Reviews tagging 'Abandonment'

Beautiful World, Where Are You by Sally Rooney

9 reviews

irislovescats's review against another edition

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

4.5

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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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hopelookingforbooks's review against another edition

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

4.75

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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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shaylac's review against another edition

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dark emotional hopeful inspiring 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

3.5

The characters and their relationships are intriguing, yet there's a sense of self-absorption that can be a tad much. The prose, while occasionally sophisticated, may border on pretentious, and the pacing tends to drag in certain spots.


The exploration of friendship and love carries depth, but it feels like Rooney didn't quite hit the mark. There are glimpses of brilliance, but the overall storytelling lacks the punch I was hoping for. It's a hesitant four stars, acknowledging the highlights amid the imperfections.
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jadziaaudrey's review against another edition

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

5.0

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onion's review against another edition

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

3.0

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painausten314's review against another edition

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challenging 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? It's complicated

4.5

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lex_r's review against another edition

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

2.0

I had high expectations for this novel, which should have been checked and adjusted entering this read. Although Rooney's discourse in this novel feels current with its emphasis on climate anxiety and political unrest the semi-epistolary style and language use make it seemed forced and performative. The book is formatted so every other chapter is a transcript of an email between Alice and Eileen, and more often then not I found myself uninterested in the email correspondences. To me they read as lengthy monolithic Wikipedia articles and exuded a sense of impersonality. The emails were lacking personality and I had a difficult time telling the difference between Eileen and Alice in these chapters. Although I do give credit for the narration style it is unique and creative! Overall, I don't think this book was intended for my demographic, I am sure other have found this devour-able but I spent almost every minute hoping it would end or get better. Perhaps I will re-visit closer to my late/mid twenties.  
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