Book Review: Conversations with Friends by Sally Rooney

Last night I had a video call with some friends as we’ve been reading this for our book club. There was an audible gasp when I said that based on two books alone, Sally Rooney is now one of my most favourite authors. She is just THAT impressive to me. Her grasp on human nature is phenomenal, the way she takes what can be seen as relatively “normal” relationships and picks them apart and lays them bare continues to astound me. Her characters are so real and relatable, and her stories are the equivalent of peering in through windows into other people’s lives. Basically I could write an essay on why I love Sally Rooney so much.

“Suffering wouldn’t make me special, and pretending not to suffer wouldn’t make me special.”

Conversations With Friends follows Frances and the numerous relationships she has in her life. There’s her best friend, and former girlfriend, Bobbi. And then there’s the married couple that they become close friends with, Melissa and Nick. What follows is a complex love rectangle(?) comprising all 4 characters.

Rooney’s novels are character-driven, and her characters are really where she excels. They are not always likeable, often making poor decisions, but they are 100% authentic. Frances is fascinating - she is intent on coming off as cold and emotionless, when she is anything but. All her feelings are repressed, as she is afraid to show her vulnerability and would rather travel down the path towards self-destruction.

As expected there are a lot of conversations between friends, as they share their observations and theories on many topics. Rooney’s dialogue flows freely, even if it does make me wonder why I don’t have such intellectual conversations with my own friends.

Endometriosis is also discussed in this one, which I appreciated because it hasn’t featured in any books I’ve read and it’s a chronic illness that requires more awareness. Sometimes as women we think we just gotta battle through these agonising periods, but if it gets THIS bad, please ask your doctor about it.

Overall, LOVED IT, but Normal People remains my favourite. Now the wait begins for another Rooney novel. 4.5 stars.

Johann

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

50 Horror Books You Must Read!

Image
Behold! A blog post I've been working on for a few weeks now. I often get asked which horror books I would recommend, so I thought I'd make my life a little easier and create a mammoth list. So as of this minute, here are 50 books that I've read and enjoyed. I have included some that I personally wasn't overly enamoured with, but reading is such a personal experience that I thought I'd give you the chance to make up your own mind! In a year or so I might post an update with great horror books that I've discovered since this list was made. In the list you'll find novels, some short stories and a few novellas thrown in too... Enjoy! 1. Pet Sematary - Stephen King It’s me. Of course this book is at the top of the pile! (Even though the rest are in no way ranked…). An incredible horror novel providing heartbreaking insight into death, loss and grief. The horror is not found in huge tense, scary moments, but in those quiet and soul-crushing moments
Read more

50 States 50 Horror Books

Image
One of my reading goals for 2021 is to start working through my 50 States, 50 Horror Books challenge (inspired by lists on NYT and Bustle). For those who haven't heard of these lists, essentially a horror book has been assigned to each state in America depending on where the book has been set. Throughout 2021 I am aiming to tick off 2 states per month. And if others want to take part, then great! You can either follow along with me, or work through the list at your own pace, picking whichever books appeal to you (or inserting some of your own!) I've combined both the NYT and Bustle lists, adding in some suggestions of my own to get started (and thank you to anyone who sent me their suggestions too!) Alabama The Elementals by Michael McDowell Kin by Kealan Patrick Burke   Alaska 30 Days of Night by Steve Niles         Polar Night by Julie Flanders   Arizona The Revelation by Bentley Little   Arkansas Southern Gods by John Hornor Jacobs The Bird Eater by Ania Ahlborn   California
Read more

Book Review: Books of Blood Vol 1-3 by Clive Barker

Image
Comprised of insane and downright horrifying tales from Clive Barker, Books of Blood is a strong debut release which led to King referring to him as "the future of horror". This edition contains Volumes 1-3, a grand total of fifteen stories (sixteen if you include the intro) - a large number of which have been subsequently adapted into movies.  "Everybody is a book of blood; wherever we're opened, we're red." Having already been blown away by The Hellhound Heart, I was excited to get into more Clive Barker - and oh boy, this did not disappoint. The sheer range of stories within these first three volumes of Books of Blood is staggering. And the quality remains consistently high throughout. Barker's imagination is unparalleled - I mean, King has a pretty awesome imagination too, but his skills are slightly different to Barker's. One minute you're reading about a serial killer who quite literally skins his victims and hangs them up like
Read more