Reviews tagging 'Toxic relationship'

Conversations with Friends by Sally Rooney

228 reviews

shaleen64's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional hopeful reflective sad medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.75

Sally Rooney’s debut is no different to her other works in the sense that she creates fully realised and relatable characters. Whilst not a traditional romance, the book is an exploration of modern relationships. It is thought provoking, frustrating and relatable. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Infidelity

Moderate: Medical content, Chronic illness, Toxic relationship, Suicidal thoughts, and Self harm

Minor: Infertility and Pregnancy

happycroissant's review against another edition

emotional reflective sad medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Mental illness, Alcoholism, Self harm, Alcohol, Adult/minor relationship, Chronic illness, Grief, and Toxic relationship

lumew2's review against another edition

emotional funny lighthearted tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

idk how i started liking the characters by the end but i did. good god. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Chronic illness, Toxic friendship, Blood, Infidelity, Sexual content, Injury/Injury detail, Medical content, Toxic relationship, and Self harm

Moderate: Vomit, Alcohol, and Cursing

Minor: Addiction, Lesbophobia, and Classism

seventhswan's review against another edition

reflective medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.75

Hot take, definitely never posted by anyone before: Sally Rooney is an excellent writer. Her observational and descriptive skills are really like no-one else, and Conversations with Friends was no exception - I didn't want to put this book down, and got the same sense of being acutely seen that I always do from her writing. 

That said, this was definitely my least-favourite book of Rooney's three currently-published novels. In Normal People and Beautiful World, I liked or at least sympathised with the main characters; here I spent most of the book actively hating them, and Frances' voice grated on me throughout. This still represents considerable skill in writing, and I'm not averse to an unlikeable narrator in the slightest, but it did weaken my emotional investment in most of the story.

Or so I thought, until I got to the final chapter, and promptly threw the book at the wall, which is not something I believed people actually did until now. Have I been Frances? Absolutely! Did that make me want to give her head a wobble any less? Absolutely not!

Overall, then, I wouldn't say I enjoyed CwF in the same way that I got genuine delight from parts of Normal People and Beautiful World, but I'm glad I read it, even if a lot of what I liked about it was the smug self-satisfaction that I'm Not Frances Any More.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Infidelity, Toxic friendship, and Toxic relationship

Moderate: Chronic illness, Self harm, and Sexual content

Minor: Alcoholism, Sexual violence, and Vomit

zoe_vdv's review against another edition

reflective sad tense slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

1.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Suicidal thoughts, Self harm, Toxic relationship, and Toxic friendship

theliteraryteapot's review against another edition

fast-paced

• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

2.0

I have absolutely zero tolerance when it comes to adultery so obviously this was not a book for me. Yes, I understand the characters are meant to be very flawed and all that stuff. Okay and then what? It certainly didn't feel like any of them grew out of this. No character development whatsover and they all need therapy. Reading about privileged wealthy and culturally bourgeois white characters is not much interesting to me. They are left-leaning but their political discussions felt so very performative (reminding me of people patting themselves on the back after watching the tv show Dear White People). I've seen people debating on Rooney's writing style and I don't get why? There's nothing to say to it, it's easy to read and very accessible.

Although I have endometriosis, I don't think I can judge the representation that much because it can manifest in many different ways from one person to another. The only thing (maybe I'm nitpicking here), is that no you don't necessarily need a surgery to confirm a diagnosis, an mri scan is enough. And no, endometriosis is not just painful periods and infertility, it's so much more, there are so many other symptoms and different types of pain (outside periods and ovulations).
It's funny because on paper, Frances could have been my representation: bi, endometriosis, poetess, studying literature, financially struggling (except for the fact her uncle owns her apartment), and yet... Nothing worked for me. It's just not for me.

I'm glad it got me out of a reading slump and I'm glad to see endometriosis more in fiction. That's it.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Sexual content, Suicidal thoughts, Self harm, Vomit, Chronic illness, Classism, Mental illness, Alcohol, Alcoholism, Blood, and Toxic relationship

Moderate: Medical content

Minor: Adult/minor relationship, Miscarriage, Pedophilia, and Pregnancy

jillaay_h's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional funny reflective sad tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Chronic illness, Toxic relationship, Grief, Alcoholism, Mental illness, Injury/Injury detail, Self harm, Vomit, Blood, and Medical content

xosevenusagbadan's review against another edition

dark emotional sad fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

I was nervous to read Sally Rooney after reading and loving Normal People, but I think somehow I needed to read this books in the stage of life that im in right now. you have no time to think, this books just dives you into Frances’ life. I was completely sucked in even though on the surface I should not have been. I should have been confused and maybe even a but disturbed. It almost reminded me of The Stranger. I think if youre a woman in her 20s that loves to think and contemplate and desire, this book is for you.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Sexual content, Blood, Emotional abuse, Alcohol, Infidelity, Medical trauma, and Alcoholism

Moderate: Toxic relationship, Suicidal thoughts, Toxic friendship, Grief, Gaslighting, Injury/Injury detail, Eating disorder, and Classism

Minor: Cursing, Sexism, Bullying, Suicidal thoughts, Body shaming, and Miscarriage

ruth_power's review against another edition

emotional lighthearted reflective medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.75

All the characters are complex but unique and interesting. Sally Rooney's writing is also unique and authentic - I was completely inside the characters' heads.

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Biphobia, Chronic illness, Mental illness, Toxic friendship, Racism, Toxic relationship, Self harm, Homophobia, Alcoholism, Sexism, and Infidelity

ilovebooks1967's review against another edition

lighthearted mysterious reflective slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.0

A good book, however sometimes there are somewhat patronising essay-like pages that come across as perhaps pretentious to the reader. Very romantic and enjoyable nonetheless.

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Racism, Toxic relationship, Homophobia, Biphobia, Chronic illness, Sexism, and Sexual content