Reviews tagging 'Miscarriage'

Conversations with Friends by Sally Rooney

161 reviews

codecat's review against another edition

reflective

• 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

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Infidelity and Self harm

Moderate: Alcoholism, Mental illness, and Infertility

Minor: Miscarriage

katelynprice's review against another edition

slow-paced

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

2.75

I love Rooney's themes in her novels and her style of writing, and I am so fascinated by her ability to make me compulsively read books that I don't really *like.* The characters in this book are not likable or redeemable, yet I never even questioned putting the book down. She has a way of articulating anxiety, insecurity, and mental health in a way that feels strikingly resonant. Her writing is raw and honest in a way that I've never read before, which I love. But I absolutely hate identifying so closely with characters that I find so selfish, arrogant, and emotionally stunted. It all just leaves me feeling icky, and I can't shake that feeling when I think of this book. I *think* I understand what she's trying to do, but I wouldn't mind a few lines or scenes that spell her message out more clearly. I did like Normal People and the characters much more than this one, so I'll probably continue reading Sally Rooney's books, searching for flawed characters that actually learn from their mistakes and pursue the betterment of themselves. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Infidelity, Miscarriage, and Chronic illness

Moderate: Cursing and Self harm

Minor: Infertility and Alcoholism

carolinecronj's review against another edition

4.0

This book is INCREDIBLY well written. The protagonist narrates the story with a refreshing and at times brutal honesty and I felt that the scenes and dialogues simply felt realistic and less touched-up like they usually are in fiction.

I could not relate to all characters, so sometimes I found their actions and decisions puzzling. However, I still experienced this as a great portrait of love, attraction, friendship and communication. Though Sally Rooney mostly uses simple words and short sentences, she really manages to create a detailed and complex emotional landscape, which I thoroughly enjoyed.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Self harm, Mental illness, Eating disorder, Alcoholism, Suicidal thoughts, Miscarriage, and Infertility

annoyedhumanoid's review against another edition

emotional reflective 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

4.5

my second go with Sally Rooney (first being Normal People), and this time was much more enjoyable. nowhere near as bleak and depressing, but still very emotional. i found the narrator’s desperate need for validation relatable; me too girlie. really well plotted. don’t be fooled by the title though: it’s a lot of internal monologue and more about the conversations that didn’t happen than the ones that did.

i have to comment on the US cover, especially for the audiobook (storygraph shows a different one but you can see what i’m talking about here: https://m.media-amazon.com/images/I/41DTekX2n4L._SL500_.jpg). first of all, i don’t mind the composition but i dislike the art style, its flatness and lifelessness when this book is all about complex characters. but what really bothers me is that i think some other artist was given the task of adapting the cover art to a square aspect ratio for the audiobook, and literally copied, pasted, and mirrored the original tightly-cropped faces, adding in the nose bits. because, why are they so symmetrical?? why are their facial features so small?? it’s firmly in the uncanny valley. shoutout to the Danish cover, though, so pretty: https://app.thestorygraph.com/books/0bf9c4f3-3123-4d7b-a6b5-8955ff06e5f6
edit: the Russian hardcover is also beautiful: https://app.thestorygraph.com/books/183d6a3b-d207-4cfb-aa9e-e36bc6df3f84 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Injury/Injury detail, Chronic illness, Infidelity, Sexual content, and Alcohol

Moderate: Blood, Cursing, Body horror, Child abuse, Medical content, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Alcoholism, Domestic abuse, Physical abuse, Emotional abuse, Mental illness, and Suicidal thoughts

Minor: Vomit, Police brutality, Sexual harassment, War, Classism, and Miscarriage

seforana's review against another edition

emotional reflective 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

1.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Suicidal thoughts, Body shaming, Self harm, Injury/Injury detail, Alcoholism, Alcohol, Miscarriage, Cursing, Sexual content, Blood, Chronic illness, Medical content, Toxic relationship, and Infertility

wwsimon93's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional sad tense 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

2.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Infidelity

Moderate: Mental illness, Self harm, Alcoholism, and Miscarriage

anneklein's review against another edition

dark sad tense fast-paced

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

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Blood, Chronic illness, Infidelity, Medical content, Mental illness, Self harm, Vomit, Toxic friendship, and Toxic relationship

Moderate: Dysphoria and Suicidal thoughts

Minor: Alcoholism, Emotional abuse, Infertility, Panic attacks/disorders, Miscarriage, Pregnancy, and Sexual assault

readwith_le's review against another edition

challenging emotional inspiring reflective sad tense medium-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

2.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Medical content and Self harm

Moderate: Sexual content, Blood, Eating disorder, and Alcohol

Minor: Miscarriage

dfram's review against another edition

challenging emotional funny reflective medium-paced

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

4.25

this is a story about love, in many forms. i liked only one of the characters, everyone else was so unlikable i wanted to punch them in the face (and THAT is what i loved the most about this book). i wasn’t on anyone’s side, because these characters captured the complexity of relationships and feelings and being human so well. everyone was right and everyone was wrong in a lot of ways. i loved normal people by sally rooney, and this book wasn’t what i expected it to be; i’m not disappointed by it, and i’m also not super sure i would read it again.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Alcoholism, Mental illness, Injury/Injury detail, Toxic friendship, Infidelity, Blood, and Self harm

Moderate: Chronic illness, Miscarriage, Cursing, Eating disorder, Adult/minor relationship, Vomit, Infertility, and Emotional abuse

Minor: Homophobia, Police brutality, Sexual content, Sexual assault, and Classism

laureneaves7's review against another edition

dark emotional reflective sad tense

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

0.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Toxic relationship, Miscarriage, Suicidal thoughts, Self harm, and Mental illness