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

challenging mysterious reflective medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Strong character development? It's complicated
  • Loveable characters? It's complicated
  • Diverse cast of characters? No
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

It’s the book of the season and it’s become a brand of its own 😆 It took me ages to get through Rooney’s newest release which is most likely due to the fact that I was super busy and had no time to read. Beautiful World, Where Are You revolves around Alice and her friend Eileen who are good friends but live in different cities. We learn about their separate lives through both their individual narratives and between email correspondences with, of course, no quotation marks as it’s a Rooney book after all. 
 
This is definitely one of those books that you will have to read for yourself to decide. Did I like it? Yes? Will I read her next novel? Probably not. Rooney's newest novel is a book that talks about nothing and everything at once. I resonated with the characters' inner, panicked thoughts about the world’s environmental crisis and found it funny that this book is incredibly autobiographical. I’ve always thought Rooney was made to be some sort of mystery with her lack of social media presence and the vague events reflected in her novels. While it’s clear that Alice’s character is Rooney, I found that I learned so much more about her and yet nothing at the same time in her newest book. So there you have it, Rooney is still quite the mysterious woman. 
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