Reviews with content warning for Suicide - Conversations with Friends

This was my first Sally Rooney and I felt it was a fairly easy read. I did think the characters were a little challenging, but I also think that was the point. I wanted to know where it would go and what they were going to do next.

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madbet's review against another edition

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dark emotional tense medium-paced

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

4.5

4.5 ⭐️

As per usual, Sally Rooney can do no wrong in my eyes. I read Normal People two years ago and loved it so I decided to read her debut ahead of the Hulu show and it did not disappoint!

There's a guarantee that with any Sally Rooney book, you're gonna get some complicated, complex characters and that it certainly the case with this book as well. All of these characters are flawed and complicated and it plays a huge part in their relationships with each other, although I did find that there was more focus on Frances and Nick. These characters are definitely pretentious which you can feel while reading, but I felt they sounded more pretentious when speaking to each other rather than when speaking to the reader. She also does not use quotation marks on the dialogue which I love as an added layer of complication in the book. I think this device portrays miscommunication well, and miscommunication between her characters is a big theme.

Another guarantee with a Sally Rooney book is not much of a plot. This was definitely a character driven novel for sure, which I really enjoyed. I think that since this book is so character heavy that I was not bothered by the lack of plot. This book is definitely a character study. I also found this book subject matter and these characters to be darker and grittier than Normal People. This book examines adultery and open relationships in a realistic way that I found very interesting and engaging.

This next part gives away a little.

I was under the impression this book was going to be more of a ménage à quatre. I know Bobbi and Melissa kissed, but I was hoping for more. I did enjoy the focus on Nick and Frances and I suppose it makes sense given that the book is told from Frances' POV, but I was hoping for a little more scandal between Bobbi and Melissa, especially since I found both of them very intimidating as characters.

Overall, I really enjoyed this one. I would only recommend this if you're a fan of Normal People though as this book is in a very similar vein! Very much looking forward to the show!

⚠️ TW: adultery, self-harm, suicide.

Content Warnings

buckys_plum's review against another edition

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challenging dark emotional funny reflective sad fast-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

4.75

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anna_2022's review against another edition

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dark 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

1.5

I found this book really bland, and the storyline tedious. By the middle of the book, I was so bored but I kept going. The end of the book was a little better but I really disliked the ending.

I loved Normal People so this Sally Rooney book was a bit of disappointment. I also think there should have been more content warnings.

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grasshopperjungle's review

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4.5

Seriously adore Sally Rooneys works. It was just so honest and real and raw (cliche I know but I loved it) and there were so many points in this novel where I couldn’t even believe it was written by someone and not just magically copied from the mind of the main character, Frances. Its just so digestible yet leaves you with way too much to think about when you’re done within 1-3 readings. Highly recommend.

Only thing I do have to mention negatively about this book, and Sally Rooney’s other works, is the negative portrayal and connotations behind kink and BDSM. I get it, it’s social/sexual commentary and I do think it’s valid, but that doesn’t make it any less harmful, shameful and sex negative.

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o_ro_se_do_bheatha_abhaile's review against another edition

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emotional reflective medium-paced

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

4.0

This was a nice book to read, I haven’t yet joined the Sally Rooney cult yet but maybe soon!! The way the dialogue is worked into the prose is very poetic but a bit confusing sometimes, and I think some parts of the story went over my head a bit. Over all a swag story and I’ve never been so interested in a cast of characters I hate so much!

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riseisbookapp's review against another edition

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challenging dark emotional reflective sad tense medium-paced

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

4.0

if you'd like to be hooked the bored then heartbroken please read conversations with friends.

Frances is an emotionally vulnerable character who often lets those walk all over her she feels pain so immensely that she cannot even attempt to help herself and even when you think she might just get a happy ending she does not. I'm crying tears not real ones but they feel like a cool river.

Content Warnings

aghostintheroom's review against another edition

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dark reflective sad tense medium-paced

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

4.5

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