Reviews tagging 'Body horror'

Conversations with Friends by Sally Rooney

11 reviews

aliceroddy_'s review

emotional funny hopeful reflective sad 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

I enjoyed this book so much more than I thought I would - I was interested in the characters and I found it very easy to read. That being said, I didn't feel compelled to pick it up or continue reading it and I think that's because there were quite a few plot points that I thought were unnecessary and the book was about 125 pages too long. All in all, this book was interesting; enjoyable; well-written and I would recommend (still not going to read Normal People though.)

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Content Warnings

Minor: Body horror, Chronic illness, Blood, and Medical content

ank3's review

emotional funny reflective tense medium-paced

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

4.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Body horror, Classism, Toxic friendship, Sexual content, Chronic illness, Grief, Self harm, Body shaming, Infidelity, Toxic relationship, Suicidal thoughts, and Alcoholism

Moderate: Gore, Pregnancy, and Medical content

Minor: 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

deathdayparty's review against another edition

dark emotional hopeful sad fast-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

3.5

⭐️3.5
📚💭Reminds me of The Mindy Project, Normal People, Moshfegh-y self-centered characters.
🛍️ Local Library


Pros: 

• This is the epitome of a vacation read. If you want something that can definitely be finished in a weekend, this is it. 
• All of the characters kind of suck and you're not really rooting for anyone so you can just see all the different ways and shapes that they hurt themselves and each other. If you're having a bad day/week, it makes for a very compelling read. 
• The book is very low stakes and doesn't take itself too seriously. I appreciate that Rooney establishes pretty quickly that all of the characters are using each other. 

Cons: 

• I feel like the pacing is a little front heavy. I didn't realize I was already almost done with the book and then I had 30 pages left. 
• Not really sure who I would recommend this for. I feel like you'd just read this if you've read Rooney's other books.

Other:

• The characters turn your stomach in the way that in the end, you realize they don't want to change or be better and even though they've finally sorted things out, they like living in the chaos that they've built for themselves.  

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Infidelity and Self harm

Minor: Dementia, Suicidal thoughts, Body horror, and Chronic illness

keelyb's review against another edition

dark sad 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

3.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Body horror, Infertility, Medical content, Medical trauma, Mental illness, Self harm, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, and Suicidal thoughts

lacey_wi's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional reflective sad tense medium-paced

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

4.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Infidelity and Self harm

Moderate: Alcoholism, Body horror, Child abuse, Classism, Gaslighting, Infertility, Medical trauma, Mental illness, Miscarriage, Pregnancy, Sexual content, Toxic relationship, and Vomit

Minor: Antisemitism

lindseyhall44's review against another edition

reflective medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? It's complicated

5.0

Sally Rooney is one of my favorite authors, and I loved this novel as much as her other two.

Conversations with Friends, follows 21 year old Frances as she becomes involved in a messy relationship with a married man. While it is not a traditional love story by any means, Rooney emphasizes the significance of connections to our identity. This book reminded me that growing up is more of a social construct and less of an age defining measure. Frances made flawed  decisions, as did the other characters, which really highlight the individualities and complexities which Rooney focuses on.  If you love in depth character analysis as well as a chaotic story of love and friendship, Conversations with Friends is for you.

*this is a debut novel, so pacing and writing is different from NP and BWWAY.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Miscarriage, Toxic relationship, Sexual assault, Alcoholism, Suicidal thoughts, Chronic illness, Addiction, Eating disorder, Mental illness, Sexual content, Alcohol, Infidelity, and Toxic friendship

Moderate: Pregnancy, Abandonment, Body horror, Gaslighting, and Classism

shmunderland7's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional hopeful inspiring reflective relaxing 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

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Toxic relationship, Sexual content, Self harm, Abortion, and Body horror

Moderate: Cursing

Minor: Blood, Chronic illness, Drug use, Emotional abuse, and Alcohol

scruffie's review

challenging emotional reflective sad tense medium-paced

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

5.0

I found this one surprisingly tense for a (mainly) character-driven book. Loved the complexity and the depth of the characters which made them feel so real to me. Quite messy, but ain't life always?

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Abandonment, Alcoholism, Blood, Chronic illness, Emotional abuse, Infidelity, Medical content, Medical trauma, Mental illness, Self harm, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Suicidal thoughts, Toxic friendship, and Body horror

Moderate: Miscarriage, Pregnancy, Vomit, Domestic abuse, Infertility, and Eating disorder

waste_cup's review against another edition

adventurous challenging emotional funny medium-paced

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

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Alcohol, Blood, Body horror, Drug use, Infidelity, Infertility, and Toxic friendship