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emotional
reflective
sad
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
I vastly preferred Margaret and Ivan's perspectives over Peter's. Rooney really excels at writing dialogue, and I think that is better utilized in Ivan's chapters rather than Peter's. In his grief, Peter's mind is scattered and incomplete, which is reflected in the writing style of his chapters through phrases in place of sentences and random observations of things that are happening around him. I didn't particularly like this choice, and his first couple chapters felt nearly incomprehensible at times. However, it did get much better as time went on and I got used to it, particularly at the halfway point onwards. Still, I preferred reading Ivan's chapters, which had a more structured thought-process reflected in the writing style, for a majority of the time. There were also exceedingly LONG paragraphs that I don't remember from her other books (one notable case was a paragraph that lasted over SEVEN pages (that particular one was a banger, but in most cases it felt a bit excessive because you didn't get a mental break with the end of a paragraph, and it felt almost like a continuous train of thought without pause)).
In part 3, we got a conversation between Naomi and Ivan, which I wasn't expecting, but was delighted by. I really liked the dynamic and relationship between Margaret and Ivan (they were both interesting, flawed, brought up interesting points of conversation, and delightfully awkward in similar ways). I would have liked to have seen at least one conversation between Margaret and Ricky (Margaret's ex-husband ), though; I felt that was missing. Peter's relationship with Naomi was fine, but I wasn't overly attached to it, though I liked how it ended. Peter's relationship with Sylvia was very interesting, and I liked Sylvia as a character overall.
This book did an excellent job in the developing and progression of the relationship between Peter and Ivan. It was often subtle, but you could see how it impacted their individual lives separate from each other, and I like how it all unraveled. It was complicated and realistic, but you still wanted them to work it out and make up in the end (at least I did). I really like how their relationship ended up by the end of the book. I think that the ending was done so well overall.
For a good portion of the book, this felt like a 3 star, maybe 3.25 at most, but the second half really improved my attachment (not just to Peter's perspective) and the discussions brought up. I can definitely foresee myself rereading this in the future, even purely just for how well crafted the progression of Ivan and Peter's relationship is (though also for the other characters and their relationships with each other).
In part 3, we got a conversation between Naomi and Ivan, which I wasn't expecting, but was delighted by. I really liked the dynamic and relationship between Margaret and Ivan (they were both interesting, flawed, brought up interesting points of conversation, and delightfully awkward in similar ways). I would have liked to have seen at least one conversation between Margaret and Ricky (
This book did an excellent job in the developing and progression of the relationship between Peter and Ivan. It was often subtle, but you could see how it impacted their individual lives separate from each other, and I like how it all unraveled. It was complicated and realistic, but you still wanted them to work it out and make up in the end (at least I did). I really like how their relationship ended up by the end of the book. I think that the ending was done so well overall.
For a good portion of the book, this felt like a 3 star, maybe 3.25 at most, but the second half really improved my attachment (not just to Peter's perspective) and the discussions brought up. I can definitely foresee myself rereading this in the future, even purely just for how well crafted the progression of Ivan and Peter's relationship is (though also for the other characters and their relationships with each other).
Content Warnings
Graphic: Sexual content, Suicidal thoughts, Grief, Death of parent
Moderate: Alcoholism, Chronic illness, Drug use
Minor: Sexism, Violence
dark
funny
lighthearted
reflective
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
As always, Sally Rooney has made me simultaneously love (perhaps too strong a word) and hate all of the characters and wonder - is everyone just walking through life inextricably confused and scared and making it all up as we go?
This served as an important reminder that we can very easily get caught up in our own messy minds and create these insane realities for ourselves that merely serve as a platter of pain and delusion. When all it takes is an honest conversation to realize, there’s a whole world inside of everyone. so stop being so damn obsessed with yourself - okAYYYY!
This served as an important reminder that we can very easily get caught up in our own messy minds and create these insane realities for ourselves that merely serve as a platter of pain and delusion. When all it takes is an honest conversation to realize, there’s a whole world inside of everyone. so stop being so damn obsessed with yourself - okAYYYY!
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death of parent
Moderate: Alcoholism, Suicidal thoughts, Toxic relationship
dark
emotional
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Content Warnings
Moderate: Alcoholism, Suicidal thoughts
emotional
reflective
sad
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Content Warnings
Graphic: Grief, Death of parent
Moderate: Addiction, Alcoholism, Chronic illness, Suicidal thoughts
Minor: Cancer, Drug use, Misogyny, Sexism, Sexual content, Vomit, Medical content
challenging
dark
emotional
reflective
sad
tense
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
Content Warnings
Graphic: Alcoholism, Cancer, Death, Mental illness, Panic attacks/disorders, Suicidal thoughts, Toxic relationship, Grief, Death of parent
Moderate: Car accident
challenging
dark
sad
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Content Warnings
Graphic: Chronic illness, Mental illness
Moderate: Alcoholism, Cancer, Death of parent
emotional
sad
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Content Warnings
Graphic: Sexual content, Death of parent
Moderate: Alcoholism, Alcohol
Minor: Physical abuse, Toxic relationship, Pandemic/Epidemic
emotional
reflective
sad
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Content Warnings
Graphic: Chronic illness, Sexual content, Suicidal thoughts, Grief, Death of parent
Moderate: Alcoholism, Alcohol
Minor: Bullying
challenging
emotional
reflective
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
This book is wayyy to long for what it is. The story is slow and honestly not interesting enough for how long it is, it felt a bit like a chore to finish. I also found most of the characters pretty unlikeable both Peter and Ivan are pretty sexist and awful in their own ways. There were a few parts I found more interesting, but this book could be 200 pages shorter.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Addiction, Alcoholism, Bullying, Cancer, Drug use, Misogyny, Sexism, Sexual content, Suicidal thoughts, Toxic relationship, Car accident, Alcohol
dark
emotional
sad
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Content Warnings
Graphic: Sexual content, Suicidal thoughts
Moderate: Alcoholism