Book Review – Conversations With Friends, Sally Rooney
What happens?
Conversations With Friends Is Sally Rooney’s debut novel. It is about a student called Frances who, together with her friend Bobbi, befriends the glamorous couple Melissa and Nick. Frances and Nick embark on a relationship which has a knock on effect on Melissa and Bobbi.
If I’m honest, I really did not want to like this book and I’m embarrassed to say it’s my own professional jealousy that made me want to not like it!
Rooney’s first two books have both been critical and commercial successes, indeed her second book was long listed for the Man Booker Prize. What’s not envy?!
But from the very first page, I loved this book. She immediately brings us into Frances and Bobbi’s world of student life, coffee bars and late nights. Both Frances and Bobbi are very political, especially Bobbi. They both like to talk politics and Frances considers herself a communist.
Cusp of adulthood
I like too how Rooney shows us how, as 21-year-old students, Frances and Bobbi are on the brink of adulthood and independence. She juxtaposes this with the insecurities of youth and how they don’t yet know what they will do with the rest of their lives. Especially as Frances announces that she’s “never going to get a job.”
I remember being that age, just about to leave university and enter a big, bad world with no clue what I wanted for myself, only that it needed to be creative.
Rooney shows us how complex relationships can be. Yes, Nick is having an affair, but she doesn’t demonize him or make him out to be the bad guy. Instead, she gives us a glimpse into a marriage that has been through a lot of hard times. Nick and Melissa love each other, but can’t always fulfill each other’s needs.
This is reflected in Frances and Bobbi’s relationship. They have been friends since childhood, they were a couple for many years, but now they have returned to being close friends who love and irritate each other in equal measure. They forgive each other’s faults and move on.
“I liked to imagine that I looked like Bobbi. She had better posture than I did, and a memorably beautiful face. The pretence was so real to me that when I accidentally caught sight of my reflection and saw my own appearance, I felt a strange, depersonalising shock.”
– Fances
Writing Style
Sally Rooney’s style is plain and rather spartan, and that’s not a bad thing. She doesn’t use flowery words or phrases; she is succinct in her choice of words. Much of the time it was what she didn’t say that was most revealing.
As Claire Kilroy of The Guardian writes, “Rooney is not a visual writer. There are no arresting images, no poetic flights.”
“Nick glanced over his shoulder out the back window, but he didn’t look at me. I like that he was busy driving because it meant we could talk without the intensity of having to acknowledge each other.”
– Frances
My only criticism of this book is that it seems to drop pace and tension in the third quarter. I lost a little interest, but then it galvanized and I have to admit I didn’t see the end coming.
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Emma Dhesi writes women’s fiction. She began writing seriously while a stay at home mum with 3 pre-school children.
By changing her mindset, being consistent and developing confidence, Emma has gone from having a collection of handwritten notes to a fully written, edited and published novel.
Having experienced first-hand how writing changes lives, Emma now helps beginner writers find the time and confidence to write their first novel.
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