Reviews with content warning for Sexual content - Beautiful World, Where Are You

Reviews tagging 'Sexual content'

Beautiful World, Where Are You by Sally Rooney

283 reviews

theothergrl's review against another edition

reflective 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

4.5

Sally Rooney's characters are nothing if not realistic. I felt I was reading about the people in my own life, about the actual stories of ordinary folk. These aren't love stories that swell the heart with big gestures and serendipitous circumstances that have one believing in the miracles of romance. But they are real. The end game is flawed, the relationships are messy, not in the dramatic sense, but ordinarily so. Sally Rooney writes, with good understanding, about the socio-economic factors that play into our interpersonal lives. How class differences can forge oceans between us, how power dynamics in age gaps can be so easy to fall into and so hard to crawl out of. I found it smart, the way she wrote in third person, as an observer, because it really instated the reality of such things. That most of the time they aren't overcome. That, at the end of the day, these are just the normal people we see at the supermarket or catching a train. I appreciated that the most when I finished the book. I felt like I was being told that it's going to be okay, that even though I can't overcome everything, there is still beauty to be found amongst it all.

Content Warnings

lexa's review against another edition

Go to review page

4.25

This book took a bit of time for me to get into… and then I was hooked. Drawn in my the drama and screwed up characters.

Content Warnings

naff_tm's review against another edition

Go to review page

emotional 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

3.75

Content Warnings

wiktoria_bojda's review against another edition

Go to review page

emotional reflective

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

2.5

Content Warnings

gracedunne's review against another edition

Go to review page

emotional sad slow-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

2.25

Content Warnings

pmejia's review against another edition

Go to review page

emotional hopeful reflective medium-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

4.75

Content Warnings

lissi_k's review against another edition

Go to review page

reflective slow-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character

4.75

Content Warnings

shaylac's review against another edition

Go to review page

dark emotional hopeful inspiring reflective sad slow-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

3.5

The characters and their relationships are intriguing, yet there's a sense of self-absorption that can be a tad much. The prose, while occasionally sophisticated, may border on pretentious, and the pacing tends to drag in certain spots.

The exploration of friendship and love carries depth, but it feels like Rooney didn't quite hit the mark. There are glimpses of brilliance, but the overall storytelling lacks the punch I was hoping for. It's a hesitant four stars, acknowledging the highlights amid the imperfections.

Content Warnings

rachs's review against another edition

Go to review page

medium-paced

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

3.25

Hmmmm....this is maybe a 3.25 to a 3.5 for me - I listened on audio and I *did* enjoy the characters enough to want to keep listening, particularly towards the end. I especially think the relationship and sexual tension between Simon and Eileen is very well written. It frustates the reader, as I think it is meant to. I also think some of the themes explored are fascinating and meaningful- such as the role of faith and religion in an increasingly agnostic generation in the UK and Ireland, and the theme of valuing the everyday ("friendship and sex") in the midst of global crisis, the collapse of all that one might value etc. All that was enough to keep me going. And the fact that, at heart, it is a novel about friendship.

And yet, in many ways, it was also a frustatrating read. Maybe because I listened on audio, I found the frequent flip in narrator perspective and even tense quite confusing and disorienting. I felt some themes were hinted at but never really explored. Simon is supposedly emotionally stunted and unable to express himself but he doesn't behave as such. Why is Felix so mean to Alice? Why does Alice all of a sudden fall in love with Felix? Is the disparity in their incomes an issue in their relationship? And so on and so forth....even the dynamic between Eileen and Alice feels under explored. It is well written but also...unsatisfying in lots of ways.

Content Warnings

allisondoesntread's review against another edition

Go to review page

reflective 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? It's complicated

4.0

Content Warnings

More...