I find it hard to collect my thoughts on it. This was great :) I really liked the book. (as someone who raves about Normal People, but didn't like CWF as much...) I still went into it not sure. I liked it more as it got further into the story. I thought some of the tangents were a bit out there / smart for 2 friends talking! And I liked the emails less than I thought. I liked the relationships and the vulnerability between the characters. There was a page that made me cry when the two women are reunited at the train station. It's kind of what you said, complications but importance of adult / female friendship. I haven't known what to pick up since !
Yes, it’s a hard one to pin down, right? Such a complex book in parts, and I find myself wanting to re-read it in case I missed any of the details. And that reunion scene was great! Thank you so much! I need to go and check out CWF now!
I’m glad you decided to read it and you enjoyed so many things about it. Great to hear your reaction to it. The simmering resentment between friends was really well handled and the way Alice secretly takes great pride in her success and looks down on others and that shows her real insecurity and the way money subtly warps relationship and self value.
Thank you so much! And now I’ve read it, I can finally check out your video on it! Yes, that resentment was so well done! I really appreciate the way Rooney gives us insights into character’s inner lives- it’s so unsparing and I think that’s what makes it work. I hope your holiday is going well!
@@AnnNovella I really wonder! I think it will, in the sense that it captures a very specific period of time in a way that will be interesting in future, but I’d be excited to read it again in ten years or so.
I have just purchased the book and was deliberating whether I should start it or read some of myTBR list. Your explanation and descriptions of the characters and their values and relationships has bumped it to the top of my reading list. Thanks.
I really liked your perspective and review from this book! I finished it today, I genuinely really enjoyed it. It is interesting to see the development of adult friendships. Also until watching your video I understood how much social class affected their relationship (Alice and Eileen) obviously money and class is a big theme in the story. But now I can fully grasp the idea that because of the system they are part of and the place each of them belong, it affects how they view the world. And at a certain point they resent each other because they do not see the others perspective. This is why I like watching reviews, thank you!
Thank you so much! That’s very kind of you to say, and I’m glad you enjoyed the video and book! It’s such an interesting book in many ways, and I want to revisit it sometime!
I very much devoured Normal People and tell all my friends to read it. You make this sound like a book I would really love, but unfortunately I just didn’t!! I’m still trying to process why that is. It is a book I will think about for some time to come. Thanks for your review, I enjoyed listening to your thoughts.
Thank you so much! And that’s fair- I can totally see why it doesn’t work for everyone, but I was surprised by how much I enjoyed it! But yes, definitely a book you keep thinking about!
@@jenniferlovesbooks Ah yeah, hype can really throw off the balance with how you take to a book! I’m glad I read The Prophets when there was a little bit of hype and not as much as it has (rightly) had since!
I’ve only read her short story Mr Salary which I thought was great but am still thinking I won’t be a fan of the novels- with no real basis for this 😊. It’s funny how that doesn’t prevent me from listening and enjoying a really good review of one of her books though 🤔
Oh yes, I forgot that had come out! I’d be keen to check that out! I think it’s tricky with Rooney because there was/is SO much hype, so it can be hard to kind of detach her writing from that and enjoy it as a walled-off experience, I think. But she’s an interesting writer, for sure! And thank you so much!
Angelic Bob enters the room. Haha yeah, for me, war/military fiction is just a no for me. Why read books you can’t accept it on its own terms? Makes no sense. Sentencing yourself to a bad time is a rough way to treat yourself. I did think the theme here was so exactly what I wanted this year. I found it so hard to talk about, you did a much better job than I did, imo! I agree with you on all points. It was fascinating to get like deep seeded generational anxieties cleverly nested into their identities. I loved how Felix’s vulnerabilities was so small, but so meaningful. Like just the fact that Alice cares when he was all cut up, and nobody else does in his life. And like Simon and Elaine having this taboo thing stemming from childhood and family. Ugh. I just liked so much about it. I’m a sucker for Irish accents too. Say Nothing 👌🏻
In terms of how it compares to previous books, I feel like this is a pretty clear evolution and refinement of her craft, but also, like, what she’s actually interested in exploring. In her talks she is avidly political and that aspect of her writing mostly translated into class stratification and not much else. This one feels really authentic to who she is and worked in in such a way as to be as organic as the class dynamics were in Normal People. Conversations With Friends is weird, but I similarly loved it. People usually prefer one or the other though, so that could be yours? It’s way more about performing gender and internalized trauma and toxicity. I love both for very different reasons. Craft-wise, I think Normal People is better, so it’s her lesser novel, but it’s also more ambitious in its themes and complexity of character. It makes it harder to come to a satisfying conclusion because the dynamics between everyone is so different, but I liked that it was so messy? It felt realistic. And sad. Sad things speak to me, though. Just my opinion though!
@@SpringboardThought Hahah, I’m clinging on to the last traces of sunlight. Yes! I totally agree with everything you said here, and now I’ve read it, I’ll finally get around to your video on it! Yeah, I always worry that I’m being quite limiting by sticking to the types of books I know I like, and I am always happy to look beyond that, but also, there are so many books out there! But absolutely- I thought it was so interesting that I kept on hearing Rooney talk really passionately and wisely on political issues, and then I couldn’t fully square it with Normal People, where those politics seemed to hanging around the margins a little more. So glad to see her embrace them in BWWAY.
And yes! The way Alice sees something tender in Felix, despite him seeing himself as worthless and pathetic, was quite profound, and I liked the inversion of it being a rich and famous woman with a minimum-wage man, and what conversations that then opened. Definitely keen to check out Conversations though- I think I’d really get on with it, from the sounds of things!
@@BobTheBookerer I hope you like it if you nab it! I really liked that scene in bed where Alice was being sort of toxic without realizing it, saying she loved him and then Felix eventually calling her out, saying let’s not pretend you’re anywhere near under my thumb. Just so good at like displaying an internalized trauma manifesting as an asserting power dynamic as like faux intimacy. It’s really fascinating. I also love her point of view, even though it makes little sense? Like it’s as curious as the reader is, sometimes insightful, sometimes confused. Psychic distance shifting all the time but rare interiority. It’s fascinating to me.
@@SpringboardThought Thank you! And yes, well put! That scene was so interesting, and you could tell she didn’t like being called on it. And yes to the interiority- Rooney is really good at it, and she does something very interesting with it!
What do you think of the narrator? Tried listening to this on Radio 4 - the actress reading the novel is so devoid of any emotion or emphasis, the whole tone is drab and lifeless - I just couldn't listen past the first episode. I suppose reading it myself is the solution.
@@scarletred8888 I didn’t mind the narrator, but I can see what you mean- it was quite deadpan and cool in parts. Overall, it worked for me, but I’ve definitely listened to audiobooks before where the narrator has really put me off something I would have really enjoyed as a physical reading experience.
@@BobTheBookerer Yes I was surprised at this one as R4 usually does a superb job - I found myself rerunning the lines in my head - going over how she SHOULD have said it !
@@scarletred8888 Yes! The Radio 4 ones I’ve heard before have been brilliant- not sure if it’s the same person who would have done the audiobook, but that sounds frustrating nonetheless, especially when you have a rhythm in your own head for the lines! I remember listening to one audiobook where the book itself was decent, but the narrator had no valleys, only peaks, so it was 6-7 hours of someone just being high energy and excited, and I was exhausted! 😂
This feels to me like something unmarried millenials in their 20s and early 30s would completely identify with. Then there is the rest of us. I am fine with that.
Haha, fair enough! I think it does say and do a fair bit, but I do also wonder how I’ll see the book in 10 years or so! It’s kind of like listening to an album that you love as a teenager, and then feel differently about later!
@@johncrwarner Haha, I didn’t, unfortunately (although I don’t think I could pull one off anyway!)- I didn’t have an advanced copy, but the promo for it has been wild!
I find it hard to collect my thoughts on it. This was great :) I really liked the book. (as someone who raves about Normal People, but didn't like CWF as much...) I still went into it not sure. I liked it more as it got further into the story. I thought some of the tangents were a bit out there / smart for 2 friends talking! And I liked the emails less than I thought. I liked the relationships and the vulnerability between the characters. There was a page that made me cry when the two women are reunited at the train station. It's kind of what you said, complications but importance of adult / female friendship. I haven't known what to pick up since !
Yes, it’s a hard one to pin down, right? Such a complex book in parts, and I find myself wanting to re-read it in case I missed any of the details. And that reunion scene was great!
Thank you so much! I need to go and check out CWF now!
I’m glad you decided to read it and you enjoyed so many things about it. Great to hear your reaction to it. The simmering resentment between friends was really well handled and the way Alice secretly takes great pride in her success and looks down on others and that shows her real insecurity and the way money subtly warps relationship and self value.
Thank you so much! And now I’ve read it, I can finally check out your video on it!
Yes, that resentment was so well done! I really appreciate the way Rooney gives us insights into character’s inner lives- it’s so unsparing and I think that’s what makes it work.
I hope your holiday is going well!
I’m wondering, will this book age well?
@@AnnNovella I really wonder! I think it will, in the sense that it captures a very specific period of time in a way that will be interesting in future, but I’d be excited to read it again in ten years or so.
I LOVED all those disclaimers :D And the sunlight :)
Haha, thank you so much! :)
I have just purchased the book and was deliberating whether I should start it or read some of myTBR list. Your explanation and descriptions of the characters and their values and relationships has bumped it to the top of my reading list. Thanks.
Ahh, thank you so much! And I hope you enjoy the book!
I really liked your perspective and review from this book! I finished it today, I genuinely really enjoyed it. It is interesting to see the development of adult friendships. Also until watching your video I understood how much social class affected their relationship (Alice and Eileen) obviously money and class is a big theme in the story. But now I can fully grasp the idea that because of the system they are part of and the place each of them belong, it affects how they view the world. And at a certain point they resent each other because they do not see the others perspective. This is why I like watching reviews, thank you!
Thank you so much! That’s very kind of you to say, and I’m glad you enjoyed the video and book! It’s such an interesting book in many ways, and I want to revisit it sometime!
I very much devoured Normal People and tell all my friends to read it. You make this sound like a book I would really love, but unfortunately I just didn’t!! I’m still trying to process why that is. It is a book I will think about for some time to come. Thanks for your review, I enjoyed listening to your thoughts.
Thank you so much! And that’s fair- I can totally see why it doesn’t work for everyone, but I was surprised by how much I enjoyed it! But yes, definitely a book you keep thinking about!
I really liked Conversations With Friends and DNF'D Normal People. I will probably get to this one in a few years time 😂
Hahaha, fair enough! I’m keen to check out CWF, but yeah, Normal People seemed to really split people!
@@BobTheBookerer I read them before the hype and then the hype put me off even more lol.
@@jenniferlovesbooks Ah yeah, hype can really throw off the balance with how you take to a book! I’m glad I read The Prophets when there was a little bit of hype and not as much as it has (rightly) had since!
@@BobTheBookerer that's another book I need to read at some point!
@@jenniferlovesbooks Ahhh, it’s so good!
I’ve only read her short story Mr Salary which I thought was great but am still thinking I won’t be a fan of the novels- with no real basis for this 😊. It’s funny how that doesn’t prevent me from listening and enjoying a really good review of one of her books though 🤔
Oh yes, I forgot that had come out! I’d be keen to check that out!
I think it’s tricky with Rooney because there was/is SO much hype, so it can be hard to kind of detach her writing from that and enjoy it as a walled-off experience, I think. But she’s an interesting writer, for sure!
And thank you so much!
Angelic Bob enters the room.
Haha yeah, for me, war/military fiction is just a no for me. Why read books you can’t accept it on its own terms? Makes no sense. Sentencing yourself to a bad time is a rough way to treat yourself.
I did think the theme here was so exactly what I wanted this year. I found it so hard to talk about, you did a much better job than I did, imo! I agree with you on all points. It was fascinating to get like deep seeded generational anxieties cleverly nested into their identities. I loved how Felix’s vulnerabilities was so small, but so meaningful. Like just the fact that Alice cares when he was all cut up, and nobody else does in his life. And like Simon and Elaine having this taboo thing stemming from childhood and family. Ugh. I just liked so much about it.
I’m a sucker for Irish accents too. Say Nothing 👌🏻
In terms of how it compares to previous books, I feel like this is a pretty clear evolution and refinement of her craft, but also, like, what she’s actually interested in exploring. In her talks she is avidly political and that aspect of her writing mostly translated into class stratification and not much else. This one feels really authentic to who she is and worked in in such a way as to be as organic as the class dynamics were in Normal People.
Conversations With Friends is weird, but I similarly loved it. People usually prefer one or the other though, so that could be yours? It’s way more about performing gender and internalized trauma and toxicity. I love both for very different reasons. Craft-wise, I think Normal People is better, so it’s her lesser novel, but it’s also more ambitious in its themes and complexity of character. It makes it harder to come to a satisfying conclusion because the dynamics between everyone is so different, but I liked that it was so messy? It felt realistic. And sad. Sad things speak to me, though.
Just my opinion though!
@@SpringboardThought Hahah, I’m clinging on to the last traces of sunlight.
Yes! I totally agree with everything you said here, and now I’ve read it, I’ll finally get around to your video on it!
Yeah, I always worry that I’m being quite limiting by sticking to the types of books I know I like, and I am always happy to look beyond that, but also, there are so many books out there!
But absolutely- I thought it was so interesting that I kept on hearing Rooney talk really passionately and wisely on political issues, and then I couldn’t fully square it with Normal People, where those politics seemed to hanging around the margins a little more. So glad to see her embrace them in BWWAY.
And yes! The way Alice sees something tender in Felix, despite him seeing himself as worthless and pathetic, was quite profound, and I liked the inversion of it being a rich and famous woman with a minimum-wage man, and what conversations that then opened.
Definitely keen to check out Conversations though- I think I’d really get on with it, from the sounds of things!
@@BobTheBookerer I hope you like it if you nab it!
I really liked that scene in bed where Alice was being sort of toxic without realizing it, saying she loved him and then Felix eventually calling her out, saying let’s not pretend you’re anywhere near under my thumb. Just so good at like displaying an internalized trauma manifesting as an asserting power dynamic as like faux intimacy. It’s really fascinating. I also love her point of view, even though it makes little sense? Like it’s as curious as the reader is, sometimes insightful, sometimes confused. Psychic distance shifting all the time but rare interiority. It’s fascinating to me.
@@SpringboardThought Thank you!
And yes, well put! That scene was so interesting, and you could tell she didn’t like being called on it. And yes to the interiority- Rooney is really good at it, and she does something very interesting with it!
I’m currently listening to Beautiful World Where Are You and I’ve got side tracked by Bewilderment ( which is 🤩)
Ahhh! Both excellent choices! I hope you enjoy them both!
What do you think of the narrator? Tried listening to this on Radio 4 - the actress reading the novel is so devoid of any emotion or emphasis, the whole tone is drab and lifeless - I just couldn't listen past the first episode. I suppose reading it myself is the solution.
@@scarletred8888 I didn’t mind the narrator, but I can see what you mean- it was quite deadpan and cool in parts. Overall, it worked for me, but I’ve definitely listened to audiobooks before where the narrator has really put me off something I would have really enjoyed as a physical reading experience.
@@BobTheBookerer Yes I was surprised at this one as R4 usually does a superb job - I found myself rerunning the lines in my head - going over how she SHOULD have said it !
@@scarletred8888 Yes! The Radio 4 ones I’ve heard before have been brilliant- not sure if it’s the same person who would have done the audiobook, but that sounds frustrating nonetheless, especially when you have a rhythm in your own head for the lines!
I remember listening to one audiobook where the book itself was decent, but the narrator had no valleys, only peaks, so it was 6-7 hours of someone just being high energy and excited, and I was exhausted! 😂
This feels to me like something unmarried millenials in their 20s and early 30s would completely identify with. Then there is the rest of us. I am fine with that.
Haha, fair enough! I think it does say and do a fair bit, but I do also wonder how I’ll see the book in 10 years or so! It’s kind of like listening to an album that you love as a teenager, and then feel differently about later!
Did you get the "bucket hat"?
I have to confess that
I did have to look up the term
"Bucket hat"
when @KDBooks mentioned it,
@@johncrwarner Haha, I didn’t, unfortunately (although I don’t think I could pull one off anyway!)- I didn’t have an advanced copy, but the promo for it has been wild!
@@BobTheBookerer
so I gather
Kieran was muffed at not getting
a bucket hat LOL
@@johncrwarner still not over it
i remain a sally rooney virgin
You mean you haven’t read ‘Conversations with Normal People, Where Are You?’- some man with convincing hair told me it was a big deal.
@@BobTheBookerer not yet, but it definitely had a great cover!
@@LarryHasOpinions Absolutely- the designer deserves recognition, and maybe some, like, subscribers or something?
@@BobTheBookerer definitely