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Speak to Me
The spiky wit of HEARTBURN and the ache and romance of BRIEF ENCOUNTER collide brilliantly in SPEAK TO ME: the story of a woman who feels she is losing her husband to his mobile phone - and that she might be falling out of love with modern life.
When Kurt's phone rings during sex - and he reaches to pick it up - Susan knows that their marriage has passed the point of no return. Since they swapped their family home for an 'executive' newbuild on an estate still under construction, she has felt ever more aware that there is something missing in her life: the absence of any kind of meaningful communication with Kurt, who only has Facetime for Wendy (the nickname she has given to the ubiquitous phone), or her twin boys, with whom she communicates via notes left on the middle shelf of the fridge.
This sense of loss becomes increasingly focused on a cache of handwritten letters, from her first love, Antony, mementoes of a time when devotion seemed to spill out easily onto paper. Increasingly desperate and out of synch with the contemporary world, Susan embarks on a journey of discovery that will reconnect her to her younger self, while simultaneously revealing her future.
When Kurt's phone rings during sex - and he reaches to pick it up - Susan knows that their marriage has passed the point of no return. Since they swapped their family home for an 'executive' newbuild on an estate still under construction, she has felt ever more aware that there is something missing in her life: the absence of any kind of meaningful communication with Kurt, who only has Facetime for Wendy (the nickname she has given to the ubiquitous phone), or her twin boys, with whom she communicates via notes left on the middle shelf of the fridge.
This sense of loss becomes increasingly focused on a cache of handwritten letters, from her first love, Antony, mementoes of a time when devotion seemed to spill out easily onto paper. Increasingly desperate and out of synch with the contemporary world, Susan embarks on a journey of discovery that will reconnect her to her younger self, while simultaneously revealing her future.
- GenresContemporaryFiction
262 pages, Hardcover
Published June 8, 2023
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 30 reviews
July 6, 2023
Paula Cocozza is a master of suburban tragedy, and this second novel an interesting companion to How to Be Human, her uniquely memorable debut. Speak to Me starts off as the tale of a woman, Susan, who’s convinced she’s losing her husband to his phone. She’s determined to separate Kurt from the device she calls ‘Wendy’, going as far as to hide and destroy multiple phones (even as she seems to have little idea what to say to Kurt once he’s phoneless). Yet Susan has her own preoccupation with an inanimate object: a case full of old love letters that went missing when she and Kurt moved to their current home in a soulless new-build estate. As Susan’s twin quests – to triumph over ‘Wendy’, and to get the case back – gather pace, she’s forced into a painful reckoning with her past.
The narrative is strongly voice-driven, with Susan’s pain, anger, pettiness and bone-dry wit ringing out from the page. I have never really been a fan of ‘person inexplicably obsessed with an ex from years ago’ stories, and this book tested my patience a bit in that regard; I got to a point where the mere mention of Antony’s name was enough to make me roll my eyes. As much as the reader understands that the obsession (like Susan’s missing case) is symbolic, it feels like a step down from How to Be Human, in which a similarly unsettled protagonist’s primary obsession is with a fox – a weirder, more engaging way of tackling the same idea. As both books are about a woman unravelling as she develops a fixation with something, it’s hard not to compare them; measured against the powerful dread summoned up by the disturbing images and maddening scenes in Human, all the emotions in Speak to Me feel dampened. Though it is a recognisable as a manifestation of profound unhappiness, I was exasperated by Susan’s inertia, and it never feels like she gets to the bottom of who she is or what she wants. While I didn’t expect a neat resolution (and indeed understand that this is the tragedy of Susan’s story), such lack of insight is frustrating in a character-centric novel. Mixed feelings overall: Cocozza’s writing is excellent but Susan’s world, past and present, is portrayed so joylessly I found this a dispiriting read.
I received an advance review copy of Speak to Me from the publisher through NetGalley.
The narrative is strongly voice-driven, with Susan’s pain, anger, pettiness and bone-dry wit ringing out from the page. I have never really been a fan of ‘person inexplicably obsessed with an ex from years ago’ stories, and this book tested my patience a bit in that regard; I got to a point where the mere mention of Antony’s name was enough to make me roll my eyes. As much as the reader understands that the obsession (like Susan’s missing case) is symbolic, it feels like a step down from How to Be Human, in which a similarly unsettled protagonist’s primary obsession is with a fox – a weirder, more engaging way of tackling the same idea. As both books are about a woman unravelling as she develops a fixation with something, it’s hard not to compare them; measured against the powerful dread summoned up by the disturbing images and maddening scenes in Human, all the emotions in Speak to Me feel dampened. Though it is a recognisable as a manifestation of profound unhappiness, I was exasperated by Susan’s inertia, and it never feels like she gets to the bottom of who she is or what she wants. While I didn’t expect a neat resolution (and indeed understand that this is the tragedy of Susan’s story), such lack of insight is frustrating in a character-centric novel. Mixed feelings overall: Cocozza’s writing is excellent but Susan’s world, past and present, is portrayed so joylessly I found this a dispiriting read.
I received an advance review copy of Speak to Me from the publisher through NetGalley.
July 26, 2023
I adored Cocozza’s debut, How to Be Human, so news of her follow-up was very exciting. The brief early synopses made it sound like it couldn’t be more up my street what with the theme of a woman frustrated by her husband’s obsession with his phone – I’m a smartphone refusenik and generally nod smugly along to arguments about how they’re an addiction that encourages lack of focus and time wasting. But it turns out that was only a peripheral topic; the novel is strangely diffuse and detached.
Susan is a middle-aged librarian and mother to teenage twin boys. She lives with them and her husband Kurt on a partially built estate in Berkshire full of soulless houses of various designs. Their “Beaufort” is not a happy place, and their marriage is failing, for several reasons. One is tech guru Kurt’s phone addiction. Susan refers to each new model as “Wendy,” and for her the last straw is when he checks it during the middle of sex on her 50th birthday. She joins a forum for likeminded neglected family members, and kills several Wendys by burial, washing machine, or sledgehammer.
But as the story goes on, Kurt’s issues fade into the background and Susan becomes more obsessed with the whereabouts of a leather suitcase that went missing during their move. The case contains letters and souvenirs from her relationship with Antony, whom she met at 16. She’s convinced that Kurt is hiding it, and does ever odder things in the quest to get it back, even letting herself into their former suburban London home. Soon her mission shifts: not only does she want Antony’s letters back; she wants Antony himself.
The message seems a fairly obvious one: the characters have more immediate forms of communication at their disposal than ever before, yet are not truly communicating with each other about what they need and want from life, and allowing secrets to come between them. “We both act as if talking will destroy us, but surely silence will, more slowly, and we will be undone by all the things we leave unsaid,” Susan thinks about her marriage. Nostalgia and futurism are both held up as problematic. Fair enough.
However, Susan is unforthcoming and delusional – but not in the satisfying unreliable narrator way – and delivers this piecemeal record with such a flat affect (reminding me of no one more than the title character from Kazuo Ishiguro’s Klara and the Sun; Susan even says, “Why do I feel scared that someone will find me out every time I tick the box that says ‘I am not a robot’?”) that I lost sympathy early on and couldn’t care what happened. A big disappointment from my Most Anticipated list.
Originally published on my blog, Bookish Beck.
Susan is a middle-aged librarian and mother to teenage twin boys. She lives with them and her husband Kurt on a partially built estate in Berkshire full of soulless houses of various designs. Their “Beaufort” is not a happy place, and their marriage is failing, for several reasons. One is tech guru Kurt’s phone addiction. Susan refers to each new model as “Wendy,” and for her the last straw is when he checks it during the middle of sex on her 50th birthday. She joins a forum for likeminded neglected family members, and kills several Wendys by burial, washing machine, or sledgehammer.
But as the story goes on, Kurt’s issues fade into the background and Susan becomes more obsessed with the whereabouts of a leather suitcase that went missing during their move. The case contains letters and souvenirs from her relationship with Antony, whom she met at 16. She’s convinced that Kurt is hiding it, and does ever odder things in the quest to get it back, even letting herself into their former suburban London home. Soon her mission shifts: not only does she want Antony’s letters back; she wants Antony himself.
The message seems a fairly obvious one: the characters have more immediate forms of communication at their disposal than ever before, yet are not truly communicating with each other about what they need and want from life, and allowing secrets to come between them. “We both act as if talking will destroy us, but surely silence will, more slowly, and we will be undone by all the things we leave unsaid,” Susan thinks about her marriage. Nostalgia and futurism are both held up as problematic. Fair enough.
However, Susan is unforthcoming and delusional – but not in the satisfying unreliable narrator way – and delivers this piecemeal record with such a flat affect (reminding me of no one more than the title character from Kazuo Ishiguro’s Klara and the Sun; Susan even says, “Why do I feel scared that someone will find me out every time I tick the box that says ‘I am not a robot’?”) that I lost sympathy early on and couldn’t care what happened. A big disappointment from my Most Anticipated list.
Originally published on my blog, Bookish Beck.
July 12, 2023
4
In a society where it appears that everyone is permanently connected to their mobile devices and seemingly incapable of functioning without them, I was intrigued by the concept of this novel. It revolves around a woman who desperately longs for her husband's attention, but he is constantly engrossed in his phone.
Susan's marriage is deteriorating as she struggles to engage her husband in even the simplest conversation or intimacy, constantly interrupted by his preoccupation with his phone, whom she refers to as Wendy. However, the issues run deeper when we learn that Susan has lost her cherished briefcase during their move to a new home.
As Susan desperately searches for the missing pieces in her life—the closeness she once shared with her husband, meaningful interactions with her sons, and her lost briefcase—she directly addresses the reader, recounting past and present events written in her notebook. Although this narrative technique may be slightly confusing at times, as the story progresses,
I became increasingly captivated by Susan's tragic circumstances, viewing them as a reflection of the disorder and turmoil within her. This is a tale of lost love, domestic life, loneliness, and the contemplation of what could have been, prompting readers to ponder the consequences of keeping secrets and fostering open communication with others.
In a society where it appears that everyone is permanently connected to their mobile devices and seemingly incapable of functioning without them, I was intrigued by the concept of this novel. It revolves around a woman who desperately longs for her husband's attention, but he is constantly engrossed in his phone.
Susan's marriage is deteriorating as she struggles to engage her husband in even the simplest conversation or intimacy, constantly interrupted by his preoccupation with his phone, whom she refers to as Wendy. However, the issues run deeper when we learn that Susan has lost her cherished briefcase during their move to a new home.
As Susan desperately searches for the missing pieces in her life—the closeness she once shared with her husband, meaningful interactions with her sons, and her lost briefcase—she directly addresses the reader, recounting past and present events written in her notebook. Although this narrative technique may be slightly confusing at times, as the story progresses,
I became increasingly captivated by Susan's tragic circumstances, viewing them as a reflection of the disorder and turmoil within her. This is a tale of lost love, domestic life, loneliness, and the contemplation of what could have been, prompting readers to ponder the consequences of keeping secrets and fostering open communication with others.
August 8, 2025
The urge to DNF was so strong, getting through is an achievement
July 13, 2023
Unfortunately this book just wasn’t for me. It started as I expected with regards to Susan being fed up of being in a relationship with her husband and his mobile phone. I wanted to warm to Susan and be her ally in the sense of technology has changed how we interact and communicate with our loved ones. Mobile phones are part of our relationships and not always for the better. Who hasn’t eye rolled at a loved one when you’re trying to talk to them and they are glued to the glow of a screen. There was some parts I felt I could relate too but then the book changed course.
Susan and her husband have moved into a new build with her sons - communication isn’t great; her sons are at the age of taking off to their rooms and Kurt her husband is a tech wizard and loves his mobile. We then discover Susan has lost a briefcase containing letters from her first love during the move. She then becomes obsessed with finding the briefcase whilst her communication in marriage is breaking down. In essence Susan appears lost and is trying to find a sense of herself and her past and she needs these letter to do so.
I couldn’t warm to Susan and there were times I couldn’t work out if things were happening presently or if Susan was writing them in a notebook and/or If it was in the past or present. I found it difficult to warm to her first love and couldn’t really see why she would want to seek him out. The book is poignant and does highlight the importance of communication but I sadly found it lacking in the interest factor.
If you are interested in a book about a sense of loss and trying to find yourself from your past and making sense of your present self then this may be of interest to you. This one wasn’t for me but I’m always as ever intrigued to hear about what other people thought or what they loved about it.
Thank you kindly to @tinder_press for the proof copy in exchange for an open and honest review.
Published 6th July
March 26, 2023
When Kurt's phone rings during sex - and he reaches to pick it up - Susan knows that their marriage has passed the point of no return. Since they swapped their family home for an 'executive' newbuild on an estate still under construction, she has felt ever more aware that there is something missing in her life: the absence of any kind of meaningful communication with Kurt, who only has Facetime for Wendy (the nickname she has given to the ubiquitous phone), or her twin boys, with whom she communicates via notes left on the middle shelf of the fridge.
This sense of loss becomes increasingly focused on a cache of handwritten letters, from her first love, Antony, mementoes of a time when devotion seemed to spill out easily onto paper. Increasingly desperate and out of synch with the contemporary world, Susan embarks on a journey of discovery that will reconnect her to her younger self, while simultaneously revealing her future.
"He is always the latest him, whilst I remain the same old me."
At first, I was a little worried this was going to be another kettle-logic story romanticising the old days where there were no phones but also no antibiotics or vaccines. I wasn't totally wrong, but there was definitely some nuance and substance to this story.
Speak to Me makes some touching and beautiful observations about connections, and how lost people can feel even with people all around them. It looks at the dangers of people who spend too long curating a meaningful social media feed rather than living a happy life, who have more followers than friends.
We get on deeply personal terms with Susan right away - our first meeting with her being during an intimate moment with her husband. Although I found it very hard to connect with her - her narration was extremely disjointed, feeling like parts of different stories, blurring the lines between her journals and letters with the present day which just didn't work for me. I found Susan herself very stubborn and condescending - she blamed technology and contemporary life for her problems rather than addressing the issues and boundaries in her relationship, she didn't really go through any personal development and refuses to adapt or grow in any way. I did feel her frustration, her loneliness, her desire for connection but I just couldn't find my way past her rigidity and coldness. Although, I definitely joined in her in her deep love for books.
A slow story, filled with snapshots of domestic life and days gone by, lots of little moments that fit together to create a picture - with a painstaking attention to detail that makes the scenes so vivid. A socially observant and entertaining story with lots of heart.
"Funny how persuasive the most implausible hope can be. Actually, it is not funny."
This sense of loss becomes increasingly focused on a cache of handwritten letters, from her first love, Antony, mementoes of a time when devotion seemed to spill out easily onto paper. Increasingly desperate and out of synch with the contemporary world, Susan embarks on a journey of discovery that will reconnect her to her younger self, while simultaneously revealing her future.
"He is always the latest him, whilst I remain the same old me."
At first, I was a little worried this was going to be another kettle-logic story romanticising the old days where there were no phones but also no antibiotics or vaccines. I wasn't totally wrong, but there was definitely some nuance and substance to this story.
Speak to Me makes some touching and beautiful observations about connections, and how lost people can feel even with people all around them. It looks at the dangers of people who spend too long curating a meaningful social media feed rather than living a happy life, who have more followers than friends.
We get on deeply personal terms with Susan right away - our first meeting with her being during an intimate moment with her husband. Although I found it very hard to connect with her - her narration was extremely disjointed, feeling like parts of different stories, blurring the lines between her journals and letters with the present day which just didn't work for me. I found Susan herself very stubborn and condescending - she blamed technology and contemporary life for her problems rather than addressing the issues and boundaries in her relationship, she didn't really go through any personal development and refuses to adapt or grow in any way. I did feel her frustration, her loneliness, her desire for connection but I just couldn't find my way past her rigidity and coldness. Although, I definitely joined in her in her deep love for books.
A slow story, filled with snapshots of domestic life and days gone by, lots of little moments that fit together to create a picture - with a painstaking attention to detail that makes the scenes so vivid. A socially observant and entertaining story with lots of heart.
"Funny how persuasive the most implausible hope can be. Actually, it is not funny."
June 8, 2023
An insightful portrayal of love, family, loss and loneliness.
Speak to Me perfectly captures what it can be like to be lonely in a relationship and how an addiction of sorts can be destructive. Both Susan and Kurt are oblivious to how their respective additions are hurting their partner. Susan is compelled to find an old briefcase, seemingly lost in a recent house move, containing old love letters from an old boyfriend, no matter what the cost. Even after breaking in to the old house and getting a visit from the police, Susan's quest to find the case isn't halted.
Similarly, Kurt constantly ignores Susan whilst engrossed in his phone. Simply becoming a silent pair of eyelids to Susan.
It's interesting to see that Kurt becomes less and less attractive in Susan's descriptions as their relationship gets worse.
The book serves as a warning about the pitfalls of ignoring our loved ones and dwelling in the past. Also in not communicating. Susan lost her first love Antony by not communicating her love for him properly and Susan and Kurt part ways partly because Kurt starts to ignore Susan whilst spending time on his phone and Susan also doesn't take the time to properly communicate with him either as each is completely consumed by their own obsessions.
Loss is also a theme in the book, Kurt with the phones that Susan constantly hides or destroys (which to me seems the perfect metaphor for their lost communication) and Susan her lost love and her and Antony's unborn daughter . I feel that the case was a physical representation for Susan of all she'd lost before and this was something physical she might be able to control so getting it back was imperirtive to her.
A thought provoking read.
Speak to Me perfectly captures what it can be like to be lonely in a relationship and how an addiction of sorts can be destructive. Both Susan and Kurt are oblivious to how their respective additions are hurting their partner. Susan is compelled to find an old briefcase, seemingly lost in a recent house move, containing old love letters from an old boyfriend, no matter what the cost. Even after breaking in to the old house and getting a visit from the police, Susan's quest to find the case isn't halted.
Similarly, Kurt constantly ignores Susan whilst engrossed in his phone. Simply becoming a silent pair of eyelids to Susan.
It's interesting to see that Kurt becomes less and less attractive in Susan's descriptions as their relationship gets worse.
The book serves as a warning about the pitfalls of ignoring our loved ones and dwelling in the past. Also in not communicating. Susan lost her first love Antony by not communicating her love for him properly and Susan and Kurt part ways partly because Kurt starts to ignore Susan whilst spending time on his phone and Susan also doesn't take the time to properly communicate with him either as each is completely consumed by their own obsessions.
Loss is also a theme in the book, Kurt with the phones that Susan constantly hides or destroys (which to me seems the perfect metaphor for their lost communication) and Susan her lost love and her and Antony's unborn daughter . I feel that the case was a physical representation for Susan of all she'd lost before and this was something physical she might be able to control so getting it back was imperirtive to her.
A thought provoking read.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
July 5, 2023
In a world where everyone seems to be permanently attached to their mobile devices and seemingly incapable of existing without them, I was drawn to the premise of this novel: a woman who is desperately craving the attention of her husband who is otherwise engaged with his phone. Susan’s marriage is crumbling around her as she seems unable to engage her husband in even a simple conversation, let alone any intimacy without him being distracted by his phone, Wendy as named by Susan. However, the problems actually lie deeper than this when we discover Susan has lost her much treasured briefcase in the move to their new home. As Susan desperately searches for the lost pieces of her life - the intimacy she had with her husband, proper interaction with her sons and her missing briefcase - she speaks directly to the reader and recalls events past, present and written in her notebook. At times this could be slightly confusing, but as the book progressed I found myself increasingly swept up into Susan’s tragedy and came to see it as representing the chaos and turmoil within her. A story of lost love, domestic life, loneliness and what ifs that will certainly make you think about the impact of keeping secrets and communicating with others.
Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for a review copy in exchange for a review.
Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for a review copy in exchange for a review.
July 5, 2023
In a world where everyone seems to be permanently attached to their mobile devices and seemingly incapable of existing without them, I was drawn to the premise of this novel: a woman who is desperately craving the attention of her husband who is otherwise engaged with his phone. Susan’s marriage is crumbling around her as she seems unable to engage her husband in even a simple conversation, let alone any intimacy without him being distracted by his phone, Wendy as named by Susan. However, the problems actually lie deeper than this when we discover Susan has lost her much treasured briefcase in the move to their new home. As Susan desperately searches for the lost pieces of her life - the intimacy she had with her husband, proper interaction with her sons and her missing briefcase - she speaks directly to the reader and recalls events past, present and written in her notebook. At times this could be slightly confusing, but as the book progressed I found myself increasingly swept up into Susan’s tragedy and came to see it as representing the chaos and turmoil within her. A story of lost love, domestic life, loneliness and what ifs that will certainly make you think about the impact of keeping secrets and communicating with others.
Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for a review copy in exchange for a review.
Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for a review copy in exchange for a review.
June 26, 2023
Even when they’re having sex, Susan’s husband doesn’t give her his full attention. So no wonder she’s jealous of Wendy – not the other woman in the love triangle, but the phone that rarely leaves Kurt’s hand. But Susan has her own obsession: a case of letters that have gone astray when the couple moved house.
Susan isn’t anti-technology but, as a librarian, she much prefers books. And snail mail as opposed to email – or is that because she’s mourning the loss of the letters from her first love?
As her twin boys become more independent, and Kurt more absorbed in his phone, Susan becomes reckless in her search for the missing letters. But what is she really looking for? Is it Antony’s devotion or the girl she used to be?
I might not have chosen to read a novel about relationships with screens and devices had I not enjoyed the author’s quirky debut, How to Be Human. With poignancy and deadpan humour, both novels explore the desperation for intimate connection and the internal and external barriers that get in the way. I did find the chronology in Speak to Me occasionally confusing but, overall, it was a fabulously entertaining and touching read. Thanks to publishers Tinder Press for my advance proof copy.
Susan isn’t anti-technology but, as a librarian, she much prefers books. And snail mail as opposed to email – or is that because she’s mourning the loss of the letters from her first love?
As her twin boys become more independent, and Kurt more absorbed in his phone, Susan becomes reckless in her search for the missing letters. But what is she really looking for? Is it Antony’s devotion or the girl she used to be?
I might not have chosen to read a novel about relationships with screens and devices had I not enjoyed the author’s quirky debut, How to Be Human. With poignancy and deadpan humour, both novels explore the desperation for intimate connection and the internal and external barriers that get in the way. I did find the chronology in Speak to Me occasionally confusing but, overall, it was a fabulously entertaining and touching read. Thanks to publishers Tinder Press for my advance proof copy.
July 16, 2023
“We both act as if talking will destroy us, but surely silence will, more slowly, and we will be undone by all the things we leave unsaid.”
This was an intriguing book, all about the ways humans avoid saying the things they really feel. The character voice of the fifty year old wife is unique and disjointed and kind of confused me at times, but maybe that was the point?
The book followed her thoughts on her husband’s overuse of his phone. I found her reflections of his eyelids being the new window of the soul (since he was always looking down at his phone) pretty amusing, but also sad, because the world can feel a lot like that sometimes.
Whilst I started out empathising with the wife, the book soon unfolds to reveal her own obsession which is in fact, not all that different than her husbands in that both obsessions stop them from really being present with each other. and then I felt like they’d both lost their paths, just differently.
I thought this book was strange, wasn’t entirely sure if I enjoyed it, but it also felt weirdly clever, like it was touching upon something actually quite big, and for that reason I couldn’t stop reading it.
This was an intriguing book, all about the ways humans avoid saying the things they really feel. The character voice of the fifty year old wife is unique and disjointed and kind of confused me at times, but maybe that was the point?
The book followed her thoughts on her husband’s overuse of his phone. I found her reflections of his eyelids being the new window of the soul (since he was always looking down at his phone) pretty amusing, but also sad, because the world can feel a lot like that sometimes.
Whilst I started out empathising with the wife, the book soon unfolds to reveal her own obsession which is in fact, not all that different than her husbands in that both obsessions stop them from really being present with each other. and then I felt like they’d both lost their paths, just differently.
I thought this book was strange, wasn’t entirely sure if I enjoyed it, but it also felt weirdly clever, like it was touching upon something actually quite big, and for that reason I couldn’t stop reading it.
March 12, 2024
Oh wow. This is my book of the year so far. It moved me in such a deep way, and I find myself without words or really the desire to try to explain why. All I can say is that it is one of the most beautiful and tender stories I have ever read.
"Speak to Me" is about the people we have loved deeply and who have left their marks on us. It is about passing through the stages of our lives, about constantly regenerating into new versions of ourselves, and yet longing to hold on to the versions that felt most authentic and happy.
This is one of those books that will leave its mark on me, and I am eternally grateful that it has come across my path. Thank you to the author for writing it.
There are many beautiful sentences and paragraphs, and I found myself stopping often to reread and savor. This one, towards the end, best sums up the mood and the theme of the story, I think:
"I felt I would remember that room forever. But a month has passed, and already I don't. I know where the bed was, the desk, the window. I can see the corrugated door, ajar, to the toilet, the scabs on the mirror. The rest of it is just places where memories were."
"Speak to Me" is about the people we have loved deeply and who have left their marks on us. It is about passing through the stages of our lives, about constantly regenerating into new versions of ourselves, and yet longing to hold on to the versions that felt most authentic and happy.
This is one of those books that will leave its mark on me, and I am eternally grateful that it has come across my path. Thank you to the author for writing it.
There are many beautiful sentences and paragraphs, and I found myself stopping often to reread and savor. This one, towards the end, best sums up the mood and the theme of the story, I think:
"I felt I would remember that room forever. But a month has passed, and already I don't. I know where the bed was, the desk, the window. I can see the corrugated door, ajar, to the toilet, the scabs on the mirror. The rest of it is just places where memories were."
August 9, 2023
Susan moves into a new home with her husband and twin teens, and starts to obsess about finding a briefcase full of letters from her first love, which she lost during the house move.
She is reminiscing about her first love because she’s losing her husband to his mobile phone, it’s like his other woman, she even names it Wendy
“I shall explain about our marriage - we have a modern version of a long distance relationship. We share a house, but live in different historical eras”
A confessional story of our techno times, showing the perils of modern living and how the art of conservation is disappearing, Susan feels increasingly invisible and inaudible to her current family.
Loved Susan’s witty observations, like an Alan Bennett monologue.
Very relatable and although funny in parts, thought it was taken to the extremes and a bit too far fetched.
Thanks @cocozzapaula @tinderpress & @netgalley for the eARC
She is reminiscing about her first love because she’s losing her husband to his mobile phone, it’s like his other woman, she even names it Wendy
“I shall explain about our marriage - we have a modern version of a long distance relationship. We share a house, but live in different historical eras”
A confessional story of our techno times, showing the perils of modern living and how the art of conservation is disappearing, Susan feels increasingly invisible and inaudible to her current family.
Loved Susan’s witty observations, like an Alan Bennett monologue.
Very relatable and although funny in parts, thought it was taken to the extremes and a bit too far fetched.
Thanks @cocozzapaula @tinderpress & @netgalley for the eARC
September 27, 2023
𝕊𝕡𝕖𝕒𝕜 𝕋𝕠 𝕄𝕖
By Paula Cocozza
This is a contemporary fictional novel that follows Susan, a middle-aged woman out of London and into a new build with her two teenage sons and her husband Kurt.
The relationship between Susan and Kurt has drifted into one of sitting in silence with Wendy the android in full control of Kurt's attention, as Susan plots Wendy's demise, you can understand her frustration and sadness.
Technology also aids Susan in seeking out an old flame that in her eyes never went out, her desire to read her old love letters becomes overwhelming when she can't find her old case with them safely stowed inside.
This is a story of how modern technologies can get in the way of relationships.
📱 Contemporary Fiction
📃 Modern social problems
📱 Domestic theme
📃 Realistic Theme
📱 Self-discovery
📃 Documentary style
I'm afraid the humour was lost on me in this book, and I wasn't too keen on the documentary style of writing, so it's only...
⭐️⭐️⭐️ from me 🤓
By Paula Cocozza
This is a contemporary fictional novel that follows Susan, a middle-aged woman out of London and into a new build with her two teenage sons and her husband Kurt.
The relationship between Susan and Kurt has drifted into one of sitting in silence with Wendy the android in full control of Kurt's attention, as Susan plots Wendy's demise, you can understand her frustration and sadness.
Technology also aids Susan in seeking out an old flame that in her eyes never went out, her desire to read her old love letters becomes overwhelming when she can't find her old case with them safely stowed inside.
This is a story of how modern technologies can get in the way of relationships.
📱 Contemporary Fiction
📃 Modern social problems
📱 Domestic theme
📃 Realistic Theme
📱 Self-discovery
📃 Documentary style
I'm afraid the humour was lost on me in this book, and I wasn't too keen on the documentary style of writing, so it's only...
⭐️⭐️⭐️ from me 🤓
August 5, 2023
I thought the premise of the book was quite good – a couple whose marriage is struggling for a number of reasons but mainly because the husband, Kurt, is obsessed with his smart phone and because the wife, Susan, is obsessed with some old love letters that have been ‘mislaid’. However as the book progresses, it becomes rather tiresome and at times hard to follow. At one point it is hard to tell if Susan is actually quite mentally ill or just obsessed. It is hard to like any of the characters and the story really isn’t very gripping, there just isn’t enough plot or depth to the characters. The only interesting bit was about how technology, be it mobiles or laptops, have taken over our lives and to some extent our relationships. I finished the book but did not really enjoy it overall.
August 6, 2023
Speak to Me tells the very relatable story of a woman who’s competing with a smartphone for her husband’s attention.
“ His phone is programmed to reward attention, whereas I am saying nothing new and my words are too wordy”
But it is also about lost loves, and how we can romanticise the past as she obsesses over a lost briefcase which holds love letters from an old flame. The comparison of analogue and digital means of communication, the old and the new, is a common theme throughout as our protagonist struggles with embracing modern life. The varying timelines aren’t always clearly signposted and kept me consistently confused. I so enjoyed the author’s first book so it’s with regret I have to admit I quit this one halfway through. It just wasn’t very good.
“ His phone is programmed to reward attention, whereas I am saying nothing new and my words are too wordy”
But it is also about lost loves, and how we can romanticise the past as she obsesses over a lost briefcase which holds love letters from an old flame. The comparison of analogue and digital means of communication, the old and the new, is a common theme throughout as our protagonist struggles with embracing modern life. The varying timelines aren’t always clearly signposted and kept me consistently confused. I so enjoyed the author’s first book so it’s with regret I have to admit I quit this one halfway through. It just wasn’t very good.
August 21, 2023
The story focuses on the marital breakdown between a lonely middle aged librarian who has become obsessed by memories of a former lover and a trunk of old love letters (which has mysteriously disappeared), and her passive aggressive husband who is obsessed by his smartphone. When the trunk of letters appears from out of nowhere, events spiral out of control....
A moral tale for the digital age, Speak to Me tells of the tragic consequence for relationships when face to face communication breaks down. Great choice for a book club read, my book club Fiction Addiction really enjoyed it overall
A moral tale for the digital age, Speak to Me tells of the tragic consequence for relationships when face to face communication breaks down. Great choice for a book club read, my book club Fiction Addiction really enjoyed it overall
September 2, 2023
An interesting exploration of a marriage in freefall... Cocozza depicts a woman completely absorbed by her obsessive thoughts of a lover from her past and consumed by paranoia about what happened to a trunk of letters which has gone astray during a house move. The plot twists to reveal that she is not so paranoid after all and the secretive behaviour of her husband might be the key to unlocking the mystery of the lost letters after all. The relationship between her, her husband and his mobile phone Wendy is a strange menage a trois but works really well. Enjoyed this book which I picked up at my local bookclub Fiction Addiction.
September 2, 2023
I was given this book to review by my bookclub in work Fiction Addiction, its is not the sort of book I would normally pick up but it is nice to read books out of your normal genre. The main character was a bit self pitying and annoying and I felt the story was really one sided, it would have been good to have seen the events replayed through the mind and experience of the husband. Overall I enjoyed the book and I thought the end a bit sad.
August 6, 2023
I have to say that it was a bit of a struggle when I got about halfway through the book. But I am happy that I continued reading, as the last chapters were so painfully good.
Part of the story resembles a recent experience and loss of my own, and I just connected with the pain and love of the main character.
A heartbreaking yet beautiful story.
Part of the story resembles a recent experience and loss of my own, and I just connected with the pain and love of the main character.
A heartbreaking yet beautiful story.
June 15, 2024
Loved the concept so bought this book with high hopes but I found it difficult to read. I’m the type to get lost in a book but I had no idea what was going on at any given moment. The story is not in chronological order; it would have regular flashbacks to different times in the characters life but these were not always made clear and I ended up getting confused. Couldn’t finish it.
July 12, 2023
If you have ever moved into a house without changing the locks, this brilliantly perceptive and witty novel will see to it that you don't do it again. A novel about love in the digital age, it really spoke to me!
March 14, 2024
“The wonder of hope is that it can outlive probability by many years”
This was a flop. Very confusing to follow and I feel like most of the time it was trying to be artsy with its writing, rather than developing the plot. The premise is good but yeah fell flat for me.
This was a flop. Very confusing to follow and I feel like most of the time it was trying to be artsy with its writing, rather than developing the plot. The premise is good but yeah fell flat for me.
September 14, 2023
Not really my cup of tea. Didn’t like any of the characters and found it difficult to follow where I was in time/place in the story. But it was a quick read!
November 22, 2023
Enjoyable read but a bit disjointed in parts
April 2, 2025
Gaat helemaal niet over wat er in de flaptekst staat #nietboosmaarteleurgesteld
August 11, 2024
I had difficulty with this book and the jumping between timelines. I'm not sure I understood what went on in the book.
May 27, 2025
I liked this book. It is funny, yet deals with important themes, and the characters and their communication problems seem very relatable. It might be considered slightly banal if it didn’t include the twist of the narrator’s increasing inability to communicate as she is lamenting her husband’s ditto.
March 11, 2026
Hilarious – the musings of Susan, a 50-year-old woman whose husband Kurt pays more attention to his mobile phone (‘Wendy’) than to her. She contrasts the absolute lack of communication she has with her husband with her first boyfriend Antony’s soulful love letters, written in emerald ink on lilac paper. Driven mad by boredom, she breaks into her old house, has a fling with Antony, regrets her earlier abortion, then she and Kurt split up.
It’s the scatty inventiveness, the satire on suburban life, that is the best part, rather than the rather dull plot: Her glosses on how technology has changed things are hilarious:
- It is amazing how many sounds sisal cannot hide.
- I sneaked into Oxford on a full grant – a termly cheque (basically a voucher from the bank) which was like a student loan but a permanent gift
- In those days, for a very small sum you could post an envelope one day and it would arrive anywhere in the country the next.
- Vogue (a sort of luxury style blog that they used to print on very shiny paper)
It’s the scatty inventiveness, the satire on suburban life, that is the best part, rather than the rather dull plot: Her glosses on how technology has changed things are hilarious:
- It is amazing how many sounds sisal cannot hide.
- I sneaked into Oxford on a full grant – a termly cheque (basically a voucher from the bank) which was like a student loan but a permanent gift
- In those days, for a very small sum you could post an envelope one day and it would arrive anywhere in the country the next.
- Vogue (a sort of luxury style blog that they used to print on very shiny paper)
February 2, 2024
*DNF at 82 pages*
This book was incredibly frustrating. I feel like it could have been amazing, the idea itself is so interesting. But the execution comes across as “I’m not like other girls”, and making technology out to be the villain in such a way that it becomes annoying to read- especially when you find out the husband who loves phones oh-so-much actually DESIGNS tech for phones.
The idea of changing within a marriage and becoming different people and grieving someone still alive is so poignant. But it’s missing something and far too heavy in other aspects. The vilification of technology ends up overshadowing everything else.
This book was incredibly frustrating. I feel like it could have been amazing, the idea itself is so interesting. But the execution comes across as “I’m not like other girls”, and making technology out to be the villain in such a way that it becomes annoying to read- especially when you find out the husband who loves phones oh-so-much actually DESIGNS tech for phones.
The idea of changing within a marriage and becoming different people and grieving someone still alive is so poignant. But it’s missing something and far too heavy in other aspects. The vilification of technology ends up overshadowing everything else.
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