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Beautiful World, Where Are You

Beautiful World, Where Are You

  • Downloads：5865
  • Type：Epub+TxT+PDF+Mobi
  • Create Date：2021-08-30 08:21:13
  • Update Date：2025-09-06
  • Status：finish
  • Author：Sally Rooney
  • ISBN：B08SHMB1NL
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Summary

Beautiful World， Where Are You is a new novel by Sally Rooney， the bestselling author of Normal People and Conversations with Friends。

Alice， a novelist， meets Felix， who works in a warehouse， and asks him if he’d like to travel to Rome with her。 In Dublin， her best friend， Eileen， is getting over a break-up and slips back into flirting with Simon， a man she has known since childhood。 Alice， Felix， Eileen， and Simon are still young—but life is catching up with them。 They desire each other， they delude each other， they get together， they break apart。 They have sex， they worry about sex， they worry about their friendships and the world they live in。 Are they standing in the last lighted room before the darkness， bearing witness to something？ Will they find a way to believe in a beautiful world？

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Reviews

Phoebe ，

But I wish Sally Rooney would stop pretending to write about capitalism when she just wants to write about fucking。

Megan ，

Two reasons I wasn't a fan of this book:1）I'm so burnt out on contrived romantic drama stemming from angsty characters not knowing how to express their emotions！ It's unsatisfying and an unconvincing plot device！2） SPOILERSFelix is a dick。 He's a mean spirited jerk who reminds me of those guys who think being "edgy" and misogynistic is a personality。 Alice wasn't perfect， but she deserved better。 Sally Rooney is so talented at writing dialogue and descriptions of characters emotions。 I'd love to Two reasons I wasn't a fan of this book:1）I'm so burnt out on contrived romantic drama stemming from angsty characters not knowing how to express their emotions！ It's unsatisfying and an unconvincing plot device！2） SPOILERSFelix is a dick。 He's a mean spirited jerk who reminds me of those guys who think being "edgy" and misogynistic is a personality。 Alice wasn't perfect， but she deserved better。 Sally Rooney is so talented at writing dialogue and descriptions of characters emotions。 I'd love to see her couple her writing skills with a plot that's not "sad boys and girls struggling to love each other"。 。。。more

E ，

I found this book as insufferable as Conversations with Friends。 I mean no disrespect to Rooney nor to anyone who liked it， but her writing is so pretentious， her characters so unlikable， and her overall style so entitled， self-absorbed and self-indulgent， that everything she writes makes me want to wash my eyes with soap。 Her literary "alias"， Alice， claims to be uncomfortable with fame。 She complains， complains， and carries on complaining。 Where's the real plot？ Where's the character developme I found this book as insufferable as Conversations with Friends。 I mean no disrespect to Rooney nor to anyone who liked it， but her writing is so pretentious， her characters so unlikable， and her overall style so entitled， self-absorbed and self-indulgent， that everything she writes makes me want to wash my eyes with soap。 Her literary "alias"， Alice， claims to be uncomfortable with fame。 She complains， complains， and carries on complaining。 Where's the real plot？ Where's the character development？ Rooney herself， in an interview with the Guardian just a few days ago， compared fame to "hell" （https://www。theguardian。com/books/202。。。）。 I found it sad and enraging， and I was shocked by her entitlement。 People in her country are working 12 hours per day for minimum wage， barely making it。 People her age， with plenty of ambition， work in unpaid internships or underpaid jobs - not because they're not talented or educated， but because they were not as lucky as she is。 She can obviously complain about the invasion of her privacy and other aspects of fame。 BUT。。。。 BUT she is profiting off of her own privilege， pretending to be "in hell" just because a few journalists ask her some personal questions。 Give me a break。 I am a millennial too， and I am ashamed that her books have been branded as "books about millennials"。 We don't deserve that。Overall， I thought I'd give BWWAY a chance， that maybe she'd evolved， but。。。。no。 Just my opinion。 I respect everyone who liked it！ [Review of an ARC] 。。。more

Hannah ，

I hated it

Paul Joshi ，

I thoroughly enjoyed this book。 The characters， their relationships， how they love and hurt each other。 Being a very Sally Rooney novel doesn't take away from how good a read this is， just like Alice says in the book， “Humanity on the cusp of extinction here I am writing another email about sex and friendship。 What else is there to live for？” I thoroughly enjoyed this book。 The characters， their relationships， how they love and hurt each other。 Being a very Sally Rooney novel doesn't take away from how good a read this is， just like Alice says in the book， “Humanity on the cusp of extinction here I am writing another email about sex and friendship。 What else is there to live for？” 。。。more

Samantha ，

I knew from the first couple of chapters that I would love this。 I was hooked。 Sally Rooney has done it again with another amazing read。In this one， we follow four main characters， Alice and Elieen， who are the two more central characters， and Felix and Simon。 The chapters flip between Alice and Elieen as we learn more about their lives， their personalities， and their worlds （I love alternating POV chapters）。These characters are slightly older than the mains in her previous novels， and I feel th I knew from the first couple of chapters that I would love this。 I was hooked。 Sally Rooney has done it again with another amazing read。In this one， we follow four main characters， Alice and Elieen， who are the two more central characters， and Felix and Simon。 The chapters flip between Alice and Elieen as we learn more about their lives， their personalities， and their worlds （I love alternating POV chapters）。These characters are slightly older than the mains in her previous novels， and I feel that did come across as them being a bit more mature， and also very realistic。 I felt this one has some very realistic aspects and conversations， and damn， was I obsessed with every single word。There's just something about Sally Rooney's writing that I get so absorbed in。 The story， although sometimes not very eventful， was still compelling。 I said this with reading Normal People; it's like you're watching， through a window， Alice and Elieen's lives play out， witnessing every important detail and learning and growing with them。Sally Rooney is such a masterclass， talented writer。 Her voice is so distinct in a unique， beautiful way。 Do I like this more than Normal People？ Not sure， but this is up there as a true favourite。 Ah！ Just so good！ Such an easy 5 stars for me。 。。。more

Bailey Crisci ，

dnf at 38%…this started off strong but it got boring really fast。 after normal people I was hoping I might like this one but i don’t know if i’ll be picking up another sally rooney book。 i wish i could like her stuff as much as everyone else 😩😬

Kashish ，

A New Yorker article said about Rooney， "she gets in your head"。 And that's exactly how I've felt while reading this book。 Also completed this book in two days so now I can finally say I'm out of my reading slump。 A New Yorker article said about Rooney， "she gets in your head"。 And that's exactly how I've felt while reading this book。 Also completed this book in two days so now I can finally say I'm out of my reading slump。 。。。more

MandM ，

I think this is her best book yet。 She weaves in important aspects of our current world from art， the classical， family and the environment and her forte people and their relationships and conversations。 I will add there a couple words I find very offensive and sex is part of her conversations but I decided that those things too are a part of our current world。

Jessica ，

I think my biggest problem with Sally Rooney’s work is that all the characters are passive-aggressive， which is a characteristic I truly， utterly， despise。 Second biggest problems （1a-1c）: poor writing， little character development， and lack of caring about the characters。 Honestly could have watched strangers interact in public and gotten more out of it than I did reading this。

emily ，

i enjoyed this book so much！this was a story about characters with average lives， yet it was still incredibly interesting？？ the characters were painfully relatable and i loved reading about their views on life。reading this was such a unique experience。 the characters， format， and of course， lack of quotation marks were all unlike anything i had read before。 i also loved the messages it had， such as what truly makes life so beautiful and worthwhile。 similarly， the book itself is beautiful and wor i enjoyed this book so much！this was a story about characters with average lives， yet it was still incredibly interesting？？ the characters were painfully relatable and i loved reading about their views on life。reading this was such a unique experience。 the characters， format， and of course， lack of quotation marks were all unlike anything i had read before。 i also loved the messages it had， such as what truly makes life so beautiful and worthwhile。 similarly， the book itself is beautiful and worthwhile， so i highly recommend giving it a chance！ this was my first time reading a sally rooney book and it did not disappoint！ i’m looking forward to reading her other work :） 4。5 stars！thank you fsg books for sending me an arc！ 。。。more

Jack Edwards ，

A mature departure from her previous work， BWWAY is exactly the novel we need right now from one of the world's most promising and impressive authors。 Rooney's characteristic style glimmers amongst fascinating conversations （sans quotation marks） about climate anxiety， class-consciousness， and language。 Ultimately， though， it's personal relationships， communication， love， and sex that the characters must navigate， as they desperately try to identify beauty in their everyday encounters。 Alice is A mature departure from her previous work， BWWAY is exactly the novel we need right now from one of the world's most promising and impressive authors。 Rooney's characteristic style glimmers amongst fascinating conversations （sans quotation marks） about climate anxiety， class-consciousness， and language。 Ultimately， though， it's personal relationships， communication， love， and sex that the characters must navigate， as they desperately try to identify beauty in their everyday encounters。 Alice is a successful young novelist， which allows Rooney to discuss her own space in the landscape of contemporary novel-writing。 Are books about sex and relationships really just unimportant， privileged， inane frivolity？ Or has the past year of lockdown and isolation made us realise that， actually， communication with the people we love is integral to our daily lives， and worth exploring in literature？ This book is testament to the latter。BWWAY is Rooney's most natural integration of profound， intellectual， and elevated conversations amidst the dazzling ordinariness of her flawed， imperfect protagonists， and the exquisite precision of detail in this book is truly masterful。 It's believable， perceptive， and a treasure of a book。 Possibly her best yet。[Thank you to Faber for my advanced copy of this book -- all opinions 100% my own] 。。。more

Steve ，

4。5

Nicole ，

i feel so stupid giving this three stars because i feel like it was so smart and i'm just missing something。 but anyways three stars because boy oh boy sally rooney has Thoughts and they are good BUT there wasn't a whole lot of Story。 i think she should just publish a sally rooney manifesto tbvh she could rival marx i feel so stupid giving this three stars because i feel like it was so smart and i'm just missing something。 but anyways three stars because boy oh boy sally rooney has Thoughts and they are good BUT there wasn't a whole lot of Story。 i think she should just publish a sally rooney manifesto tbvh she could rival marx 。。。more

Kira ，

I was a little bit nervous about reading this as not only is it such a hyped-up publication， I also had my own exceptionally high expectations。 And yet… somehow it managed to meet those expectations。 I was so content to be back in one of Rooney’s worlds， with characters that felt familiar but were completely new。 There is just something so comforting and nostalgic about her writing; she manages to capture the mundanity of everyday life， small seemingly irrelevant things， and transform them into I was a little bit nervous about reading this as not only is it such a hyped-up publication， I also had my own exceptionally high expectations。 And yet… somehow it managed to meet those expectations。 I was so content to be back in one of Rooney’s worlds， with characters that felt familiar but were completely new。 There is just something so comforting and nostalgic about her writing; she manages to capture the mundanity of everyday life， small seemingly irrelevant things， and transform them into remarkability。 It is a book that is self-aware， particularly evident in Alice’s character， who shares similarities with Rooney herself。In Beautiful World， Where Are You we predominantly follow two friends from university， Alice and Eileen， and their correspondence as their lives fork and friendship strains。 Both in the throes of new relationships with their respective men， Felix and Simon， the women battle the existential dread of growing old and losing time。No one quite writes， and so aptly captures， friendships， relationships， and lust like Rooney does – with an added bonus of insufferable yet simultaneously likeable characters you love to hate and hate to love。“I was tired， it was late， I was sitting half-asleep in the back of a taxi， remembering strangely that wherever I go， you are with me， and so is he， and that as long as you both live the world will be beautiful to me。” 。。。more

Nicole R ，

The three star review pains me， but more detailed review to come soon。 Basically， I freaking loved parts of it and absolutely loathed other parts。 I landed at a 3。5 start rating but just could not round that up to 4。

Leticia ，

4。7I really really liked it。 It's not as perfect to me as normal people was but there's a lot from np in here。 it's a bit of a slow burner in the beginning， and i'll say the emails felt like an easy way to narratively insert ideas that otherwise just wouldn't fit in the plot。 that felt slightly condescending at times， but the way she writes and everything she says is so good and clever that in the end you just give up the frustration， enjoy the ride and admire the writing and the thinking。 there 4。7I really really liked it。 It's not as perfect to me as normal people was but there's a lot from np in here。 it's a bit of a slow burner in the beginning， and i'll say the emails felt like an easy way to narratively insert ideas that otherwise just wouldn't fit in the plot。 that felt slightly condescending at times， but the way she writes and everything she says is so good and clever that in the end you just give up the frustration， enjoy the ride and admire the writing and the thinking。 there's a romanticization of a kind of toxic romantic love， but also of platonic love and of friendship。 i know a lot of people will hate that but i guess it speaks to me in a very intense way。 the characters choices really annoyed me sometimes。 but still！！！ i was rooting for them， i understood them， the prose is so beautiful and insightful， i truly believe that rooney is the voice of my generation。 i stayed up finishing this until 2am and found myself crying for eileen and alice and simon and felix and this beautiful and ugly world。 just a rooney fangirl through and through。 。。。more

āshish ，

It was a nice novel。 A page-turner， （maybe—I say that cautiously） but I did not think it was great （or awful）: just nice。 Well-written and clearly an experiment in writing for Rooney。 The characters here are just as recognisable （emphasise added） as are the dialogues relatable， familiar， and annoying。 Like holding a mirror up to one's own face。 And I want to think that the descriptions were rather lyrical in this book， but: None of these could make BWWAY any less static。tAnd that is really my bi It was a nice novel。 A page-turner， （maybe—I say that cautiously） but I did not think it was great （or awful）: just nice。 Well-written and clearly an experiment in writing for Rooney。 The characters here are just as recognisable （emphasise added） as are the dialogues relatable， familiar， and annoying。 Like holding a mirror up to one's own face。 And I want to think that the descriptions were rather lyrical in this book， but: None of these could make BWWAY any less static。tAnd that is really my biggest complaint: the novel felt awfully static。 Nothing really happens。 & this is really interesting， or at least for me， because the pages are brimming with events and observations！ The most motion I noticed was in the final two chapters where we are brought into the Pandemic-era casserole of anxieties and unexpected feelings， developments。 Notwithstanding， and in spite of the overload of ideas and actions， there is a hollowed-out cavern at the centre （imagine those chocolate covered gooey candies; except instead of chocolate it is a layer of those popping glitter-like sweets and there is no goo—not of any kind）。 tRooney is a talented writer。 Yet， her pen only scratches at the surface of the millennial conundrum。 The novel often feels like a mere scratch， a brushing of the sands—as opposed to digging， excavating， making meaningful and extraordinary discoveries。 （And before you get back at me with， 'Gosh， novels don’t need to be meaningful and make extraordinary discoveries'， I just want to say this: Yes， great novels are and should be an experience grand and revealing—and while sure， Rooney may not have wanted to write a Meaningful novel or that she doesn’t， and well， that is sort of the hurdle for me。 Walking out of a reading experience having felt no differently that at the beginning is dulling）。tBut， returning again: The characters talk like we do， sure。 But that’s really all that there is。 Everyone is so accusatory all the time that I am seriously surprised they even get a conversation rolling for several pages。 Perhaps everyone is just so patient … Rooney’s protagonists are left-leaning college-educated liberal intellectuals who like to talk about books， sex， and the scourge that is capitalism over dinner parties with plenty of wine and cigarettes to go around。 Patience in the dialectic is almost a given。 How do I know this？: I could easily be a Rooney protagonist as I check all the boxes except that I am not White。 tBut not to digress: the conversational style of writing and dialogues is aptly impressed （I wasn’t disappointed: it is very Rooney-like） but really， everything else quickly plays into the general idea that people now in their twenties are superficial cads who don’t know what they’re talking about。 They use adjectives to describe one another that are unconvincing at best （one of the characters call another emotionally inaccessible and I kept wondering how particularly？ … compared to what？ … everyone is emotionally inaccessible in the book that for one to use that adjective to describe another is highly unnecessary。 And this is just one example。 Many adjectives are just thrown about and one doesn’t know why and how they are precise or accurate …）。 tThat’s another thing: characters always walk the thin line between knowing and not-knowing in a way that is equally impressive and embarrassing。 In addition to flippant adjectives， they talk about serious topics， about proletarianism， socialism， Marx， the fucked-up System—they know the terms， they know the general idea—yet， it is staggering how little they really know， which only emphasises， wrongfully， this generalised superficiality on a generation which can be amusing at first， but in the end is mostly dangerous and offensive。tSo （if you made it this far）: what I tried to say above is that Rooney makes me ambivalent。 This is a well-written third novel， but I am at once impressed and disappointed。 The novel is about two couples， each with varying backstories （I won’t go into the details lest I should Spoil） and the common elements between these two sets are Eileen and Alice， the novel’s protagonists， if that can be said about them。 This commonality （imagine a Venn-diagram） is represented literarily by email correspondences between the two friends who first met in college—later this extends to the unlikely smoke-ring that Felix is。 To me， this detail is important because like the characters， I too was born in the 90’s and made special connections in college （of course， this I cannot claim only for myself: many of us have made great connections in college） in the 2000s/2010s; and as such， the world-experience that the characters observe and emulate is the one that I can attest to myself。 Up to an extent， I will add， because unfortunately for me， Rooney， like many White authors， does not write about people like me。 I read an article recently about this and I thought to myself that this should not really be a problem。 An author writes about what they know best。 Maybe Rooney takes this a little too much to heart but all the same: I can’t expect her to know what a Brown immigrant feels like in a foreign country when her experience is limited （not her fault） by many external factors to being a White tourist。 But sure， at the core: we all love， we all get frustrated by the government， by the rich （especially when we ourselves are rich）， and we all crave attention and connection。 We miss people， we love them and we hate them。 We are often annoying to even ourselves and try to blame all our problems on others whenever we get the chance。 Really， it is a grim world out there and I am glad that at least Rooney is asking the beautiful world where it is。 And to be fair， these are the things that Rooney gets and these are also the things with which her novels， and Beautiful World， Where Are You， make themselves relevant and Popular。 can't believe this turned out long， sorry about that。 。。。more

Andrew ，

Two thoughtful women correspond via email while they date mediocre men。。。 that's it， that's the plot folks！ Two thoughtful women correspond via email while they date mediocre men。。。 that's it， that's the plot folks！ 。。。more

Leah M ，

Thank you to libro。fm for providing me with an ALC of this audiobook。 I am offering my honest opinion voluntarily。 This is my first Sally Rooney book， and I'm not sure I fully understand all the hype。 The story itself is very slow to develop， and it's very much a character-driven story focusing on the two main female characters。 I listened to the audiobook， and found it very difficult to differentiate between the POVs of Alice and Eileen since they sounded incredibly similar。 Stuffed in between Thank you to libro。fm for providing me with an ALC of this audiobook。 I am offering my honest opinion voluntarily。 This is my first Sally Rooney book， and I'm not sure I fully understand all the hype。 The story itself is very slow to develop， and it's very much a character-driven story focusing on the two main female characters。 I listened to the audiobook， and found it very difficult to differentiate between the POVs of Alice and Eileen since they sounded incredibly similar。 Stuffed in between the story itself were long， rambling emails that seemed incredibly irrelevant to the story， but rather inserted for the sake of having the main characters come across as "deep and focused on worldly issues" rather than just drifting along focused on interpersonal relationships （or the lack thereof）。 In particular， the male characters didn't seem to be well-developed at all。 It kind of felt like they were planted in the story to put up with and support the female characters， if that makes sense？ It was hard to really like any of them， male or female。 It took me a long time to even get invested in the story at all， and was only in the second half of the story that I started to care what was happening。 This is definitely a case of "it's not you， it's me。" I tend to do best with character-driven stories that have some semblance of a plot， although this one was just more of a meandering story along the lives of the characters that didn't really feel like it had a real destination。 Kind of like life， I guess。 Which maybe is why I didn't love it - I read to escape the boring， lack of destination that typical life has， not to see it all play out clearly on the page in front of me。 。。。more

Meike ，

Well， my bad - the Netgalley ARC is a short extract， and one that doesn't really give you a feeling for the text。 So this is more of a reminder to myself that I checked this out。 I probably won't read the whole thing。 Well， my bad - the Netgalley ARC is a short extract， and one that doesn't really give you a feeling for the text。 So this is more of a reminder to myself that I checked this out。 I probably won't read the whole thing。 。。。more

Anne ，

I was lucky enough to receive a preview of this latest book by Sally Rooney。 I'm not really sure that I can write a review of just one chapter but I was definitely left wanting more。 Intriguing！ I was lucky enough to receive a preview of this latest book by Sally Rooney。 I'm not really sure that I can write a review of just one chapter but I was definitely left wanting more。 Intriguing！ 。。。more

Shireen Karimi ，

No book has truly felt more relevant to the present。 Sally Rooney kicks ass once a again。

violet dalton ✽ ，

RTC

Anya ，

I read Normal People a while ago and it was honestly a 1 star from me， but then it became so popular I never actually understood what the fuss was all about concerning this book。 Looking at all the positive reviews about a mediocre book made me confused: was it just me ？ was I not in the mood for it back then to grasp on a deeper level ？ So I decided to give Conversations with Friends by the same author a go。 Again it did not resonate with me。 So I thought maybe I if I were still at uni， I would I read Normal People a while ago and it was honestly a 1 star from me， but then it became so popular I never actually understood what the fuss was all about concerning this book。 Looking at all the positive reviews about a mediocre book made me confused: was it just me ？ was I not in the mood for it back then to grasp on a deeper level ？ So I decided to give Conversations with Friends by the same author a go。 Again it did not resonate with me。 So I thought maybe I if I were still at uni， I would have related more with the characters of Sally Rooney， and I left it at that。 So Rooney comes up with another book。 And again I picked it up， just because 。。。 well， FOMO。To be honest， I was excited about this one， because I thought at least the characters are my age， so what's my excuse this time ？ turns out， just like her other books， Sally Rooney 's writing is by no means extraordinary: Beautiful world， where are you is about this writer Alice （29） and her friend Eileen of the same age， who becomes successful after publishing two novels， and then went into a writing slump， （the book isn't about her going out of her slump by any means）。 Eileen on the other hand chose a simpler life as a small editor in a company whose sole income comes from grants。 Eileen is in a supposedly complicated on and off relationship with her childhood friend Simon， （the relationship whilst intended as complicated is boring and I wouldn't even place it in a miscommunication trope as Simon flat out asks Eileen what she wants from him every 2 pages）。 Alice on the other hand meets Felix a bisexual warehouse worker whom she invites to a trip to Rome and they engage in this very ordinary relationship that involves little character development but too much sex。 I did not enjoy this story， primerily because:1- The characters are shallow， and 2- the plot， well， we know that already by now， there's no plot。 3- And just like her other books， people will read between the lines， they will give deeper analysis than what the book ever sought out to provide。 4- some passages in this book felt like they were copy-pasted straight from a wikipedia page， just to make the book look a bit more interesting somehow， even though the information given doesn't serve any purpose plot or character related。Finally， it is safe to assume that this author's popularity will benefit greatly from the fans doing the hard work of giving characters deeper dimensions because simply， the author is unable to do so。 。。。more

Lovisa ，

Känns konstigt att ge en bok jag läst så snabbt och regelbundet， med lätthet， och tyckt om， endast 3 stjärnor。 Ärligt talat tror jag att det tyvärr säger mer om omständigheterna - semester- än själva boken。 Jag gillar det skiftande perspektivet， dock， och hela hennes berättarstil generellt。 Ja。 Men， jag ogillar att alla （utom Simon） har dystymi。 Samtidigt som jag också ogillade att det blev ett _lyckligt slut_， så det kanske är bra att de inte ovanpå det var välfungerande boken igenom。 Har tyvär Känns konstigt att ge en bok jag läst så snabbt och regelbundet， med lätthet， och tyckt om， endast 3 stjärnor。 Ärligt talat tror jag att det tyvärr säger mer om omständigheterna - semester- än själva boken。 Jag gillar det skiftande perspektivet， dock， och hela hennes berättarstil generellt。 Ja。 Men， jag ogillar att alla （utom Simon） har dystymi。 Samtidigt som jag också ogillade att det blev ett _lyckligt slut_， så det kanske är bra att de inte ovanpå det var välfungerande boken igenom。 Har tyvärr också svårt för emailen mellan Eileen och Alice， förmodligen för att jag får lite mindervärdskomplex eftersom jag själv inte tänker så mycket på saker på den nivån av abstraktion （är det det det är？）。 Mycket fint sluttal av Simon till Alice， skulle gärna trycka upp och dela ut till partners & personer som inte förstår varandra och eller mig。 Tycker man ska läsa den om man gillar Rooney sedan tidigare， även om man lika gärna （om inte hellre） kan läsa om Conversations w friends。 。。。more

Alisha ，

Stop the Earth。 I’ll get off here please。

Nora Persephone Fellas ，

I absolutely loved this book so much。 It follows best friends， Alice and Eileen， and their respective love interests， Felix and Simon。 Alice is a famous novelist and Eileen is financially struggling and working at a literary magazine。 The narrative style is more pulled back from the characters than her previous works， such that the reader has an awareness of the natural world， people in the periphery， and the news。 There were certain passages that reminded me of "To The Lighthouse，" because in c I absolutely loved this book so much。 It follows best friends， Alice and Eileen， and their respective love interests， Felix and Simon。 Alice is a famous novelist and Eileen is financially struggling and working at a literary magazine。 The narrative style is more pulled back from the characters than her previous works， such that the reader has an awareness of the natural world， people in the periphery， and the news。 There were certain passages that reminded me of "To The Lighthouse，" because in certain moments， objects and nature are given the same narrative treatment as people。 This style brings to the forefront themes of the natural world， climate change， the 24-hour news cycle， finding beauty in the mundane， etc。 There are also epistolary sections in the book in the form of emails between Alice and Eileen。 These served to move the narrative along， give us insight into the characters' emotions， and also gave voice to Rooney's more reflective meditations on politics， nature， beauty， art， sex/sexuality， relationships， religion， the life of a celebrity， etc。 Even though these sections sometimes included mini historical tangents， they didn't feel clunky， and even though they spoke on our current culture， they don't feel so firmly rooted in our exact moment such that this novel would only make sense in a 2021 context。 The comments on celebrity culture obviously are focussed on the life of the author， which means we're likely getting some of Rooney's own thoughts and frustrations， but I thought that these mediations were really relevant to anyone with a social media presence， especially as an influencer （ugh）。 While reading the entire book， I was highlighting huge chunks on every other page， especially in the sections of their emails where Eileen or Alice talked about their anxieties with aging， relationships， womanhood， politics， etc。 It felt like Sally Rooney had read my texts with my best friend lol。 In typical Sally Rooney fashion， the book dealt with themes of class and gender in a way that felt really effortless。 But this book was more politically/world focused in a way that could have felt forced but didn't at all。 Their conversations felt so true to the conversations we all have these days given how scary and depressing our current cultural and political landscape is。 There is also a little pandemic mention at the end， but I promise it isn't annoying。 Because it tackles politics/culture， this book could have really preachy， but it was not。 Instead， it really allowed me to take a step back and appreciate my relationships and the natural world （which also sounds preachy and super annoying， but I promise it's not）。 I know that just like Conversations with Friends， I will continue to think about this book at least once every single day since reading it。 And just for context， I loved loved loved Conversations with Friends， but had sort of mixed feelings about Normal People （although I think I need to give it another chance）。 Beautiful World， Where Are You is a 10/10 if Conversations with Friends is an 11/10 for me。 。。。more

h。e。yoseph ，

Grateful for ARCs and friends who share them。

Michelle ，

3。5

Reference

google book https://www.google.com/search?tbm=bks&q=Beautiful World, Where Are You

hathitrust digital library https://babel.hathitrust.org/cgi/ls?q1=Beautiful World, Where Are You&field1=ocr&a=srchls&ft=ft&lmt=ft

The British Library https://bll01.primo.exlibrisgroup.com/discovery/search?query=any,contains,Beautiful World, Where Are You&tab=LibraryCatalog&search_scope=Not_BL_Suppress&vid=44BL_INST:BLL01&lang=en&offset=0