Conversations with Friends: A Novel

I really loved this book. A lot of reviews critique the plot, which I found more or less irrelevant, or the main character's likability. I actually loved how unlikable the main character was. This book is worth reading just for Rooney's incredible descriptions and characterization. Are these the most fascinating characters I've ever encountered in a book? No. But her characters have this really delightful way of surprising you. You think of them one way, and then they say or do something and all the dynamics take a fun twist. I do have two issues to mention. -One- When I first started this book I wasn't sure I would enjoy it at all because I have already read Normal People and the main character is so similar to Marianne. Eventually Rooney's writing itself won me over, but sometimes I can't enjoy multiple books from the same author because the patterns become too pronounced and this book felt that way at first. I might have liked it even more if it was my first read by this author. -Two- SPOILER I was disappointed by the way the queer relationships were depicted in this book. I wish the book had spent more time developing the Bobbi and Frances dynamic. I believe Frances is meant to have lasting feelings about Bobbi dumping her, but so much time is spent on her myopic obsession with Nick that her desire for Bobbi doesn't really come across. The love scenes between Nick and Frances are sexy, whereas the physical tension between Frances and Bobbi is barely mentioned. I liked that they got back together in the end, but then Frances and Nick had a phone call that made it seem that she was going to go right back to him a month later which I found disappointing. I can only imagine this ruining their friendship (again) which is a shame because I think their friendship/dynamic would have been interesting if it had been explored more.

Set in Ireland, CONVERSATIONS WITH FRIENDS is about two friends, Frances and Bobbi, who develop a relationship with a privileged married couple. Frances is attracted to the husband, Nick, and that plot line is the main focus of the novel. I wasn’t sure what to think about this book for the first few chapters. It didn’t seem to be going anywhere, and the characters seemed to chatter rather than say anything meaningful. But at some point, it caught my interest, and by the end of the book I discovered I liked it a lot. I understand the negative reviewers who describe this book as a lot of whining by self-centered 20 year olds. It took me awhile to warm up to the characters, and even then, I was only really interested in Frances and Nick and their vulnerabilities. The narrative reads less like a plot-driven novel and more like an introspective of Frances. I think that’s the point. Yes, she is immature and insecure, and she makes a lot of selfish choices. In the end, I’m not sure she even regrets those choices. But when I looked at her life through the lens of her relationship with her alcoholic father and enabling mother, and what it means to be an adult child of an alcoholic, the book came together for me. Nick’s issues with depression and his willingness to please adds another layer that explains a lot about their relationship. Reviewers also pointed out the often overly simplistic sentence structure. It worked for me because the book was told by Frances and the staccato-like syntax reflected the rhythm of her thought after thought after thought. It gave me more insight into her insecurities and confusion as she grapples with who she is and what actually makes her happy. At other times, when for a moment we were more in the setting than in Frances’s head, the writing is stop-in-your-tracks gorgeous. I think the combination of writing style is a testament to Rooney’s gift for language. This is not a book for everyone, which accounts for the love-it or hate-it reviews, but I enjoyed it and look forward to reading more by this author.

This is a mildly enjoyable novel. Certainly it was overpraised and I can only think that it's because of the somewhat progressive ideas of relationships.....ooh, lesbians and an unconventional love affair...that it got all this attention. The writing style is clear and straightforward but subtle also, with no quotation marks for people speaking. My main complaint is the main character, Frances, who is only 21 and supposedly is this very smart girl but offers very little evidence of this. There are no big ideas here, no profound insights into relationships, no beautiful language. It's difficult to identify with the characters, they're all four just very odd. There's a lot of description of Frances's body, all her physical issues (lots of sweating, breathing, cutting, sighing, fainting) rather than her thoughts. So it can get rather dull. I think the ending was well done and that counts for a lot in my book.

And immediately to Amazon I went. "Buy now with 1-cick" and 2-3 business days later, I am three chapters in and can't stop reading. Immediately, I was enraptured by the main character Frances. She and her ex-girlfriend Bobbie have a relationship that grabbed my attention. Are they together, or are they not? If they were once lovers, how can they be such close friends now? They perform spoken word poetry at various clubs around Dublin. I could picture them: Bobbie, bold and confident, reciting the words that quiet, observant Frances wrote herself. When they are approached by a writer who wants to feature them in a magazine article, they quickly say yes and go to the writer's house for dinner. That dinner changes everything. There is a dramatic shift in the characters after that dinner, where Bobbie and Frances meet the writer, Melissa, and her husband, Nick. Frances is immediately curious about Nick and keeps a close eye on him. Eventually, they start emailing each other, attending each other's performances around the city. (He's an actor). What follows is part love story, part tragedy, as Frances and Nick play a cat and mouse game with high stakes. She is risking her sanity and her emotions. He is risking his marriage. They are both dealing with situations the other has no idea about, so when one is acting despondent and doubtful, the other assumes it's towards them. It's this combination of passion and the unknown that creates a riveting relationship that neither knows how to control. I was reminded over and over of Jay Gatsby and Daisy. The parties, the conversations and the palpable tension drew me in, but also made me want to turn away at times, out of sadness or disappointment in the characters decisions, I wasn't sure. What's compelling about Conversations with Friends is that though they sit at tables together and take photos of each other and ask each other intimate questions about love, politics, philosophy and everything in between, nobody actually knows what's going on behind the eyes on the person seated next to them. Besides the relationship between Nick and Frances, her relationship with Bobbie also fascinated to me. The theme of friendship in this book has an undercurrent that you can't ignore. How well do you know your friends and what will you do (or not do) to keep them close and to be loyal to them? I highly recommend.

This was the first book I finished all year. I have struggled finding a book that captivates me after 2 chapters. Conversations with Friends was slow at times, with multiple characters introduced with small importance, however, this novel had a little bit of everything. Friendship, relationship, and family dynamics. Although I wish there was more explanation to what happens to France’s and Bobbi’s relationship, along with the outcome of her fathers struggles, I would recommend this novel to my friends.

I've been wanting to read more literary fiction by my peers, and my curiosity was piqued when I heard an interview with Sally Rooney while driving around in my home state of Massachusetts, and then I met her classmate later in Dublin, who gave me "Mr. Salary", which was sharp and excellent. (Almost as perfect as short stories can get. WOW.) So I felt driven to buy her novel. I don't always have staying power with books, but I read this one from cover to cover in a few days. I didn't agree with Frances' choice in the end, and I loved the fact that I felt invested enough to care. I wanted to go with her through to "The End". The dialogue was wonderful, and I ate up the book -- not just because of the chemistry generated between the characters, but because on a mechanical level I wanted to study "how the author did what she did" -- so many scenes were pitched just right, compelling, and exquisite. The storyline stays wonderfully tight and on-point, and follows a logical sequence, with each emotional development building on the last. At about 2/3rds of the way through, the protagonist reaches an acute level of misery, and I admittedly found it a bit harder to read. It was hard on an emotional level (which is great -- no reason the author shouldn't put us through that, if it's the truth!), but my own tiniest criticism is that I think the storytelling could have dialed back on the statements of misery. The first 2/3rds is so beautifully stark that the way Frances' breakdown is told feels like a shift in diction. (But then again, weren't we all agonized and angsty in our early 20's? In that sense, Sally hit the right note, one that most of us shy/squirm away from!!) Brilliant book, and I felt viscerally and sensually within the narrative the entire time (deeply cringing when I read Melissa's long email, as if it was directed at me... or watching Frances wearing the sports coat, looking like a "candle"... etc. etc.) I will read it / flip through it again just to study it more. Loved how it was both physical and highly cerebral, and adored the intimate and frank look at women's sexuality and health as well. Incredible accomplishment, and I am excited to see what she writes next!!

Frances is 21 years old, works at a job she is not at all engaged with and almost would seem to prefer to not have, goes to college, and performs her spoken word poetry with her best friend/ex-girlfriend Bobbi at night. The latter has gotten enough attention to draw into their orbit Melissa, a 30something writer and photographer who wants to profile them, and her husband Nick, a working actor who has found only minor success. While Melissa and Bobbi hit it off, Frances and Nick develop a connection of their own and it’s not too long before they wind up in bed together. This doesn’t feel like a spoiler, as it is very obvious that it’s going to end up there. This obviously has reverberations for Frances’s relationships with both Bobbi and Melissa. Sally Rooney is one of those authors that has a devoted following, so I was really excited to start reading her work with this, her debut novel. But if I’m being honest, I didn’t really understand the fuss. This is a character book, which I’m inclined to like, but without a character I found compelling. Frances is a frustrating protagonist. Not because she’s aimless or sleeps with someone else’s husband or is trying to figure out who she is, but because she’s just not very interesting while she’s doing all of that. I didn’t find her unlikeable, I just found her boring. I found myself wondering why and even if I was supposed to care about her or her connections with Nick, Bobbi, and Melissa. I had a hard time understanding how a person seemingly so empty and detached could write poetry that was engaging enough to get anyone’s attention. What kept my interest was the quality of the prose. Rooney’s writing is subtle, and she has a real knack for dialogue and descriptions. Her words are clearly deliberately chosen but she never slides into flowery language. Her use of language alone makes me want to read her other books, but I hope they’re better than this one.

A novel highlighting the reality that relationships are often much more complicated than we can prepare ourselves for. Sally Rooney has a poetic writing style that creates a vivid experience and, at the same time, allows for a very natural read. It does start out a bit slow and very ambiguous; however, once I got through the first three or so chapters, I could not put it down. I kept with it, and I am glad I did! Although it is written from the main character Frances' singular perspective, you become introduced to the other main characters from the beginning. They become more and more defined and, the way the story progresses adds suspense and realistic layers that exist in all relationships. I did become slightly apprehensive due to some of the more descriptive explicit content. With that said, it was not overly egregious and did not take away from the overall enjoyment of the novel. Sally Rooney did a fantastic job of capturing the confusion, heartache, and complicated reality of falling in and defining love.

Amo Sally Rooney. Amo il suo modo di scrivere e la sua capacità di rendere avvicenti storie "normali". Amo leggerla in lingua originale, perchè dà realtà ai personaggi. Consiglio fortissimamente di leggere i suoi romanzi.

This novel is the most beautifully written novel I've ever read. The author has a sensibility and a level of empathy very few people will recognize or understand, because these are human qualities very few possess. She portrays as accurately as can be what it means to be a young woman in her twenties today. She writes characters with compassion, never judgement, even when their actions are questionable. Her humor is so subtle a lot will miss it. It's heartbreaking and wonderful all at once. She writes characters in a way that makes them relatable even if you are very different than them, which is the best quality a writer can have today.

Love love love this book

ISA TALKS ABOUT... Lisa Talks About… LOST IN A BOOK SOMEWHERE. SEND TEA. 19TH AUGUST 2019 REVIEW: CONVERSATIONS WITH FRIENDS BY SALLY ROONEY Title:Conversations with Friends Author: Sally Rooney Pages: 304 Pages Publisher: Faber & Faber The Blurb Frances, Bobbi, Nick and Melissa ask each other endless questions. As their relationships unfold, in person and online, they discuss sex and friendship, art and literature, politics and gender, and, of course, one another. Twenty-one-year-old Frances is at the heart of it all, bringing us this tale of a complex ménage-à-quatre and her affair with Nick, an older married man. You can read Conversations with Friends as a romantic comedy, or you can read it as a feminist text. You can read it as a book about infidelity, about the pleasures and difficulties of intimacy, or about how our minds think about our bodies. However you choose to read it, it is an unforgettable novel about the possibility of love. The Review I have read Sally Rooney’s writing out of sync. I started with Normal People – which I enjoyed but thought was a bit of a victim of its own hype. I decided to read Conversations with Friends recently and now I think I get it. Sally Rooney really does have a writing voice that exudes her talent with every single word. She manages to show the awkwardness of relationships – platonic, familial, and sexual. She frustrates you by the things that she doesn’t say and yet makes you feel compelled to read more. The story of Frances and her relationships with the people around her are tumultuous and confusing. We watch her grow and develop but never quite being on the same level as her counterparts – whether this is due to age, experience, or social class is left for you to determine but you cannot but help root for her. You want things to end well or her even though you are distinctly aware that Conversations with Friends is not that kind of book. My one issue with Conversations with Friends is the same issue that I had with Normal People. It is the stylistic choice to flout rules about speech marks. I prefer my books to have them. However, if that is the only complaint to find about a book then I guess that it is worthy of the highest praise. Conversations with Friends by Sally Rooney is available now.

perfevt book to read in one evening