Reviews tagging 'Grief'

Beautiful World, Where Are You by Sally Rooney

22 reviews

cmcrockford's review against another edition

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emotional funny hopeful sad medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? N/A
  • Diverse cast of characters? N/A
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.0

Sally Rooney is a good writer badly in need of an editor and I say this as a person whose title includes Editor. The last third of the book is much better than the first two, in part because Manic Pixie Working Class Guy Felix provokes so much previously unspoken resentment out of these slightly miserable, PMC literary people. 

Rooney's very good at dialogue and this makes me wonder if she should just write tv or theater. When she uses novelistic techniques, they either feel virtuoso (the wedding) or outright clumsy (the emails, the sentences with multiple ambiguous descriptors). Editors are your friends! We value the good stuff, cut the bullshit, and tell you when one phrase will do instead of three. Sally, call me. 

Notes: It is ok to write essays and not put your own thoughts into novels. I don't talk like this in emails. No one does. Men have been rightly accused of writing Tits McChestawesome type female characters for years, but here Felix is a rescue dog owner, working class laborer, and handsome bisexual, also great in bed, where Simon is a tall idealist Catholic politician, evidently also great in bed. These men exist. Yes. I'm confident in that. 

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wickedgrumpy's review against another edition

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emotional slow-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Loveable characters? No
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

2.0

Midway through the book I realized why I wasn't having a good time.  It's not as though I don't enjoy slice of life stories or the micro analysis of some basic everyday random people living their lives as best they can, but there was nothing that endeared me to the characters at all.

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thaleia_ragoussi's review against another edition

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

3.5


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brstlng's review against another edition

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

3.0


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adrienne_rennie's review

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

5.0


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reddeddy's review against another edition

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emotional hopeful reflective sad slow-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? It's complicated
  • Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0


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semporina's review against another edition

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dark emotional funny hopeful inspiring reflective sad medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? It's complicated
  • Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0


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hanbroloo's review against another edition

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emotional funny hopeful reflective sad 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

4.75


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veroverovero000's review

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challenging emotional inspiring reflective slow-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

4.25


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megb64's review against another edition

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emotional 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

1.75


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