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remia1996's review against another edition
challenging
emotional
reflective
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? N/A
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.5
lz3027's review against another edition
emotional
hopeful
reflective
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? N/A
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
sereenaro's review against another edition
emotional
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.75
I feel like I would be a huge fan of Sally Rooney is she were an essayist.
cdua's review against another edition
lighthearted
reflective
relaxing
medium-paced
3.5
So I used this book to get myself out of a reading slump and it did fulfill its purpose as a lighthearted page turner. However… I did not REALLY love it. I think things significantly improved for the second half of the book and the writing felt less fruitless. Rooney tends to write like that though, venturing into complex subjects casually within an email to a friend. And she also has the skill of developing characters you both love and hate but you still root for them. You see the appeal in their flaws. Overall, I did like the book, it just wasn’t my favorite. It was happy and sad at the right moments, and I think that the ending brings up the point that sometimes it really is just as simple as letting go to be happy. Not everything and everyday has to be as torturous as we make it to be, sometimes it really does just work out. 3.5 :)
thepetitepunk's review against another edition
3.0
3.5 stars
Goodreads, pleaaaaase. We need a half star option because I technically gave this book and Normal People the same rating, but Beautiful World, Where Are You? was more of a 3.5 rating and Normal People was more of a 2.5 rating, and those mean two very different things.
As with my first adventure with Sally Rooney, I really didn’t have much in my brain while reading this. Very neutral. I did find the characters to be a lot less insufferable and boring than Normal People, so that’s good! I can’t entirely say I enjoyed reading this, because I didn’t, but I did appreciate it. I tuned out a lot but I respect Sally Rooney for the moments that I couldn’t tune out even if I tried. Strange dialogue? Awkward and semi-uncomfortable sex senes and conversations? A profound quote here and there? Sure. I’ll take it.
Goodreads, pleaaaaase. We need a half star option because I technically gave this book and Normal People the same rating, but Beautiful World, Where Are You? was more of a 3.5 rating and Normal People was more of a 2.5 rating, and those mean two very different things.
As with my first adventure with Sally Rooney, I really didn’t have much in my brain while reading this. Very neutral. I did find the characters to be a lot less insufferable and boring than Normal People, so that’s good! I can’t entirely say I enjoyed reading this, because I didn’t, but I did appreciate it. I tuned out a lot but I respect Sally Rooney for the moments that I couldn’t tune out even if I tried. Strange dialogue? Awkward and semi-uncomfortable sex senes and conversations? A profound quote here and there? Sure. I’ll take it.
tildahlia's review against another edition
3.0
Probably not much I can add to the most discussed author/book, but here goes. This book is classic Rooney and if you are a Rooney diehard, you will probably enjoy it. I do think she has a very unique style of writing that I love, but now that I’ve done multiple books I tend to agree with the criticisms of her characters being a bit frustrating and hollow (and not in a good way). The device of sending emails is very convenient from a narrative perspective, but also just totally implausible in the modern age, where every sane person avoids emails like the plague. Having appreciated her no punctuation style before, I was surprised to find it annoying in this book where I craved a paragraph break and to not have to constantly cycle back through half a page of dialogue to figure out who was speaking and whether they were speaking or just thinking. The ending was too neat. So…yeah.