We Need To Talk – review (AD)

I was kindly given an electronic copy of We Need To Talk by Jonathan Crane in exchange for an honest review*.

---

We Need To Talk book blurb

A WICKEDLY HONEST PORTRAIT OF MIDDLE ENGLAND ON THE EVE OF COVID.

It’s 2019 in Sudleigh, a market town not far from the south coast.

It’s not a bad place to live, provided the new housing development doesn’t ruin it, but most residents are too caught up in their own grudges, sores and struggles to notice.

Gap-year Tom is cleaning toilets but finding unexpected solace in his Chinese house-share.

Former lounge musician Frank wants to pass his carpet business to his nephew Josh, killing the boy’s dream to become a chef.

Sharp-elbowed phone-sex operator Heather will stop at nothing to become manager of the golf club.

Miss Bennett keeps putting her house on the market when she doesn’t want to move.

Do they all know how their lives are linked?

And will creative writing tutor Tony, hard at work on his ironic pseudo-children’s book The Jazz Cats, ever pluck up the courage to leave his unappreciative girlfriend Lydia?

Meticulously observed, with flashes of wicked comedy, We Need to Talk offers a jigsaw puzzle of unwitting connections for the reader to assemble.

The finished picture is an unflinchingly honest portrait of multi-jobbing, gig-economy Middle England on the eve of Covid.

---

My overall thoughts on We Need To Talk

I really enjoyed We Need To Talk and seeing how the characters were interwoven within each other’s lives and how decisions they make have an impact on others.

Although We Need to Talk is a novel, it also feels like a jigsaw puzzle.

For me, each chapter felt like a little short story all on its own but part of a larger narrative.

Characters do cross between chapters – it’s quite fun seeing them flitting in and out of each others lives as the book progresses – and there are some characters that we return to more than once as the story unfolds.

Crane has created a multi-layered portrait of a community and the people within it rather than a novel with a singular narrative drive or character.

We Need To Talk is a very clever and intricately woven story that never seems disjointed, in spite of there being so many separate characters within it.

Each chapter and character bring the wider narrative together and you really feel that you are part of this community.

I really like Jonathan Crane’s writing style, he has an uncanny insight into emotions and relationships, but the key is that he knows how to tell it a way that paints a picture on the page so that you are feeling a part of it, that you right there in amongst it all.

---

About the author Jonathan Crane

Jonathan Crane completed an MA Literature and a PhD in Creative Writing at the University of Essex, where he is now an academic in Creative Writing.

He also works with charities to design and deliver writing programmes in prison and community settings.

His previous writing includes fiction and academic papers.

Formerly a musician/composer, he has released two albums.

We Need to Talk is his first novel.

He currently lives in Hampshire.

Purchase Links:

Lightning Books: https://www.eye-books.com/books/we-need-to-talk

Amazon UK: https://amzn.to/35KhFEi

Amazon US: https://amzn.to/3gVEs58

Waterstones: https://bit.ly/2SS6XZD

Foyles: https://bit.ly/3wZ0Q4A

Hive.co.uk: https://bit.ly/2UnA1s7

Publishing Information:

Published in paperback and digital formats by Lightning Books on 5th July 2021.

---

Pin this 👇🏻

---

*Disclaimer

This review has been written with 100% honesty.

I was not financially compensated for this post. I was given a copy of this book for review purposes. The opinions expressed in this post are completely my own based on my own experience.

If you would like your company/service featured on rachaelstray.com either in the form of review, sponsored post or an advertising slot, please feel free to contact me at rachaelstray@gmail.com

Please visit my contact/work with me page for more information.

---

Other related posts

Here’s my thoughts on the very powerful and moving When The Bough Breaks

A gripping thriller – find out what happened to Brittany in The Good Neighbor

I absolutely loved the February Reading In Heels book The Charmed Life of Alex Moore

Here’s my thoughts on BookBub a daily special-offers service for ebooks

---

Keep up to date

You can also find me on Twitter @rachael_stray

Or follow my Facebook page https://www.facebook.com/rachaelstrayblog/

You can see my random pictures on Instagram https://www.instagram.com/rachys2011/

And see what I’m pinning on Pinterest https://www.pinterest.co.uk/rachaelstray/