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A review by yourwordsalitmatch
Conversations with Friends by Sally Rooney
dark
emotional
funny
reflective
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.75
I loved the writing style of this book. I had to get used to it first but the way Sally Rooney writes feels very authentic and honest.
For the book: It was good. But there where a few things that really bothered me (hence the 3.75 stars). Mental health is a very big issue in the book. And I don't mean the fact that we learn about Nick's past problems. The main characters mental health (and also her dad's) is rapidly getting worse and it never really gets addressed properly in the book. Maybe that is done on purpose but I don't really understand why (if it's in purpose)? I was waiting for someone close to Francis to act or at least mention it. Especially Nick given the fact the he knows what it's like to be severly depressed?? At some point it almost felt illogical to me that no one ever talked about it. Big parts of Francis behavior (and development along the story) reminded me of the Bell jar. Maybe this is going over my head but I just don't get how mental health, self harm, suicidal thoughts, severe depressiv episodes can be such a big focus of a book without ever being relevant to the story in any way. I hope anyone understands what I'm trying to say here. It's not easy to explain what I mean.
For the book: It was good. But there where a few things that really bothered me (hence the 3.75 stars). Mental health is a very big issue in the book. And I don't mean the fact that we learn about Nick's past problems. The main characters mental health (and also her dad's) is rapidly getting worse and it never really gets addressed properly in the book. Maybe that is done on purpose but I don't really understand why (if it's in purpose)? I was waiting for someone close to Francis to act or at least mention it. Especially Nick given the fact the he knows what it's like to be severly depressed?? At some point it almost felt illogical to me that no one ever talked about it. Big parts of Francis behavior (and development along the story) reminded me of the Bell jar. Maybe this is going over my head but I just don't get how mental health, self harm, suicidal thoughts, severe depressiv episodes can be such a big focus of a book without ever being relevant to the story in any way. I hope anyone understands what I'm trying to say here. It's not easy to explain what I mean.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Mental illness, Self harm, and Suicidal thoughts
Moderate: Alcoholism, Alcohol, and Blood
Minor: Body shaming, Chronic illness, Eating disorder, Emotional abuse, Gaslighting, Infertility, Vomit, Domestic abuse, Miscarriage, and Physical abuse