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7 of 7 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Fun and Refreshing Read, February 10, 1999
By A Customer
This review is from: Chat (Griffin & Sabine for the '90s) (Paperback)
If you are looking for a short and fun read for an afternoon, Nan McCarthy's novel Chat would be an excellent choice. This short novel allows the reader to eavesdrop on the conversation between two people that are communicating through a series of emails. In the beginning the focus characters, Max and Beverly, are innocently chatting online about computers, but in time their relationship develops into an online love story. This book weighs in at mere 115 pages, so it is understandable that within this length there is not enough time to develop characters in much detail. Computers play a big role in all of our lives today. People have had their attention span shortened by the intense contact we have with computers and television. We are thirsty for information, but only in little doses, and this book does just that. The series of emails used to develop the plot introduce a man named Max who is new to online chatting and emails. Initially Max is just looking for some information on what kind of computer system to buy, but he meets Bev, a book editor that has been logging on for years. With each email exchange more is learned about each of the characters, and the lives they live. Max likes to speak his mind asking searching questions early in the relationship, "Are you happy?" (10). Bev is initially portrayed as one who is online strictly for a tool of communication, and does not take kindly to some stranger hitting on a married woman, "You, on the other hand, are probably wearing a smelly jogging suit with your butt hanging out the back and Cheetos crumbs hanging off your beard." (8). With each email exchange the two grow closer together sharing more personal information and quickly this develops into a powerful online relationship. Additionally, the characters are developed through the use of emoticons in some of the emails. Early in the book, the emails exchanged are just straight text, but as time moves on we begin to see the characters using emoticons to help express their feelings or tone of voice. It is through this we can begin to see something deeper than just an online friendship starting to evolve. Even though it is not hard to guess where the book is leading, it will still be hard to put down, and the ending will be left up to you as the reader to write the next email. Chat gives those who have not yet experienced the world of email and the Internet a glimmer of what endless possibilities are out there. From finding actual information (like Max originally intended) to finding the love of your life, the Internet might hold your answers.
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3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
A must-read romance series for online users, January 25, 2002
This review is from: Chat (Griffin & Sabine for the '90s) (Paperback)
The Bridges of Cyperspace County with a surprise twist Reviewer: jcorn59483 from Indianapolis, IN USA First off, do NOT buy one of these books without buying all three (Chat, Connect, Crash) at the same time - they really do have to be read all together. Secondly, do yourself a favor and don't download these books. Try to find them in book form becaue you'll want the originals to stay on your shelf, ready to be picked up and read again and again. Finally, here's the reason you should read this series: it is an orignal, well-done and witty flirtation and eventually full-blown romance between a man and woman who meet online. This is the FIRST romance series I ever read which was written from a cyber perspective, complete with emoticons (a crash course in them, in fact, useful if you've not particularly computer-savvy). I've read others since then but this is still my favorite. If you don't have much time to read but love a good romance, this one moves quickly but is fullfilling and emotionally engaging. Be forewarned: Have a box of Kleenex nearby!
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3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:
1.0 out of 5 stars
A plot so shallow a gnat couldn't drown in it., February 9, 1999
By A Customer
This review is from: Chat (Griffin & Sabine for the '90s) (Paperback)
If you are looking forward to reading something profound, then Nan McCarthy's Chat will disappoint you. Nor will Chat provide you with an engaging reading experience that keeps you guessing to the conclusion. Her most ironic moment in the story boils down to an event that is quite predictable. And the plot is not deep enough to drown a gnat. But the medium McCarthy introduces offers incredible literary possibilities that she has left relatively unexplored. For this reason, read this book and think of your own way to end it, and you make this book worth an afternoon's reading. The characters are common, their actions predictable, and the plot cannot rescue them. The plot revolves around the typical boy meets girl theme. Maximilian is the predator, and his focus centers on married Beverly. When asked if she is happy, Bev responds, "All right. I'll answer your silly question. Of course I'm happy---mostly. No one is 100% happy, right?" (McCarthy 13). Need I spoil the ending? Were it not for basic lust, and the fact that the book is a fast read, perhaps few would bother to finish this book. It saddens me that the author uses an open-ended medium such as the Internet, and fails to weave a memorable plot around the infinite possibilities it can generate. Now if this book were to be a virtual book that you could read on the web by interacting with varying and twisted plot lines, the medium would offer intense exploration. But as is, McCarthy attempts to make use of the anonymity that the Internet allows, only to hit you over the head with foreshadowing that would blot the sun, "I don't know who he is. I met him at a party"(78). In speaking with four other readers of this novel, each of them drew the same obvious conclusion as to how the book would end after reading this page, and unfortunately we all were right. So many different twists could have been employed. The Internet is the ultimate meeting place for those who seek anonymity. The author touches on this, "Besides, I wasn't trying to pick you up---I don't do cybersex, and you could be a real toad for all I know" (5). How ironic it could have been if the secret Internet confident were a jealous and spying husband who causes infidelity because of his own tempting and manipulations. I leave it to you to read the book and come up with better possibilities. I only suggest that you do not buy the book. Rather, you can visit Chapters, or some other literary superstore with comfy couches and pleasant surroundings that allow you to preview books before purchase. Choose to do this when you have to wait for someone, or you have nothing better to do, and neither you time nor your money will be wasted.
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