Conversations With Friends
Author: Sally Rooney
Published by: Faber & Faber
Pages: 323
Format: Paperback
My Rating ★★★1/2
Frances is twenty-one years old, cool-headed and observant. A student in Dublin and an aspiring writer, at night she performs spoken word with her best friend Bobbi, who used to be her girlfriend. When they are interviewed and then befriended by Melissa, a well-known journalist who is married to Nick, an actor, they enter a world of beautiful houses, raucous dinner parties and holidays in Brittany, beginning a complex ménage-a-quartre. But when Frances and Nick get unexpectedly closer, the sharply witty and emotion-averse Frances is forced to honestly confront her own vulnerabilities for the first time.
My thoughts:
Conversations with Friends is first and foremost a book about four not particularly likeable characters that become entangled in awkward and complex relationships. Even though not a great deal really happens in the book, it is the portrayal of various relationships and friendships between the four main characters that makes for an addictive read.
It is a reflective, thoughtful novel, which takes place in the mind of twenty-one year old college student and poet, Frances. Therefore, everything is told from her perspective. I felt this worked well throughout the book, but one thing I must mention is the lack of quotation marks during scenes including dialogue. I haven’t really seen this done before, and whilst I admire Sally Rooney for trying out a different style, I just did not feel that this worked at all; especially as this is a novel entirely focused on in-depth conversations between people. Having no quotation marks denoting speech quickly became very confusing and at times I found it quite difficult to know who was actually speaking.
Also, I can’t help but feel that the title of the book and the cheerful look of the front cover are a little misleading in encouraging readers to pick this book up and expect some kind of comedic or light-hearted read. In fact, I felt the story was, in general, fairly gloomy and melancholy. Not that this is a bad thing; just a little ambiguous in terms of how the book is presented at a first glance.
There is no denying that the narrator, Frances, is entirely selfish and blunt in the way she communicates with others. Frankly, I just did not like her character one bit. However, being inside her messy head and reading her complicated, insightful and at times very introspective thoughts was what kept me gripped from page one. Her tangled regard of the world around her was certainly very intriguing for me.
I honestly did not warm to any of the characters much at all; although if I absolutely had to pick a favourite I’d probably go with Bobbi, who seemed just a little less irritating and careless than the others throughout most of the book.
Overall, I enjoyed the book more than I had expected, and found it surprisingly enjoyable to read. Whilst the plot itself is somewhat dull and lacking in energy or excitement, Rooney has delivered a debut novel that is incredibly well written, intelligent and captivating to read. This is a good novel to try out if you’re looking for something thought provoking and reflective, but a little lacking in plot for me, which is why I couldn’t quite give it a four star rating.
Overall reaction:
Published by: Faber & Faber
Pages: 323
Format: Paperback
My Rating ★★★1/2
Frances is twenty-one years old, cool-headed and observant. A student in Dublin and an aspiring writer, at night she performs spoken word with her best friend Bobbi, who used to be her girlfriend. When they are interviewed and then befriended by Melissa, a well-known journalist who is married to Nick, an actor, they enter a world of beautiful houses, raucous dinner parties and holidays in Brittany, beginning a complex ménage-a-quartre. But when Frances and Nick get unexpectedly closer, the sharply witty and emotion-averse Frances is forced to honestly confront her own vulnerabilities for the first time.
My thoughts:
Conversations with Friends is first and foremost a book about four not particularly likeable characters that become entangled in awkward and complex relationships. Even though not a great deal really happens in the book, it is the portrayal of various relationships and friendships between the four main characters that makes for an addictive read.
It is a reflective, thoughtful novel, which takes place in the mind of twenty-one year old college student and poet, Frances. Therefore, everything is told from her perspective. I felt this worked well throughout the book, but one thing I must mention is the lack of quotation marks during scenes including dialogue. I haven’t really seen this done before, and whilst I admire Sally Rooney for trying out a different style, I just did not feel that this worked at all; especially as this is a novel entirely focused on in-depth conversations between people. Having no quotation marks denoting speech quickly became very confusing and at times I found it quite difficult to know who was actually speaking.
Also, I can’t help but feel that the title of the book and the cheerful look of the front cover are a little misleading in encouraging readers to pick this book up and expect some kind of comedic or light-hearted read. In fact, I felt the story was, in general, fairly gloomy and melancholy. Not that this is a bad thing; just a little ambiguous in terms of how the book is presented at a first glance.
There is no denying that the narrator, Frances, is entirely selfish and blunt in the way she communicates with others. Frankly, I just did not like her character one bit. However, being inside her messy head and reading her complicated, insightful and at times very introspective thoughts was what kept me gripped from page one. Her tangled regard of the world around her was certainly very intriguing for me.
I honestly did not warm to any of the characters much at all; although if I absolutely had to pick a favourite I’d probably go with Bobbi, who seemed just a little less irritating and careless than the others throughout most of the book.
Overall, I enjoyed the book more than I had expected, and found it surprisingly enjoyable to read. Whilst the plot itself is somewhat dull and lacking in energy or excitement, Rooney has delivered a debut novel that is incredibly well written, intelligent and captivating to read. This is a good novel to try out if you’re looking for something thought provoking and reflective, but a little lacking in plot for me, which is why I couldn’t quite give it a four star rating.
Overall reaction: