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3.7 AVERAGE
3.7 AVERAGE
emotional
reflective
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Let me start this review by acknowledging that Sally Rooney is, undeniably, a talented writer particularly on the sentence level. Her dialogue is sharp, immersive, and often captures the emotional undercurrents of relationships in ways that feel painfully authentic. I had mixed feelings about Normal People, but I still picked up Beautiful World, Where Are You hoping to once again lose myself in Rooney’s signature conversational intimacy.
Unfortunately, that didn't happen.
Beautiful World, Where Are You is a story about... not much, really. It follows four people; Alice, a writer recovering from a breakdown; Felix, a warehouse worker she meets on Tinder; Eileen, Alice’s long-time best friend; and Simon, Eileen’s childhood friend and complicated almost-lover. The novel drifts between their daily routines, sometimes pointlessly awkward and at other times vaguely profound conversations (in person or over text), and their developing romantic entanglements. At its best, it captures the quiet rhythms of modern life. At its worst, it reads like a slow, plotless drift through sterile emotional landscapes. Now, I can appreciate a story where "nothing much happens" because some of my favorite novels lean heavily on atmosphere and character. But what tested my patience with this one wasn’t the lack of plot. It was the style. The bulk of the book reads like a screenplay: bare, minimalist, and step-by-step descriptive in a way that sapped all energy from the narrative. And then there's the sex. It's neither sexy nor emotionally resonant—just awkward, clinical, and oddly voyeuristic. It added little to character development or plot, and often felt like an obligation rather than a meaningful narrative choice.
As for the characters, they often felt underdeveloped, particularly in light of Rooney’s obvious capacity for nuance. The novel hones in on romantic dynamics—Alice and Felix, Eileen and Simon—but at the expense of fuller emotional arcs or personal evolution. Felix, in particular, is a glaring issue. His behavior is at times outright horrible, yet the novel refuses to interrogate it or hold him accountable in any meaningful way. He simply moves through the story, causing damage, and somehow ends up relatively unscathed. The email exchanges between Alice and Eileen, while more engaging stylistically, quickly slid into the realm of the pretentious. I’m someone who enjoys political and philosophical musings, but their letters felt more like lectures; pompous, artificial, and overly intellectual for the sake of it.
In the end, this is one of those reviews I don’t enjoy writing. I know many readers connected deeply with this novel. But for me, it was a frustrating experience. It was pretentious, meandering, and ultimately empty. I came in hoping for something profound. I left feeling mostly bored.
Unfortunately, that didn't happen.
Beautiful World, Where Are You is a story about... not much, really. It follows four people; Alice, a writer recovering from a breakdown; Felix, a warehouse worker she meets on Tinder; Eileen, Alice’s long-time best friend; and Simon, Eileen’s childhood friend and complicated almost-lover. The novel drifts between their daily routines, sometimes pointlessly awkward and at other times vaguely profound conversations (in person or over text), and their developing romantic entanglements. At its best, it captures the quiet rhythms of modern life. At its worst, it reads like a slow, plotless drift through sterile emotional landscapes. Now, I can appreciate a story where "nothing much happens" because some of my favorite novels lean heavily on atmosphere and character. But what tested my patience with this one wasn’t the lack of plot. It was the style. The bulk of the book reads like a screenplay: bare, minimalist, and step-by-step descriptive in a way that sapped all energy from the narrative. And then there's the sex. It's neither sexy nor emotionally resonant—just awkward, clinical, and oddly voyeuristic. It added little to character development or plot, and often felt like an obligation rather than a meaningful narrative choice.
As for the characters, they often felt underdeveloped, particularly in light of Rooney’s obvious capacity for nuance. The novel hones in on romantic dynamics—Alice and Felix, Eileen and Simon—but at the expense of fuller emotional arcs or personal evolution. Felix, in particular, is a glaring issue. His behavior is at times outright horrible, yet the novel refuses to interrogate it or hold him accountable in any meaningful way. He simply moves through the story, causing damage, and somehow ends up relatively unscathed. The email exchanges between Alice and Eileen, while more engaging stylistically, quickly slid into the realm of the pretentious. I’m someone who enjoys political and philosophical musings, but their letters felt more like lectures; pompous, artificial, and overly intellectual for the sake of it.
In the end, this is one of those reviews I don’t enjoy writing. I know many readers connected deeply with this novel. But for me, it was a frustrating experience. It was pretentious, meandering, and ultimately empty. I came in hoping for something profound. I left feeling mostly bored.
emotional
reflective
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
emotional
hopeful
slow-paced
This felt like a bunch of email lectures about consumerism and the environment between friends, with dysfunctional romantic attempts throughout.
emotional
hopeful
reflective
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
emotional
funny
relaxing
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
a good beach book !
more of a 3.5 than a 4 tbh i loved bits of it but also felt it was a bit rushed in parts n i didn’t believe some of the characters as ppl ? like even tho their thoughts n actions were thoroughly explained to me i just didn’t believe them hahha but i guess that’s the whole Flawed Real Person thing sally rooney does i just got bored of it
more of a 3.5 than a 4 tbh i loved bits of it but also felt it was a bit rushed in parts n i didn’t believe some of the characters as ppl ? like even tho their thoughts n actions were thoroughly explained to me i just didn’t believe them hahha but i guess that’s the whole Flawed Real Person thing sally rooney does i just got bored of it
emotional
reflective
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes