A review by 17eoakes
Conversations with Friends by Sally Rooney

dark emotional reflective sad medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Strong character development? It's complicated
  • Loveable characters? No
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.5

My first impression of this book is that it was pretentious and boring and it was enjoyed by pretentious people who like to find something in nothingness. That was a harsh criticism of a book that is just simply not my usual kind of book. I’m used to simple and subscriptive romcoms that  let me turn my brain off and forget about the world and all my troubles. This book did not let me forget my troubles. This book flashed up ugly and hurtful things and it didn’t try to cover them up or make them digestible. That is perhaps why this book is considered witty and remarkable. There is something to be found in this book but it lays majoritively in the emotions and experiences it forces you to acknowledge. This book is not one to read if you would like to stay in denial about painful things. I have to admit that throughout this book and perhaps right up until the second to last page, I wanted either Nick or Frances to die. In my reasoning if one of them died then all this misery they both seem to feel all the time would have a purpose and a reason and it wouldn’t just be misery that infests and grows and is hard to digest. I’ve given this book 3 stars, if I were less of a coward I would give it 5 stars, and maybe one day I will. Sally Rooney has a talent and I might not like it but it is very hard to deny it. 
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