Love and Miss Communication by Elyssa Friedland Narrator: Marguerite Gavin
Published by Tantor Audio on September 1, 2015
Genres: Life Fiction
Length: 11 hours, 7 minutes
Format: Audiobook
Source: Library
Goodreads
Amazon, Audible, Libro.fm, Barnes & Noble, Apple
Could you turn off Facebook? Tune out of Twitter? In Elyssa Friedland's debut novel, which combines the sophistication of J. Courtney Sullivan and the wit of Jennifer Weiner, high-powered attorney Evie Rosen does just thatâŚand discovers that life is more than a series of updates. This is a most timely storyâat turns wickedly funny and delicately poignantâthat begs the question: what are we missing while our eyes are glued to our smartphones?
After Evie is unceremoniously dumped from her white-shoe Manhattan law firm for overuse of social media on company hours, called out by a blind date for Googling him, andâmost catastrophically of allâshocked by her exâs wedding photos on Facebook, she decides itâs time to put down the Blackberry for good (better than stowing it in her underwearâsheâs done that too!). What will life be like with no searches, no status updates, no texts, no tweets, no pins, and no posts?
What Evie discovers is a fresh start for real conversations and fewer distractions. For living in the moment, even if the moments are sometimes heartbreakingly difficult. By unplugging, Evie may just find love and a new direction when she least expects it.
For me, like so many others, the rise of the smartphone has been both blessing and curse. Iâve been able to streamline many of my everyday tasks, am better able to keep track of appointments and important events, and I have the answers to all of my questions at hand. On the negative side, I feel tethered to a device that stores my memories, my friends, and pretty much every aspect of my life. Iâm not sure how I used to get anywhere without navigation and I canât remember the last time I took a photo with a real camera. So how could I give it up?  While I am not ready to take that step, I didnât mind reading about someone who does in the romantic comedy, Love and Miss Communication by Elyssa Friedland.
The smart & beautiful Evie is a successful corporate attorney. Like most modern women, she juggles her professional and personal life with the help of the internet. She communicates with email, keeps track of friends on social media, and hopes to find Mr. Right using an online dating app. Her world is upended when her excessive internet usage is discovered at work, leading to a disastrous shame spiral involving Facebook and her ex-boyfriend. When she hits rock bottom, she calls it quits and vows to give up the internet.
While giving up the internet is the start of the book, Love and Miss Communications reads like Evieâs personal journey of self-discovery. There are several subplots that all tie back to Evie; her relationship with her mother, her friendships, her grandmotherâs illness, her job search, her romantic endeavors; etc. Her friends and family are not 100% on board and canât seem to understand (or believe) sheâs going off-line. She feels sidelined, in more ways than just communication, and there is fallout in her personal life as a result. As she begins to reconcile perception and reality without the influence of social media, she gains a better understand of herself and what she values most in life.
“I feel like the whole world had voluntarily signed up to be on Big Brother. I couldn’t keep up; and I didn’t want to.”
I think the most important part is Evie recognizing her self-worth and believing she deserves to be happy and fulfilled. While this story makes some great points about the impact of smartphones/internet usage on society, the title doesnât really do justice to the depth of the story.
There were some great, funny moments in the story, and I really enjoyed the generational perspective of Evieâs grandmother, Bette. It was well written and didnât skimp on the detail (which I love). I felt at times that I was actually in Evieâs stream of consciousness, and while we are two very different types of people with very different backgrounds, I had no trouble understanding her and empathizing with her as a character. I was a little distracted by the authorâs choice to use âBlackberryâ specifically in talking about Evieâs electronic addiction (in a book published in 2015). If sheâd used the generic âsmartphone,â obsolete technology wouldnât be able to detract from the overall message. The title itself is pretty fun, considering the different ways it could be interpreted; Love and Miss as in missed opportunity, Love and Miss as in mis-communication, or Love and Miss as in Ms. Communication.
Love and Miss Communication is a surprisingly deep and poignant story about someone struggling to understand themselves amidst the many distractions in todayâs electronically-tethered society. I liked that it was more than the romantic comedy I thought I was getting; and I will certainly pursue more works by Elyssa Friedland.
Narration:
I really enjoyed the style and upbeat tone of Marguerite Gavin’s narration. She did a great job with the different accents and her pace and diction were excellent. I found it easy to follow along at 1.2x speed.
Listen to a clip:Â HERE
About Marguerite Gavin
Marguerite Gavin is a seasoned theater veteran, a five-time nominee for the prestigious Audie Award, and the winner of numerous AudioFile Earphones and Publishers Weekly awards. Marguerite has been an actor, director, and audiobook narrator for her entire professional career, and has over four hundred titles to her credit.
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I've developed a preference for audiobooks over the last few years, which allow me to complete chores, run carpool, or work on my many building and craft projects while 'reading.
My all time favorite selections include Diana Gabaldon's Outlander series, Karen Marie Moning's Fever series, and all of Robin Hobb's books set in the Farseer world. Â Honorable mentions to Elle Kennedy, Penny Reid, Meljean Brook, Ann Aguirre, Krista and Becca Ritchie, Jeaniene Frost, and Kristen Callihan.
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I like the premise of this story. I’m way to connected to my smartphone too, but I do remember the days before we had all these electronics.
It seems like a great debut novel, with a storyline I’d like. I’ll have to listen to the audiobook, since you recommend it.
Huh! Good find!
Sounds like it could be fun to read! While I like the idea of disconnecting, as I live alone, I would miss the appearance I guess of being connected that I have with it. Great review!