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

emotional reflective medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? No
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

Beautiful indeed. Up there with Normal People for me, for sure.
The scenes where all four characters were together were so lovely to read, and just felt so realistic and well done. I will say the pandemic being included at the end felt strange and maybe unnecessary to me, since it will inevitably date what otherwise felt like a pretty timeless story. This one will stick with me for sure, especially quotes about Eileen and Alice, like this one: 

Then they went to each other, meeting halfway down the stairs, and they embraced, holding one another tightly, their arms clasped hard around each other’s bodies, and then Alice was saying: I’m sorry. I’m sorry, and Eileen was saying: Don’t apologise, I don’t know why we’re fighting.  […] For a time they sat there on the stairs, not speaking, or speaking about things that had happened a long time ago, silly arguments they’d had, people they used to know, things they had laughed about together. Old conversations, repeated many times before. 
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