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lumew2's review against another edition
- 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
Graphic: Chronic illness, Toxic friendship, Blood, Infidelity, Sexual content, Injury/Injury detail, Medical content, Toxic relationship, and Self harm
Moderate: Vomit, Alcohol, and Cursing
Minor: Addiction, Lesbophobia, and Classism
seventhswan's review against another edition
- 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
3.75
That said, this was definitely my least-favourite book of Rooney's three currently-published novels. In Normal People and Beautiful World, I liked or at least sympathised with the main characters; here I spent most of the book actively hating them, and Frances' voice grated on me throughout. This still represents considerable skill in writing, and I'm not averse to an unlikeable narrator in the slightest, but it did weaken my emotional investment in most of the story.
Or so I thought, until I got to the final chapter, and promptly threw the book at the wall, which is not something I believed people actually did until now. Have I been Frances? Absolutely! Did that make me want to give her head a wobble any less? Absolutely not!
Overall, then, I wouldn't say I enjoyed CwF in the same way that I got genuine delight from parts of Normal People and Beautiful World, but I'm glad I read it, even if a lot of what I liked about it was the smug self-satisfaction that I'm Not Frances Any More.
Graphic: Infidelity, Toxic friendship, and Toxic relationship
Moderate: Chronic illness, Self harm, and Sexual content
Minor: Alcoholism, Sexual violence, and Vomit
nineinchnails's review
- 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
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 dysmorphialabhaoise4's review against another edition
- 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
3.25
Graphic: Alcohol, Vomit, Self harm, and Infertility
theliteraryteapot's review against another edition
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.0
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.
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
jillaay_h's review against another edition
- 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? It's complicated
4.0
Graphic: Chronic illness, Toxic relationship, Grief, Alcoholism, Mental illness, Injury/Injury detail, Self harm, Vomit, Blood, and Medical content
saradtotheb's review
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
2.5
Graphic: Infidelity, Self harm, and Alcoholism
Moderate: Blood and Vomit
kashrae99's review against another edition
- 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
3.75
Graphic: Cursing, Mental illness, Infidelity, Alcohol, and Toxic friendship
Moderate: Sexual content, Alcoholism, Medical content, Blood, Chronic illness, and Classism
Minor: Infertility and Vomit
komiification's review against another edition
- 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
Graphic: Infidelity, Toxic friendship, Self harm, Vomit, Alcohol, Mental illness, Alcoholism, Chronic illness, Cursing, and Toxic relationship
Minor: Police brutality and Racism
samanthaleereads's review
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- 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
Graphic: Self harm, Chronic illness, Medical content, Sexual content, Alcoholism, Alcohol, and Infidelity
Moderate: Blood, Infertility, Mental illness, and Classism
Minor: Vomit, Cursing, Physical abuse, and Drug use