A review by luciataylor
Beautiful World, Where Are You by Sally Rooney

reflective slow-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

3.75

The way that this book was written: Alice’s perspective followed with her email to Eileen, and then Eileen’s email back followed by her perspective was unique and enjoyable. Buried in a contemporary novel about two complicated relationships were essays about politics and culture which were very interesting while also indirectly sharing a lot about the characters and the way they view the world. Although the intolerable Felix and icky Simon made the novel hard to get through and the relationships impossible to route for, on my second Sally Rooney book, I have realised that depicting these deeply flawed characters and terrible men in 'situationships' without condemning their behaviour or having any redemption to them is the point of her books. Rooney is actually just brilliant at writing complex (and hateable) characters without explicitly spelling out  their actions and words as “bad,” although they are intolerable to read and see women fall for (it is realistic - perhaps why it’s so frustrating) it is interesting to read from the third person instead of living it. 
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