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A review by carbs666
Beautiful World, Where Are You by Sally Rooney
emotional
hopeful
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? Yes
3.0
Having now read this whole book I still don't know if I enjoyed it or not. I have really enjoyed the previous books I've read by Rooney, and this one has some overlapping elements, but overall I found it slow and sad and without a clear purpose.
I would argue this novel is largely atmospheric, and those moments of quiet when the characters aren't looking and the "beautiful world" does reveal itself are some of my favorites in the book. I also really enjoyed Eileen and Alice's insightful correspondence, and found it kind of funny how these long emails tell you what the book is actually about; without them, I don't feel the book would have much substance.
This book is mostly about a handful of sad and confused people who cannot speak honestly with each other and resort to immature emotional manipulations that made me forget the characters were all 30 or older. So I guess they were just regular people, then. Nothing much happens in the book, and this nothing much ultimately leads to a large emotional crisis that has been brewing under the surface the entire book, that you may not have noticed because you were too busy feeling annoyed with Simon and Eileen and wary of Felix or Alice. Strangely, this emotional crisis does not actually reveal anything new about Alice and Eileen, but gives opportunities for Felix and Simon to take centre stage in the aftermath.
Why so much God in this book? Can the beautiful world not exist secularly? Also, if God IS so important why is faith and its meaning only briefly explored? Mostly this book left me a little unsatisfied, despite the ending being tied up with a neat little bow.
I would argue this novel is largely atmospheric, and those moments of quiet when the characters aren't looking and the "beautiful world" does reveal itself are some of my favorites in the book. I also really enjoyed Eileen and Alice's insightful correspondence, and found it kind of funny how these long emails tell you what the book is actually about; without them, I don't feel the book would have much substance.
This book is mostly about a handful of sad and confused people who cannot speak honestly with each other and resort to immature emotional manipulations that made me forget the characters were all 30 or older. So I guess they were just regular people, then. Nothing much happens in the book, and this nothing much ultimately leads to a large emotional crisis that has been brewing under the surface the entire book, that you may not have noticed because you were too busy feeling annoyed with Simon and Eileen and wary of Felix or Alice. Strangely, this emotional crisis does not actually reveal anything new about Alice and Eileen, but gives opportunities for Felix and Simon to take centre stage in the aftermath.
Why so much God in this book? Can the beautiful world not exist secularly? Also, if God IS so important why is faith and its meaning only briefly explored? Mostly this book left me a little unsatisfied, despite the ending being tied up with a neat little bow.
Content Warnings
Minor: Self harm, Mental illness, and Suicidal thoughts