A Good Talk
The Story and Skill of Conversation
By: Daniel Menaker
Published: January 2010
Format: Hardcover, 230pp
ISBN-13: 9780446540025
ISBN: 0446540021
Publisher: Twelve Publishing
"In this book I want to talk about the story and shapes and skills of conversation and also, ultimately, about conversations, no matter how transient they may be, as a kind of artifact - a human art of great importance produced by all people everywhere", writes journalist and editor Daniel Menaker, in his witty and wonderful book A Good Talk: The Story and Skill of Conversation. The author, in delightful and engaging style, takes the reader on what amounts to a rambling conversation, winding through the joys and often hidden perils of talking to one another.
Daniel Menaker takes the seemingly at odds concept of talking to people, and commits the concept and its nuances and transient nature to the more permanent written form. The paradox of writing about how conversations take place between friends, acquaintances, and complete strangers is overcome, through a self deprecating sense of humor and an honest acknowledgment by the author, of his own interpersonal shortcomings. The idea of writing about the way that people converse together is conveyed well through a combination of conversational theory, etiquette, and a chat recorded within a book about conversation. The result is a book that provides the feel of a long and often sidetracked conversation, exploring all of the hidden nooks and crannies of everyday talks.
Daniel Menaker (photo left) asks the question of what really constitutes a conversation. He invites his readers along for a good talk along the way to discovering that elusive answer. The author shares his personal insights and experiences with his own conversations, whether pleasant or those less so, making them all memorable in their own way. Daniel Menaker describes the types of conversations encountered frequently, and maps out the pitfalls awaiting the unwary and their mistimed gaffes. The book contains an intriguing, and revealing portrait of the author as conversationalist, while sharing his genuine enjoyment in talking with others.
For me, the power of the book is the insightful and inventive technique that Daniel Menaker employs to convey the sense and feel of a conversation in book form. The author overcomes the challenge, of moving the dual verbal and nonverbal aspects of communication, to the static pages of a book. A very powerful chapter within the book contains the transcribed real conversation between the author and a long time friend. That conversation, within the overall framework discussion of the book, is itself broken down into the various component parts of any personal interaction. The author shares his views on how the chat went, and the shifting roles played by both participants. This sample talk forms a hinge, on which the remainder of the book is hung, opening a door into the nature and form of real conversations.
I highly recommend the entertaining and insightful book A Good Talk: The Story and Skill of Conversation by Daniel Menaker, to anyone seeking a deeper understanding of how people conduct their conversations with others.The author also explores why people say the things they do, including the good, the bad, and the downright rude, and when those words can appear in any conversation. The resulting book is a gem to read, and to discuss in conversations all of its own.
Read the intriguing book A Good Talk: The Story and Skill of Conversation by Daniel Menaker, and learn why conversations are such an intimate and revealing part of people's lives. Often memorable, sometimes banal and trivial, and even occasionally boring, conversations are as much a part of our lives as breathing. This book will help you recall your most pleasurable conversations in your life, help to put the less enjoyable ones into better perspective, and help you to avoid those regrettable verbal mistakes in the future. In the end, a book about conversations is definitely worth many good talks.
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