Scan barcode
A review by samarakroeger
Beautiful World, Where Are You by Sally Rooney
emotional
hopeful
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
5.0
this is one of the most existential books I have ever read (outside of Camus, for obvious reasons). I enjoyed it more upon reread (always the case with Sally Rooney for me). The first time I read it, I liked it but couldn’t really articulate why.
I find the narrative structure of this book to be so fascinating. While I find the ~content~ of the emails to be quite pretentious and a bit exhausting, I’m more interested in why Sally Rooney chose to structure the novel in this way. I think the juxtaposition of very distant, 3rd person omniscient narration with Alice and Eileen’s emails to be a fascinating way to give insight into them as people. You see their actions from above, without feelings, then you read their thoughts, filtered through how they present themselves to each other. It’s not as intimate as diary entries are (we’re still a bit guarded, even with our closest friends) and makes both Eileen and Alice out to be quasi unreliable narrators. Does it even matter what they’re actually thinking? I wonder if the point of the emails is partly to show how people can be performative about world issues. Food for thought.
I’m really glad that Rooney didn’t go for more mainstream commercial appeal with her third novel, instead digging in to the literary side. I’m sick of seeing people on social media calling Normal People a romance book, which it clearly isn’t (I like romance and NP, fwiw). BWWAY certainly isn’t for everyone, and I think that’s okay.
___
Upon my second reread, I really do think this is the type of book that gets better every time you read it. It's one reason why I love rereading books, even if I didn't give them 5 stars. I've gotten something different out of this book each of the three times I've read it. This time around, I found the mentions of Natalia Ginzburg to be fascinating -- Sally Rooney is a big Ginzburg fan (and just wrote an introduction to a new edition of All Our Yesterdays), and BWWAY is very Ginzburg-esque in its quiet depictions of everyday life and the focus on human connection.
——
I have somehow read this book FOUR times now in the space of a year and a half. It has gotten better and better each time, and has absolutely turned into a comfort book (and an all-time favorite, which I can no longer justify giving any less than 5 stars to). I also continue to find the Natalia Ginzburg connection fascinating, especially having read two of her books now. I also think the mention of Annie Ernaux is similarly fitting (and I have now read two of her books, too). Eileen’s email about carrying on worrying about quotidian things like sex, relationships, friendships, and motherhood while bigger political and social issues are going on perfectly reflects the entire point of Ginzburg’s Family Lexicon.
Anyways, see you in six months when I inevitably reread this. I maintain that BWWAY is the ultimate book to read in your 20s.
I find the narrative structure of this book to be so fascinating. While I find the ~content~ of the emails to be quite pretentious and a bit exhausting, I’m more interested in why Sally Rooney chose to structure the novel in this way. I think the juxtaposition of very distant, 3rd person omniscient narration with Alice and Eileen’s emails to be a fascinating way to give insight into them as people. You see their actions from above, without feelings, then you read their thoughts, filtered through how they present themselves to each other. It’s not as intimate as diary entries are (we’re still a bit guarded, even with our closest friends) and makes both Eileen and Alice out to be quasi unreliable narrators. Does it even matter what they’re actually thinking? I wonder if the point of the emails is partly to show how people can be performative about world issues. Food for thought.
I’m really glad that Rooney didn’t go for more mainstream commercial appeal with her third novel, instead digging in to the literary side. I’m sick of seeing people on social media calling Normal People a romance book, which it clearly isn’t (I like romance and NP, fwiw). BWWAY certainly isn’t for everyone, and I think that’s okay.
___
Upon my second reread, I really do think this is the type of book that gets better every time you read it. It's one reason why I love rereading books, even if I didn't give them 5 stars. I've gotten something different out of this book each of the three times I've read it. This time around, I found the mentions of Natalia Ginzburg to be fascinating -- Sally Rooney is a big Ginzburg fan (and just wrote an introduction to a new edition of All Our Yesterdays), and BWWAY is very Ginzburg-esque in its quiet depictions of everyday life and the focus on human connection.
——
I have somehow read this book FOUR times now in the space of a year and a half. It has gotten better and better each time, and has absolutely turned into a comfort book (and an all-time favorite, which I can no longer justify giving any less than 5 stars to). I also continue to find the Natalia Ginzburg connection fascinating, especially having read two of her books now. I also think the mention of Annie Ernaux is similarly fitting (and I have now read two of her books, too). Eileen’s email about carrying on worrying about quotidian things like sex, relationships, friendships, and motherhood while bigger political and social issues are going on perfectly reflects the entire point of Ginzburg’s Family Lexicon.
Anyways, see you in six months when I inevitably reread this. I maintain that BWWAY is the ultimate book to read in your 20s.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Mental illness and Suicidal thoughts