Talk Talk (novel)

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For other uses of this phrase, see Talk Talk (disambiguation).

**Title** **Talk Talk**

Author	T.C. Boyle
Country	United States
Language	English
Genre(s)	Novel
Publisher	Penguin Group
Released	July 6, 2006 (First edition, Hardcover)
Media type	Print (Hardcover)
Pages	352 pages
ISBN	ISBN 0-670-03770-2
Preceded by	Tooth and Claw

Talk Talk is a novel by T. C. Boyle first published in 2006. It is about a young deaf woman who becomes the victim of a credit card fraud and "identity thief". As the police are unwilling to help, the woman and her boyfriend are determined to track down the criminal themselves.

[edit] Plot summary

Spoiler warning: Plot and/or ending details follow.

Dana Halter is an American woman in her early thirties who at the age of four suffered an infection which left her profoundly deaf. Since then, she has been able to master her life astonishingly well: she has acquired an academic degree and teaches at a school for the deaf in California. Her boyfriend, Bridger Martin, is a "hearie," a man a few years younger than herself who creates special effects for the film industry. Out of love, Martin has gone to great lengths to accommodate her deficiency, for example by taking a course in sign language so as to be able to communicate with her as best as possible.

Peck Wilson is another young American whose life has had its ups and downs. Once a promising young restaurateur, he chooses the wrong woman, has a child with her, becomes dependent on his father-in-law's money, and is eventually dumped by his wife. Subsequently, his life takes a turn for the worse, he has to serve a short prison sentence, and when he is released from jail again, his ideas fuelled by a cellmate, he is intent on taking what he thinks is rightfully his.

Wilson embarks on a criminal career by assuming other people's identities. Of late, he has focused on Dana Halter, whom he believes to be a man, and now has a driver's licence and a credit card in "his" name. He lives together with an attractive Russian gold digger called Natalia and her daughter by a former lover. He has made Natalia believe that he is a physician who wants to settle down in California. Meanwhile, Peck and Natalia live a luxurious life at the expense of people such as the real Dana Halter.