I was an early reader of Irish writer Sally Rooney, before she shot to stratospheric fame. I was offered an ARC of CONVERSATIONS WITH FRIENDS, not expecting to love it as I did. It’s not that I don’t enjoy stories about Millennials--it’s just that sometimes there’s too much navel gazing or whining and stuck-ness in issues that can make my eyes roll. But Sally Rooney? She’s a delight!
Navel gazing in Rooney’s book is organic and watchful. She writes her literary opuses as if they were screenplays. I’m not talking about just the filmic quality of the narrative. But in BEAUTIFUL WORLD, as in all three of her novels to date, you could pluck the breathtaking images right from the words themselves. The dialogue, characters, and story are three dimensional, and every scene pops and delivers and allows you to interpret on your own terms.
BEAUTIFUL WORLD touches on themes of beauty, celebrity, social media, mental health, friendship, love, the continuum between friendship and love, and the fluidity of attraction. As always, I feel that the author connects deeply with the reader as she writes. Even when the tone is wry, tense, or accusing between characters, I feel that Rooney’s people are always evolving and in motion. Rooney isn’t rigid but she is decisive. Her cast comes with an implied background of unease, or lofty principles that they themselves have problems achieving. They are searching for love and identity, and also a culture class that they can brandish or even hide behind. This new novel revolves around two best friends, Alice and Eileen, and the men most important in their lives at the time.
As in all Rooney’s books, one character is a writer (sometimes she has more than one). Alice has achieved literary fame after two novels (like Rooney, although I won’t make the mistake of thinking Alice is based on Rooney), and then had a mental breakdown. It is obvious that she isn’t that egocentric about her fame; in fact, she chooses a boyfriend much less intelligent than her who doesn’t even read books.
Her typical form of communication with her best friend, Eileen, is email. They contain some scintillating content and background info, and move both character and plot along, or give the reader a bridge between times. So when Eileen and Alice eventually see each other again (Eileen is living in Dublin, Alice by the sea), you just know there’s a climax coming. (Eileen is actually living in the house Alice abandoned when she went into treatment). You feel the tension.
And when I said that her novels are like cinema? I think this one is more theater, like a play. You’ll see when you read it, but the scenes usually include little details about the environment when a character is doing something, such as: “…sitting on her bed scrolling on her phone… On the floor, a discarded cardigan, her swimsuit with its straps tangled, sandals with the buckles hanging open. On the bedside table a lamp with a pleated pink shade.” The stage is set a particular way. It’s like seeing a play, where you are riveted to the stage, and the play and your life have merged.
Simon and Eileen have known each other since childhood (he’s 5 years older than her) and their relationship was Platonic for many years, although Simon has always been hard to pin down. Felix is Alice’s new boyfriend, and there are a few stunners of information about him that are revealed early.
If you are a Rooney fan, you’ve already read the book and are just checking out what other readers are saying. Is Alice really Sally? No, of course not, but it is a little bit meta-, as Alice does criticize people on Twitter for judging her life and her boyfriend, as if they know her. (I imagine many celebs feel this way.) Her readers do act on social media as if they are involved in Alice’s life--like her friend or cousin. Shows you how creepy we can be. We all do it sometimes--judge someone famous for making certain choices with their lives! But, Rooney doesn’t act superior when she writes a scene this way. Her nuanced portraits are unguarded, even when her characters are leery or calculating. Rooney mesmerizes when she points out their darker sides.
What I wanted to say is that if you are already a Rooney fan, then there’s nothing I can tell you other than to read it, and you won’t be disappointed. If you are new to her, prepare to love her or hate her. She writes her familiar geography--Dublin. Her characters are mostly about her age, and like her character, Alice, she writes about friends and lovers. Rooney does that SO WELL! That is why she is so beloved. Scenes are vivid, like her characters, and I become invested in them. So when they feel a cleaving, so will I. And most Rooney readers will, too. She is wise, piercing, and intuitive with the narrative form. Her stories are convincing because the texture feels like authentic material.
Rooney will follow a character into a murky tunnel and come out the other side with the bright sun shining or peeling off skin. She decides and we interpret. Or she can say it all in a few keen words, taking the context and subtexting the hell out of it. It’s almost always through the characters, like a play. Rooney doesn’t describe geography except to add mood/atmosphere to the story. Settings are in a room or a space, indoors or out, where you can feel the boundaries when they are crossed. Her characters are urgent with the world they live in, fearful and fearless simultaneously. And constantly thinking, feeling, desiring.
“It was like God had put his hand on my head and filled me with the most intense desire I had ever felt, not desire for another person, but desire to bring something into being that had never existed before…I knew what I had to do, and I did it, that was all.”
I’m so thrilled that Rooney has this talent to share with the world. I’m a superfan, a wide-eyed votary, so I can get away with saying…gulp…it’s a more beautiful world because Sally Rooney’s talent is in it.
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Reviews with images
Rooney crafts the cringe like a little masterpiece, y'all
I am increasingly determined to find a Sally Rooney book that I like, and I am pleased to report that I DID indeed like this one better than Normal People.We've got Alice and Felix as well as Eileen and Simon who are all young and love to overthink things a bit too much. And that's the book in a nutshell. Alice is a published author and Felix works in a local factory, so their pairing seems a bit random until she surprisingly asks him to join her in Rome. At the same time, her BFF Eileen is pining over Simon, one of her old friends she's loved since childhood.The book follows these four people as they figure out their lives and relationships.My favorite part about this book was the letters from Alice and Eileen. The two of them communicate primarily through letters, which is delightfully quaint. I enjoyed the format as well as the personal things and observations the women would share with the other. I liked the stream-of-consciousness style that they write in and found myself looking forward to those parts of the book.However, part of the reason that I probably enjoyed the letter sections so much is that it was so hard for me to sit through their actual conversations and experiences. There's just only so much navel-gazing that a girl can take, you know? I'll give it to Rooney all day though - the girl can write awkward young adulthood like no one else. It pervades every scene, whether it's arguing over the girls' friendship, love scenes, or even traveling in Italy. It's all a bit cringe-y, which is not my favorite thing to read. BUT, Rooney crafts the cringe like a little masterpiece. <chef’s kiss>So if you like Rooney's books, you MUST pick this one up. If you don't like her books, you still may want to give this a try.
Top reviews from other countries
bryant
a beautiful, simple story that’s grounded in reality
Reviewed in Canada on December 18, 2021
robert neil drew
Le livre n'pparaît pas sur mon Kindle!
Reviewed in France on April 7, 2024
Sergio
A Captivating Journey Through Life and Friendship
Reviewed in Spain on September 29, 2023