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laurabunnett's review
sad
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
1.5
I found this book pretty boring an uninteresting. Every character had their own set of "issues", but these were largely unexplored. Why did Alice's mother and brother dislike her? What was the cause of her nervous breakdown?
Also, way too much sex scenes, especially as I was listening to the audio reading of this. Listening to an Irish woman describe mediocre sex between two mediocre characters was unnerving and far too often for my liking. I felt these scenes never really contributed to the plot either.
Also, way too much sex scenes, especially as I was listening to the audio reading of this. Listening to an Irish woman describe mediocre sex between two mediocre characters was unnerving and far too often for my liking. I felt these scenes never really contributed to the plot either.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Animal cruelty, Sexual harassment, and Suicidal thoughts
Minor: Abortion, Self harm, Panic attacks/disorders, Medical content, Mental illness, Pregnancy, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , and Pandemic/Epidemic
risemini's review
emotional
funny
inspiring
reflective
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.75
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Death of parent, Alcohol, Toxic friendship, Suicidal thoughts, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Medical content, Infidelity, Drug use, Classism, Blood, Alcoholism, Sexual content, and Toxic relationship
e_reader's review against another edition
emotional
reflective
relaxing
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.5
Going into this book, I thought I would hate it. (Why I picked it up knowing that is something I will never understand). After I started it, I wanted to love it. Neither of those happened, which I guess is more of a reflection of my poor prediction abilities than anything else.
What I liked: the characters. They felt very human, with complex lives. Typically I don’t like books that split narration between two characters, but this was executed pretty well. I was never confused about who was narrating, and the characters definitely had different voices. I actually didn’t mind the no dialogue marks style that Sally Rooney has, but it definitely gave the book a distinct feeling. It helped it feel more cohesive as one narrative, even though the characters are all their own people.
The spicy scenes were pretty good as well, they felt very human. It’s definitely there though, so be warned. I think for most of the book, the characters only say I love you during it, which is interesting.
What I didn’t like: at some points the prose became nearly unreadable because she put it in so many commas. You could just tell that some pages were trying really hard to be poetic but they kept making run on sentences.
Also, at the very end I believe both Alice and Eileen send an email, about two years in the future, updating each other (but really the reader) on their lives. This is a great way to recap EXCEPT Sally Rooney brings in the pandemic. The characters are existing in roughing December 2020. I hated this, because it took me out of the world the book was in. Not every real life event needs to be reflected in novels (would you write 9/11 into a book if it wasn’t relevant?). It’s made even worse because it’s precisely this book where she wrote about how because of how fast everything moves now, pieces of media can’t exist in the generic “now,” they need to be placed on our specific timeline. And Rooney does well at this throughout—she gives technology generic descriptions like “social media” or “scrolling through pictures” so I can’t for the life of me figure out why she would bring in the pandemic.
Also, I did accidentally get the large print from the library, so I may have unfairly docked .25 stars just because of the slightly worse reading experience.
What I liked: the characters. They felt very human, with complex lives. Typically I don’t like books that split narration between two characters, but this was executed pretty well. I was never confused about who was narrating, and the characters definitely had different voices. I actually didn’t mind the no dialogue marks style that Sally Rooney has, but it definitely gave the book a distinct feeling. It helped it feel more cohesive as one narrative, even though the characters are all their own people.
The spicy scenes were pretty good as well, they felt very human. It’s definitely there though, so be warned. I think for most of the book, the characters only say I love you during it, which is interesting.
What I didn’t like: at some points the prose became nearly unreadable because she put it in so many commas. You could just tell that some pages were trying really hard to be poetic but they kept making run on sentences.
Also, at the very end I believe both Alice and Eileen send an email, about two years in the future, updating each other (but really the reader) on their lives. This is a great way to recap EXCEPT Sally Rooney brings in the pandemic. The characters are existing in roughing December 2020. I hated this, because it took me out of the world the book was in. Not every real life event needs to be reflected in novels (would you write 9/11 into a book if it wasn’t relevant?). It’s made even worse because it’s precisely this book where she wrote about how because of how fast everything moves now, pieces of media can’t exist in the generic “now,” they need to be placed on our specific timeline. And Rooney does well at this throughout—she gives technology generic descriptions like “social media” or “scrolling through pictures” so I can’t for the life of me figure out why she would bring in the pandemic.
Also, I did accidentally get the large print from the library, so I may have unfairly docked .25 stars just because of the slightly worse reading experience.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Medical content, Sexual content, Mental illness, and Suicidal thoughts
Minor: Pregnancy
elemonte's review
emotional
inspiring
reflective
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
4.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Mental illness, Sexual content, and Suicidal thoughts
Moderate: Alcohol and Cursing
Minor: Drug use, Medical content, and Pregnancy
bella_cavicchi's review
emotional
hopeful
reflective
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
4.5
4.5 stars. Tortured lovers, how I love thee.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Medical content, Mental illness, Suicidal thoughts, and Infidelity
Minor: Pregnancy and Death of parent
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