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A review by thebakerbookworm
Beautiful World, Where Are You by Sally Rooney
reflective
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- 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
2.5
This book is hard to review, but I’m gonna do my best. 😅
If you’ve enjoyed Sally Rooney’s past books, I think you’ll like this one. I only felt mediocre about Normal People, and after reading this book, I’ve come to the conclusion that Sally Rooney is not for me. I’m glad I read this, and I don’t think it was a bad book, but I think her appeal just goes over my head lol.
The audiobook was good (especially the accents), and the characters somewhat interesting. But I felt so bored for much of the book—hardly anything was happening beyond roundabout conversations between the characters that said either nothing or the same repeated things.
My favorite part was Alice and Eileen’s relationship. Most of the story they are apart, only communicating via email, but I appreciated the look at female friendship that their relationship gave us, much more than the romantic relationships depicted. (Also Alice is maybe autobiographical for the author? Felt a little weird…)
There’s also reference to the pandemic fyi—it still felt too soon to me!
Thank you so much to Libro.fm, Macmillan Audio, and the author for my ALC!
If you’ve enjoyed Sally Rooney’s past books, I think you’ll like this one. I only felt mediocre about Normal People, and after reading this book, I’ve come to the conclusion that Sally Rooney is not for me. I’m glad I read this, and I don’t think it was a bad book, but I think her appeal just goes over my head lol.
The audiobook was good (especially the accents), and the characters somewhat interesting. But I felt so bored for much of the book—hardly anything was happening beyond roundabout conversations between the characters that said either nothing or the same repeated things.
My favorite part was Alice and Eileen’s relationship. Most of the story they are apart, only communicating via email, but I appreciated the look at female friendship that their relationship gave us, much more than the romantic relationships depicted. (Also Alice is maybe autobiographical for the author? Felt a little weird…)
There’s also reference to the pandemic fyi—it still felt too soon to me!
Thank you so much to Libro.fm, Macmillan Audio, and the author for my ALC!
Content Warnings
Graphic: Sexual content
Moderate: Mental illness, Panic attacks/disorders, and Suicidal thoughts