autora va rebelando las distintas capas de la protagonista y aquello que la atrae y la hace cuestionar su moralidad y su forma de ser. Pero hay algo que no me permitió conectar con la historia en su totalidad. Quizá fue que escuché la historia como audiolibro y con ello, no pude profundizar con detenimiento sobre las distintas capas de la historia. El final también no me encantó, cuando por fin conocemos quién es este admirador secreto -en lo personal, me hubiera gustado algo más dramático, es todo lo que diré. No fue un libro malo y quizá, en un futuro, merezca una relectura.
February 14, 2023
This was such a fast paced, easy-to-read novel that I wasn’t expecting to enjoy as much as I did. In some ways, it takes the shape of a thriller (it isn’t quite a mystery) and has a few interesting plot twists. The only character you really get to learn about is Hongmei and there isn’t a lot of dialogue. It still is a fascinating story with an ending that some readers will love while others will hate. Personally, I was quite disappointed by the ending. I thought it was a let down and would’ve preferred ‘the secret talked’ to be someone else. It felt like you learned so much about Hongmei and her marriage during the story that the ending just doesn’t really make sense. But anyways, it was still a really good read!
December 8, 2022
I’m not really sure what this book set out to do but it ended too abruptly. I would have liked to know more about Hongmei and especially why the Secret Talker turned out to be who he was 😬
July 29, 2022
2,75
Domyśliłam się zakończenia, trochę chaotyczna historia, chyba błędem było czytanie jej w audiobooku.
Domyśliłam się zakończenia, trochę chaotyczna historia, chyba błędem było czytanie jej w audiobooku.
January 23, 2025
Ay no, todo ese rollo para esto? Perdonen si no creo que es romántico ni nada asi 😒😒😒😒
September 17, 2021
I actually liked this book even though I have resolved the mystery about halfway through the book..
September 16, 2021
Gostei da ideia, mas a execução não funcionou pra mim. Fiquei em dúvida se dava 3 ou 2 estrelas, mas como em alguns pontos fiquei incomodada com determinadas escolhas, acabei abaixando a nota.
March 22, 2021
This was a very fast read, but it is not a thriller like the blurb says it is.
It's a strange, creepy, emotional story about a woman who has an email relationship with someone who seems to know a lot about her and be stalking her. This put me off at first but as I continued I realized that a lot of things weren't as they originally seemed. I actually guessed who the secret talker was pretty early on, but I definitely didn't guess the other twists that were revealed on the last few pages.
Very strange book and also pretty sad to be honest. Hongmei reveals a lot about her past and her emotional repression during the book.
It's a strange, creepy, emotional story about a woman who has an email relationship with someone who seems to know a lot about her and be stalking her. This put me off at first but as I continued I realized that a lot of things weren't as they originally seemed. I actually guessed who the secret talker was pretty early on, but I definitely didn't guess the other twists that were revealed on the last few pages.
Very strange book and also pretty sad to be honest. Hongmei reveals a lot about her past and her emotional repression during the book.
April 12, 2021
My Kindle First selection for April. I enjoy reading books about China and the Chinese, partly because I've been teaching Chinese students for over ten years now. That's why I chose this one.
Meh. I kept it up and finished it because it's short and not a hardship to read. Still, some of it felt repetitive. Some of it was confusing: Who was talking? Who was Hongmai talking about? And I pretty much solved the mystery about half-way through.
Short as this book was, it could probably have been pared down even more, leaving out a good bit of the descriptions and heightening the tension.
Meh. I kept it up and finished it because it's short and not a hardship to read. Still, some of it felt repetitive. Some of it was confusing: Who was talking? Who was Hongmai talking about? And I pretty much solved the mystery about half-way through.
Short as this book was, it could probably have been pared down even more, leaving out a good bit of the descriptions and heightening the tension.
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