Reviews with content warning for Infidelity - Conversations with Friends

Reviews tagging 'Infidelity'

Conversations with Friends by Sally Rooney

390 reviews

jeffgoldblumsbeats's review

3.5

ack once again sally rooney exposes my inability to deal with conflict even in character form - well written, hard to read as the characters are flawed and human

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nineinchnails's review against another edition

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emotional reflective sad medium-paced

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

5.0

frances was painfully relatable and i really loved her despite all the secondhand embarrassment and frustration. i definitely came out of it confused and conflicted on how to feel about nick but at least i don’t completely loathe him! for now this is tied with normal people but i’m not sure if it’ll measure up beyond the short term since i really loved normal people.

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sandy_panini's review against another edition

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Toxic female friendships and adultery are just kinda a bummer

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xosevenusagbadan's review against another edition

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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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kpiel's review against another edition

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emotional 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

2.75

This book lacked much of a plot or character development, and all of the characters were so truly flawed it wasn’t easy to like any of them or want to keep reading. There were quite a few times when I thought “what is the point of all this; what is this building up to?”, just to have those questions remain unanswered at the end of the book. I wouldn’t really recommend this book to anyone, hence the low star rating, however upon reflection, I have found some value in this kind of story.

The characters are very human, with deep human flaws, and making true human mistakes. And I think that is why it was so tough to keep reading, because there are parts of the characters that I see in myself and/or others that I’m close to. And reading something that hits a little too close to home doesn’t give me the escape that I usually seek when turning to books. But I understand that this was likely the point of the book— a realistic, raw view of one perspective of the human experience.

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ruth_power's review against another edition

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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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saradtotheb's review against another edition

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dark medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? No
Loveable characters? No

2.5

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jmflint27's review against another edition

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challenging emotional funny reflective tense 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

4.0

I want to preface this review by saying that I did not enjoy or like this book, but I still think there’s something beautiful about it.

Not enjoying or liking it is subjective. In many ways I found this really difficult to read - I should’ve known better as I struggle with one of the main themes in the book (infidelity). But that being said - I wasn’t prepared for how unlikeable the characters would be beyond this theme. I constantly wanted to slap them upside the head or shake them silly, and the whiny internal monologue of the narrator is painful at times.

But all of that being said - there’s something beautiful about it. Even though I really didn’t like the way the dialogue was written (no quotation marks were used), the wit and thought behind them was clearly there. Rooney clearly knows how to write and describes things in a way that really shake you to your core and almost make you feel intense amounts of empathy for even the most selfish of people.

Generally I had really mixed feelings and am proud of myself for finishing the book - there were times I didn’t want to.

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hello_lovely13's review against another edition

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emotional reflective sad 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

There is something about Sally Rooney's writing that just clicks with my brain! I've read many different things that try to do something similar, but somehow it doesn't resonate with me the way her writing does. There's something deeply (and sadly) relatable about each of her characters, and it highlights similarities many people have, particularly ones that we are ashamed of. Frances' inability to be honest with her emotions (and refuse to express them, then somewhat believing her to be superior because of it, only to conflict with her deep-seeded self-hatred) touches every relationship and leads her to make amoral, selfish, and insensitive decisions. She desperately wants to be loved and admired, and she hates herself for it. Did I particularly like her relationship with Nick? Not really. I wasn't rooting for them, but that wasn't really the point.

I can't believe (yet simultaneously absolutely can) the book ends with them starting the cycle all over again and getting back together.

They both have an inability to express their own thoughts that it is weird (and makes sense) that their relationship lasted for as long as it did. Everything each character did was a recipe for disaster. For the first part of the book, I didn't particularly like Bobbi. I oftentimes found her selfish and mean. Her relationship with Frances was so toxic (again, that is part of the point), but at the same time so sad because they do genuinely have great moments of friendship. Sometimes Bobbi misses the point when she calls Frances out, but other times (particularly that last time she does in the book) really hits the nail on the head.

I don't particularly think they should have restarted their "non-relationship", but it's messy and suits them both, I suppose. Although, the ending scene promises even more destruction.

The dialogue is always top tier, and the conversations on the world, privilege, and politics stood out to me as it was one of the things I liked the most about Beautiful World, Where are You (though of course I loved the constant opportunities to psychoanalyze each character the best). This is definitely a sad girl, hot girl book, where a mentally ill woman makes terrible, amoral, self-destructive decisions. I liked it a lot, particularly the dialogue, commentary, and writing style, but I wasn't obsessed with it.

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kashrae99's review against another edition

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emotional sad medium-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

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