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xtinamarie's review against another edition
dark
emotional
funny
reflective
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
4.5
eleanorflovver's review against another edition
challenging
emotional
hopeful
reflective
sad
slow-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
5.0
i read this for the first time on the pati outside my granddad's house in two afternoons. i read it for the second on the beach at weston super mare while my friends ran into the sea and recounted their roommate drama. a seagull stole my chips and it felt like a metaphor. now i am writing this review, of course that is utterly ridiculous, but for a few short hours, i was absolutely immersed not just in the story, but sally rooney's way of seeing the words. mundane, stupid things were suddenly poetry, while a voice in my head leant back in her chair and laughed at the ironic fallacy of it all). this is a book that makes you see the beauty in the world by realising just how inauthentic and fucked up it can be. there isn't any beauty in suffering, but there is in words. there is in the space between suffering and the art you make of it. this novel ends not with a bang of catharsis, but a damp flicker. there is nothing peaceful in that, but it makes you feel alive.
sophmlgent's review against another edition
emotional
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
ruthlessly's review against another edition
5.0
bumping this up from 4 to 5 on reread, six years later
i read this for the first time in an airport/on a plane. i remember crying at it and trying to make it not obvious i was crying to the person sitting next to me (i doubt this worked, but she was very nice and didn't mention it even when we talked later). it's been long enough that even though i remembered some things from this book, it wasn't everything. mostly, i remembered some characters, fragments of feelings, the general plot.
there's a million things people have said about sally rooney, about this novel and her others. i think what strikes me, always, is that she is such an evocative writer. she conveys so much emotion in her prose, always. i feel like i'm being shown the insides of her characters. this whole book is like looking at frances' tender, beating heart, as she tries to disguise it from everyone around her. she keeps herself so distant in an effort to create a protective shell. i feel like it's one of those cases where she's less "likeable", less "easy going." the distance between the image she portrays and how she feels is a constant tension in this. it creates some really enjoyable scenes, i found -- i love every time people call her on it, on the delving into their place in each others stories. something sally rooney does so well is repeatedly show that people are ultimately unknoweable to each other, but that it's important to try. i feel like this book is making its way, on tiny, faltering steps towards frances realising that.
i really, really loved re-reading this. i reckoned i would enjoy it, but i'm surprised by how much i did. i love the discussions about things i don't really understand. i love the self-conscious way these people present themselves. i love the intelligence, the shine of the characters intellect, the way they build for each other and break. i really enjoy what this has to say about womens bodies, too, how frances' health issues are so intertwined with how she's experiencing the world and how much she tries to pull away from that. i love her, tbh.
i think i've pushed this up to one of my favourite books, tbh, which is so nice. project re-read worked tf out.
'come and get me.' i burn, i perish.
i read this for the first time in an airport/on a plane. i remember crying at it and trying to make it not obvious i was crying to the person sitting next to me (i doubt this worked, but she was very nice and didn't mention it even when we talked later). it's been long enough that even though i remembered some things from this book, it wasn't everything. mostly, i remembered some characters, fragments of feelings, the general plot.
there's a million things people have said about sally rooney, about this novel and her others. i think what strikes me, always, is that she is such an evocative writer. she conveys so much emotion in her prose, always. i feel like i'm being shown the insides of her characters. this whole book is like looking at frances' tender, beating heart, as she tries to disguise it from everyone around her. she keeps herself so distant in an effort to create a protective shell. i feel like it's one of those cases where she's less "likeable", less "easy going." the distance between the image she portrays and how she feels is a constant tension in this. it creates some really enjoyable scenes, i found -- i love every time people call her on it, on the delving into their place in each others stories. something sally rooney does so well is repeatedly show that people are ultimately unknoweable to each other, but that it's important to try. i feel like this book is making its way, on tiny, faltering steps towards frances realising that.
i really, really loved re-reading this. i reckoned i would enjoy it, but i'm surprised by how much i did. i love the discussions about things i don't really understand. i love the self-conscious way these people present themselves. i love the intelligence, the shine of the characters intellect, the way they build for each other and break. i really enjoy what this has to say about womens bodies, too, how frances' health issues are so intertwined with how she's experiencing the world and how much she tries to pull away from that. i love her, tbh.
i think i've pushed this up to one of my favourite books, tbh, which is so nice. project re-read worked tf out.
'come and get me.' i burn, i perish.
pcrthos's review against another edition
5.0
je voulais faire une critique constructive mais j'en suis incapable, juste merci pour tout
csbrown's review against another edition
emotional
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
alessandraorona's review against another edition
emotional
fast-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
4.5
sally rooney the woman that you are
elxa's review against another edition
emotional
reflective
relaxing
sad
tense
medium-paced
- 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
3.5
pphoebbss's review against another edition
4.0
Writing this a few years after reading the book so I don’t remember everything that happened in this story but I do remember really enjoying this. Normal people is one of my favourites and this wasn’t quite on the same level but Sally Rooney is really able to write a story that feels real to me.