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chainsawheartbooks's review against another edition
emotional
funny
hopeful
inspiring
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.75
“Maybe we're just born to love and worry about the people we know, and to go on loving and worrying even when there are more important things we should be doing”
This is the first book on the recommended reading for a course I’m taking in April, and I can’t lie, I enjoyed it more than I thought I would.
I’m quite open about the fact that I often struggle with more contemporary literary books, I’m just a sucker for gritty horror stories and tales of magical realism, and yet I found myself rather enjoying this once I got into it.
It did take me a while to get used to the lack of speech marks (and even now I still wish they’d been used) as well as the tonal shift as the chapters moved from telling the story to the emails shared by Alice and Eileen.
But they were all such real and nuanced characters, I loved the mundane-ness of life that Rooney refers to throughout, and I was just rooting for everything to work out even when the characters were driving me nuts! And I think the fact they all had very real flaws meant that when they did or said something that made me want to slap some sense into them, I could still understand where their decisions came from.
This was the first of Rooney’s books that I’ve read but I’m intrigued to see how I get on with the other two on my list!
Content Warnings
Graphic: Mental illness, Sexual content, and Alcohol
Moderate: Adult/minor relationship, Suicidal thoughts, and Pandemic/Epidemic
Minor: Abortion, Death of parent, and Pregnancy
emmagalt's review against another edition
emotional
funny
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
4.75
I love Sally Rooney characters. I feel like she embraces that niche of the girls you met at uni and love for life, that you accidentally have wanky overly-intellectual chats with because you can't help that you're always analysing the world together.
I just get so drawn in by her stories. She passes the surface level vulnerability, and gets into properly private thoughts that you would be ashamed to share. I find it very relatable from an Irish Catholic background.
I just get so drawn in by her stories. She passes the surface level vulnerability, and gets into properly private thoughts that you would be ashamed to share. I find it very relatable from an Irish Catholic background.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Suicidal thoughts
lwprice1209's review against another edition
challenging
emotional
hopeful
inspiring
reflective
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Content Warnings
Moderate: Mental illness, Sexual content, and Suicidal thoughts
fat_husky's review against another edition
challenging
emotional
reflective
sad
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
4.25
Content Warnings
Graphic: Drug use, Mental illness, Panic attacks/disorders, Self harm, Sexual content, and Suicidal thoughts
moogm11's review against another edition
emotional
hopeful
reflective
sad
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
This was slow but there were sentimental bits throughout and last 50 pages were perfect 🤌
Content Warnings
Moderate: Sexual content, Suicidal thoughts, and Pandemic/Epidemic
memjacks's review against another edition
reflective
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
Content Warnings
Moderate: Suicidal thoughts
theinspiredimp's review against another edition
emotional
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
3.75
Content Warnings
Moderate: Drug use, Mental illness, Suicidal thoughts, Death of parent, and Alcohol
Minor: Pandemic/Epidemic
menn4's review against another edition
reflective
slow-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
3.25
Content Warnings
Moderate: Mental illness
Minor: Suicidal thoughts
spy_indeed's review against another edition
challenging
reflective
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- 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
2.75
Content Warnings
Moderate: Mental illness, Panic attacks/disorders, Self harm, Suicidal thoughts, and Death of parent
reyna_ayala's review against another edition
emotional
hopeful
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
a roundabout love letter to friendship in the modern day, featuring rooney’s charming wit and vivid characterizations. this book explored the hurt that accompanies love in relationships, and how our vulnerability to these human connections and emotions provides meaning to the every day
Content Warnings
Moderate: Suicidal thoughts