Reviews tagging 'Suicidal thoughts'

Conversations with Friends by Sally Rooney

263 reviews

bowelhaus's review against another edition

emotional tense 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

3.75

Funny and full of drama. The characters feel like real people and you’re the normal friend listening to them tell you how they’re fucking up their lives.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Panic attacks/disorders, Infidelity, Gaslighting, Toxic friendship, Medical content, Sexual content, Self harm, Chronic illness, Suicidal thoughts, Pregnancy, and Infertility

caitlynburns2007's review

dark emotional sad slow-paced

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

2.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Mental illness, Sexual content, Eating disorder, Medical content, Infertility, Injury/Injury detail, Suicidal thoughts, and Self harm

zoe_vdv's review

reflective sad tense 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

1.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Suicidal thoughts, Self harm, Toxic relationship, and Toxic friendship

nineinchnails's review against another edition

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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Content Warnings

Graphic: Infidelity and Mental illness

Moderate: Chronic illness, Classism, Medical content, Self harm, Sexual content, and Toxic friendship

Minor: Infertility, Miscarriage, Police brutality, Suicidal thoughts, and Vomit

Body dysmorphia

theliteraryteapot's review against another edition

fast-paced

• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

2.0

I have absolutely zero tolerance when it comes to adultery so obviously this was not a book for me. Yes, I understand the characters are meant to be very flawed and all that stuff, okay and then what? What do we do with this and them? Because it certainly didn't feel like any of them grew out of this, they seem stuck and there's barely a sign for a future character development. They all need therapy.
Add to that, as someone who grew up in the countryside, coming from a half-romani family, not rich, not bourgeois, with poor access to culture and literature, reading this book about privileged white rich and bourgeois (plus shitty and not genuine) people felt weird and useless. Their supposed political ideas felt so very performative.

On the endometriosis aspect, as I have the disease, I can't judge much because it can manifest in many different ways from one person to another. The only thing (maybe I'm nitpicking here), is that no you don't necessarily need a surgery to confirm a diagnosis, an mri scan is enough. And no, endometriosis is not just painful periods and infertility, it's so much more, so many other symptoms and different types of pain (outside periods and ovulations).

Also, I've seen people debating on Rooney's writing style and I don't get why? There's nothing to say to it, it's easy to read and very accessible.

It's funny because on paper Frances could have been my representation I guess: bi, endometriosis, poetess, studying literature, financially struggling (except for the fact her uncle owns her apartment), and yet... Nothing worked for me. It's just not for me.

I'm glad it got me out of a reading slump and I'm glad to see endometriosis more in fiction. That's it.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Classism, Sexual content, Suicidal thoughts, Toxic relationship, Alcohol, Chronic illness, Self harm, Alcoholism, Blood, Mental illness, and Vomit

Moderate: Medical content

Minor: Adult/minor relationship, Miscarriage, Pedophilia, and Pregnancy

xosevenusagbadan's review against another edition

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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Content Warnings

Graphic: Sexual content, Blood, Emotional abuse, Alcohol, Infidelity, Medical trauma, and Alcoholism

Moderate: Toxic relationship, Suicidal thoughts, Toxic friendship, Grief, Gaslighting, Injury/Injury detail, Eating disorder, and Classism

Minor: Cursing, Sexism, Bullying, Suicidal thoughts, Body shaming, and Miscarriage

readingonthehorizon's review

dark 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

Conversations with Friends was a challenge for me to read. I took a 2 week break from reading it around halfway through and even then, I had to put the book down at the end of each chapter.

I'm not sure what about it made me do this. The language itself is not challenging but it's possibly the themes. I felt so far detached from the characters but at the same time related in a way I never have before. It made me feel such odd emotions that I know I'll never be able to identify.

But I would like to say that I loved how Sally Rooney didn't use quotation marks.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Blood, Medical content, and Suicidal thoughts

Moderate: Sexual content

finebook's review against another edition

emotional funny reflective sad tense fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Self harm and Chronic illness

Moderate: Alcoholism

Minor: Suicidal thoughts

djenkin96's review

challenging dark emotional funny sad medium-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

I think it was just a story of repeated behaviours from all the main characters. There were sections of self development or self awareness with the intent to improve, but did any character actually develop ? In the end I didn’t even end up liking Bobbi or Frances or even Melissa. I’m not even sure I liked nick. A lot of loose ends at the end ? It’s  Like the author got bored, undid all the self-awareness and ended the book ? 

I did like the relevant topics And The nod to endometriosis.However I Feel the author  glazed over a large amount of obvious body image issues and an eating disorder ?

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Grief

Moderate: Infertility, Emotional abuse, Toxic relationship, Self harm, Mental illness, Addiction, Alcohol, Alcoholism, Blood, Pregnancy, Body shaming, Chronic illness, Gaslighting, Miscarriage, Eating disorder, Medical content, Misogyny, Toxic friendship, Suicidal thoughts, and Sexual content

hello_lovely13's review against another edition

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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Content Warnings

Graphic: Sexual content, Infidelity, Toxic relationship, and Self harm

Moderate: Mental illness, Alcoholism, Toxic friendship, and Suicidal thoughts

Minor: Chronic illness and Miscarriage