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leoliva's review against another edition
dark
emotional
reflective
sad
slow-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
3.0
marcird's review against another edition
3.0
This is a deeply depressing, frustrating book. Marianne and Connelly’s inability to communicate is maddening. Interesting commentary on social class, status, and drive for approval. Despite the core aspects of this book that I found unlikeable, I was still drawn to the characters and story.
regina_184's review against another edition
challenging
dark
emotional
inspiring
sad
tense
medium-paced
3.5
I know that Sally Rooney's books are highly celebrated, but at first I found the third person writing style to be difficult to read, especially since she doesn't use quotation marks for dialogue. But over time I got more used to it and more interested in the characters!
I liked the relationship between the two main characters but I have to admit the last 3rd of the book was pretty sad, and because of that I had to decrease the rating.
This was probably done because both characters experienced trauma and the author likely wanted to show that you can't outrun your problems. But since the characters were much happier before, it leaves the reader wondering why they couldn't recover again. Honestly it's quite depressing because it implies that you cannot grow out of your trauma and it will come back to haunt you.
I liked the relationship between the two main characters but I have to admit the last 3rd of the book was pretty sad, and because of that I had to decrease the rating.
This was probably done because both characters experienced trauma and the author likely wanted to show that you can't outrun your problems. But since the characters were much happier before, it leaves the reader wondering why they couldn't recover again. Honestly it's quite depressing because it implies that you cannot grow out of your trauma and it will come back to haunt you.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Panic attacks/disorders, Physical abuse, Grief, Child abuse, Mental illness, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, and Sexual assault
Minor: Death of parent and Eating disorder
vanilla_soy's review against another edition
emotional
reflective
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
lizzierae's review against another edition
dark
emotional
reflective
sad
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
ethanklinck's review against another edition
emotional
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.5
amechen3's review against another edition
emotional
inspiring
sad
tense
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
4.0
wkbryant2021's review against another edition
3.0
My first Sally Rooney book and although I enjoy being a literary rebel to popular opinion, I understand why people like her writing.
In this book, she introduces us to Marianne and Connell, a pair of lovers I don’t think I’ll ever forget. We are taken on a journey from their high school years through their college years.
First off, I have got to say, there were parts in this book that were written so exquisitely, perceptively, and intimately that I couldn’t help but caress the pages. Sally Rooney writing is great and she makes the characters and dialogue feel real. This creates an intimacy with the reader that really is special.
On the other hand, she does this weird thing where each chapter (usually) starts a long time after the last chapter. For example, the first chapter is set in January 2011. The second chapter is set 3 weeks later. The third chapter is set one month later. Some of the chapters are set many months later.
This gets quite annoying, in my humble opinion.
It makes for a very choppy, fragmented read, and at times, quite a bit of backtracking. This harms the overall pace of the story which I find quite important.
I wish this story was told normally, because this would make it very hard for me to maintain momentum. Just when my excitement and intrigue started really building up at the end of a chapter, the next chapter would let me down and throw me into a whole different time period where I have to figure EVERYTHING OUT all over again.
I didn’t find this particularly fun. Noted, I’m not usually very big on flashbacks either. Sometimes they are necessary but they can get in the way of the momentum of the story.
Also, this book can be very depressing and almost nihilistic at time. There are a lot of toxic men in this book, in fact all of the men are extremely flawed, and I feel like Sally Rooney has some unresolved trauma that she is loading onto the reader.
The men are assholes or were assholes at one point and the women are either assholes or victims. It’s a depressing world and one I found kind of draining at times.
This book also has a lot of useless details about day-to-day life that I found distracting from the actual story. Some of the details were relevant, others were useless.
The pacing of this story was shit but i was so immersed in the characters (even though their lives can be quite exhausting to read about at times) I overall enjoyed this story, and may even read it again because there is so much to this story. It’s complex in its themes and characters, which is nice.
I hear opinions on this book improve with a second and third reading of it, so I may give it a shot, when I recover from the drudgery of reading the chapters about university and depression.
I loved the romance and how beautifully written it was. Everything else in this book was kind of a bore.
In this book, she introduces us to Marianne and Connell, a pair of lovers I don’t think I’ll ever forget. We are taken on a journey from their high school years through their college years.
First off, I have got to say, there were parts in this book that were written so exquisitely, perceptively, and intimately that I couldn’t help but caress the pages. Sally Rooney writing is great and she makes the characters and dialogue feel real. This creates an intimacy with the reader that really is special.
On the other hand, she does this weird thing where each chapter (usually) starts a long time after the last chapter. For example, the first chapter is set in January 2011. The second chapter is set 3 weeks later. The third chapter is set one month later. Some of the chapters are set many months later.
This gets quite annoying, in my humble opinion.
It makes for a very choppy, fragmented read, and at times, quite a bit of backtracking. This harms the overall pace of the story which I find quite important.
I wish this story was told normally, because this would make it very hard for me to maintain momentum. Just when my excitement and intrigue started really building up at the end of a chapter, the next chapter would let me down and throw me into a whole different time period where I have to figure EVERYTHING OUT all over again.
I didn’t find this particularly fun. Noted, I’m not usually very big on flashbacks either. Sometimes they are necessary but they can get in the way of the momentum of the story.
Also, this book can be very depressing and almost nihilistic at time. There are a lot of toxic men in this book, in fact all of the men are extremely flawed, and I feel like Sally Rooney has some unresolved trauma that she is loading onto the reader.
The men are assholes or were assholes at one point and the women are either assholes or victims. It’s a depressing world and one I found kind of draining at times.
This book also has a lot of useless details about day-to-day life that I found distracting from the actual story. Some of the details were relevant, others were useless.
The pacing of this story was shit but i was so immersed in the characters (even though their lives can be quite exhausting to read about at times) I overall enjoyed this story, and may even read it again because there is so much to this story. It’s complex in its themes and characters, which is nice.
I hear opinions on this book improve with a second and third reading of it, so I may give it a shot, when I recover from the drudgery of reading the chapters about university and depression.
I loved the romance and how beautifully written it was. Everything else in this book was kind of a bore.
erostrinh's review against another edition
3.25
Good, Loved the ending so much it warped prefectly imo. I like the characters and but during the book I didn't feel much for the characters. it was enjoyable but nothing sepical for me atleast