Conversations With Friends by Sally Rooney

★★★★☆|☆☆
"My ego had always been an issue. I knew that intellectual attainment was morally neutral at best, but when bad things happened to me I made myself feel better by thinking about how smart I was."

p.s. forgot to mention that I hated how it ended and I wanted to smash all the characters skulls together xoxo

Intro 0:00
The book's name 0:09
Summary 1:10
Characterisation 2:24
Intellectualism 2:40
Fanaticism 4:04
More characterisation 5:03
Review? 6:00
Sex scene 6:52
Goodbye 7:50


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[paulinavasilenko]

I finished this book in two days and it was such a surprise to me that I got so hooked. I recognized myself in the main character at first and my best friend in Bobbi, all the things I didn't like in myself and my friend. Then I stopped seeing myself in Frances (thank god) cause my frustration with her and her dishonesty with the others and herself reached the highest level and I really wanted to slap her for the most part. I liked how despite the constant irritation I felt towards Frances I still wanted to know what this girl was gonna do next and how the whole thing was gonna unravel. I think Rooney did a great job letting us see the world through Frances's eyes and showing the mess inside her head

[lesliebb]

I saw someone on goodreads saying "I loved the end, it made me smile" - it made you SMILE ?!? what the FUCK the end made me so furious I didn't know what to do with myself.

[fahshasalwaysreading]

She is the queen of writing the miscommunication trope

[sarahdonoghue]

The thing about the characters not talking made me laugh so much because I've seen loads of people with this problem with Sally Rooney's book but that is the most authentic thing about being Irish. It's impossible to explain but in Ireland no one talks or really says they're emotions and everything turns out grand. That so my favourite thing about the books because it made the characters so real

[evaantunes]

I have EXACTLY the same review from the book, I ended it and I said "JUST FUCKING GO TO THERAPY AND TALK LIKE NORMAL HUMANS". It made me very frustrated the fact that they all wouldn't get over themselves and have real conversations. I guess it's on me the fact that half of the time I didn't understand the intellectual stuff (also as a non-native English speaker) but it really got under my skin that they wouldn't say what they were actually thinking or going through. I also would like to point out that Frances would say all of these depressive/anxious thoughts to "us" but then as soon Nick was with her, she was a different person "yeah, why would I care?". A good book nevertheless

[Morwena]

Nick in the book is actually 32 and Melissa is 37. He is in his early 30’s, she is in her late 30’s. Frances is 21 and she has an 11 year age difference with Nick.

[annaascott]

I absolutely loved this book. I feel like the "wanky passages" were put in in order to highlight the arrogance und unlikeablity of the characters. I feel like Rooney made fun of them or of these kinds of people that talk and act like this (academics, people in the cultural fields etc.) in those passages.

[annaonar]

I thought this book was one of the best I read in months. I didn’t particularly like any of the characters or the choices they made or the ending they got. It wasn’t perfect and yet I loved it, which made it way more special for me.
Btw, pointing out that someone was showing off and being educated enough to explain what the show off was about is in itself a show off 😊 but don’t get me wrong, it’s a complement.

[chloelauryn]

THIS REVIEW WAS SO ACCURATE TO HOW I FEEL!!

[fleecrimson]

I honestly love the ending though...tha'ts so in her style, tha'ts how I expected it to end

[fantasiandolivros]

I hated how it ended too! But i loved read that book.

[mengdump]

Actually that’s how I felt. The characters are frustrating. I felt so angry reading each lines, but I surprisingly enjoyed it. God. It’s weird, but I like the novel.


And yes, I did felt the author was trying to be pretentious. Not through the characters but even though her word choices, specially in the beginning of her book. There were so many words I found hard to read, as a non-english speaker. It was simply frustrating, and almost made me drop it. But I’m glad I stuck around, since her writing does feels smoother as the chapters flow.

[maganvelemeny]

"Things would be better if you guys just started talking to each other" -> and then there would be no Conversations with Friends video to be made, cause in what world is it interesting to read about well-functioning adults interact without hiccups? : P

[damienslinger]

Well spoken and fun review, thanks for sharing. I'll give the book a go :)

[elderflower]

dude, i've read the book and I'm desperately trying to understand which sex scene you thought was really good.

[achtube]

You'd be happy (or not) to know HBO will be launching a series based on this book

[sherrensteal]

Hahaha it's funny how almost all the reviews says that the characters are portrayed to be quite narcissistic! 🤣

[LoriAistulf]

I agree 100% about the characters and the frustration! I was also very curious about how the thing would develop. And even when it did develop I kept hoping (with less and less strength) that surely it wasn't going to be the boring and slightly disgusting trope of the young girl falling in love with the mature intellectual man. For me the double-couple & bi relationship wasn't enough to make it a new or more interesting thing. Definitely one of those books when you wish you could reach into it to slap the characters in the face.

[renangaldino]

I've never read Deleuze... and i'm kinda proud of that.

[fatemebaghaei]

I'm shocked how much I agree with you about this book. I love this book because it's actually very well written like it seems the characters are real people but um, I can see the flaws of it too, I also gets frustrated by the characters and my God the author can't stop showing off in this and in Normal People too.