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Beautiful World, Where Are You

Beautiful World, Where Are You

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  • Type：Epub+TxT+PDF+Mobi
  • Create Date：2021-07-10 04:51:50
  • Update Date：2025-09-06
  • Status：finish
  • Author：Sally Rooney
  • ISBN：0571365434
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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

Shannon Hawthorne ，

I will never be able to properly articulate how this book made me feel and how it came at such an important time in my life。Sally Rooney is brilliant。 This book was ~mostly~ a perfect telling of uncertainties， loneliness， and confusion people experience in their late 20s。 I was able to relate to every character at some point， and was also incredibly annoyed by all characters at some point。 I do have to agree with my fellow booksellers that the ending was disappointing。 The last two chapters did I will never be able to properly articulate how this book made me feel and how it came at such an important time in my life。Sally Rooney is brilliant。 This book was ~mostly~ a perfect telling of uncertainties， loneliness， and confusion people experience in their late 20s。 I was able to relate to every character at some point， and was also incredibly annoyed by all characters at some point。 I do have to agree with my fellow booksellers that the ending was disappointing。 The last two chapters did not need to be included and nor should they be。 They felt very out of place and unnecessary when you compare Sally Rooney’s other work。 I didn’t want the happy ending。 Nor did I want clunky writing about the pandemic。 Also have we all at one point in our lives dated a Felix？ Yikes。 。。。more

leah ，

first off， thank you SO much to faber books for sending me an arc copy of this， i’ll be forever grateful。 the fact that i’ve loved all 3 of sally rooney’s books （along with her short stories） has really solidified her place as one of my favourite authors， or maybe just my favourite。 this book follows 4 main characters and the relationships they have with one another， with the friendship between alice and eileen taking centre stage。 unlike her 2 other novels， we are taken out of the character’s h first off， thank you SO much to faber books for sending me an arc copy of this， i’ll be forever grateful。 the fact that i’ve loved all 3 of sally rooney’s books （along with her short stories） has really solidified her place as one of my favourite authors， or maybe just my favourite。 this book follows 4 main characters and the relationships they have with one another， with the friendship between alice and eileen taking centre stage。 unlike her 2 other novels， we are taken out of the character’s heads and held at a distance， watching everything happen externally and only really learning about the characters as they learn about each other。 at first i thought this would mean the characters would be harder to connect with as we’re not reading their internal monologue， but we’re provided a lot of insight into alice and eileen through the emails they send to one another in alternating chapters， in which they discuss many of the issues that are plaguing us in our modern world。 the way they particularly discuss knowing how awful the world is but still caring so much about love and relationships and human connection is really when the relatability factor comes in。as always， the prose was brilliant and had all the elements of rooney’s writing style that i love。 saying that sally rooney is great at crafting complex and realistic characters feels a bit redundant at this point because that’s what her work is most praised for， but i’ll say it again anyway。 like her other books， this one provides a refreshingly honest depiction of what it feels like to be a young person in the modern world， although it focuses more on the uncertainty felt in your late 20s， rather than your early 20s。 but this growth in maturity makes sense given the fact that rooney is 30 now， so it feels like a natural progression of her work。 the pandemic/lockdown is mentioned at the end which felt a bit jarring （because i don’t think i’m ready to start seeing it in media or books yet lol）， but i think it tied up the overarching theme of the book nicely， because it was during the pandemic that we realised just how important human connection is and how much we value our relationships with our loved ones。 with all the good， the bad， and the ugly in the world， at the end of the day all we have is people， all we have is each other， which to me feels like the main takeaway from the novel。 the relationships we have with each other is what makes the world beautiful。 。。。more

Katy ，

Much to think about

Jules Kelly ，

Sally Rooney really fucks me up。 I read a few chapters and then have to lay down and have an existential crisis ; BWWAY is absolutely no different。 falls right in between CONVERSATIONS and NORMAL PEOPLE for me （wasn't blown away by the ending）， but still a must-read。 "If I'm only as bad as you I don't mind that much。 Or even if we're both terrible， it's still better than being terrible on my own。" Sally Rooney really fucks me up。 I read a few chapters and then have to lay down and have an existential crisis ; BWWAY is absolutely no different。 falls right in between CONVERSATIONS and NORMAL PEOPLE for me （wasn't blown away by the ending）， but still a must-read。 "If I'm only as bad as you I don't mind that much。 Or even if we're both terrible， it's still better than being terrible on my own。" 。。。more

Jessica Woodbury ，

This one takes a little while to get going and insists on an epistolary device that really didn't do it for me， but once it hits its stride it delivers what most Rooney fans are here for: a whole lot of emotions and romantic strife。The prose and style here are notable and distinct。 First， there are the emails interspersed between most chapters between best friends Alice and Eileen。 Alice， a relatively newly famous author， has been hospitalized after a breakdown， and has moved to the country whil This one takes a little while to get going and insists on an epistolary device that really didn't do it for me， but once it hits its stride it delivers what most Rooney fans are here for: a whole lot of emotions and romantic strife。The prose and style here are notable and distinct。 First， there are the emails interspersed between most chapters between best friends Alice and Eileen。 Alice， a relatively newly famous author， has been hospitalized after a breakdown， and has moved to the country while Eileen still lives and works for hardly any money in Dublin。 I suspect readers will either love or hate this device because they are not normal emails。 They are long， meditative writings about basically everything millennials worry about。 （If Rooney wanted to lose that label as a millennial voice of a generation， she has done herself no favors here。） Politics， climate change， beauty， culture， celebrity， language， they go on at length about their larger worries and then give a paragraph or two of their own personal updates。 Eventually it becomes quite clear why they are writing this way， but there isn't always a lot of "there" there to these writings and when we'd hit one I could feel myself starting to read faster to get through it。As for the prose， I had to pick up my copy of NORMAL PEOPLE to confirm whether Rooney's prose had changed much because my experience of that novel was so entirely in my head that I honestly could not remember how it read on paper。 In many ways it's quite similar to BEAUTIFUL WORLD， but the important difference is that it is almost always entirely at a remove from our characters' internal thoughts。 Everything is described to us as seen externally， each small movement， each time someone picks up their phone， each glance and expression。 And at first I started to get frustrated because I very much wanted to know how these characters were feeling （getting so deep into the characters' heads was part of what I loved so much about NORMAL PEOPLE） but ultimately I came around。 By keeping us outside of everyone's heads we get to experience these relationships as the characters do in many ways。 We have to learn about them as they learn about each other。 We only really know for sure what they say out loud。 And in the end， as we start to get into all the things that aren't being said， the story and the characters really open up to you。 It absolutely takes time， the first half of the book is more getting oriented than anything else， but the second half was the kind of experience I particularly enjoy， diving in to everyone's fears and idiosyncracies。Once again I was struck by how acute Rooney's understanding of her characters is。 And once again I felt a little bit of wish fulfillment around her male characters， who have an inherent goodness， but who also actually say how they feel。 Maybe not immediately， but when it counts they will say it。 Particularly Felix， who is a bit the odd man out here， a kind of chaos monster among the repressed and mostly uptight group， who will happily just ask questions even if they aren't particularly his business or even polite， and who will call it like he sees it， with Alice and everyone else。 Much of the action in the second half happens because Felix calls people out on their bullshit when they are absolutely not used to doing so。 But this was fine with me because I spent the whole first half of the book wanting to yell at these characters to just say what they wanted instead of being so passive-aggressive in their relationships。 （Alice and Eileen are both 29， and yes we are all pretty bad at that still in our 20's， but now I am old and absolutely have no time for this。 Needless to say， I liked this about Felix very much。） I know that no one really really has these kinds of conversations。 Or rather， some people do， but it's rare for two of them to have them together， not to mention four of them all hashing it out under the same roof， but do I love this shit？ Oh yes， I absolutely do。 Yes I love a book where everyone works out their feelings and talks through their issues， even if I had some issues with this and would have liked it better in a more streamlined structure， I truly enjoyed getting to know these characters so well。 I also very much enjoyed that both Alice and Felix are casually bisexual。 It is just nice to have regular old queer characters in books， and their not-so-into-labels feelings is consistent with how a lot of 20-somethings approach queerness。 。。。more

Sana ，

ive never preordered a book before but i really might preorder this one

Al ，

Please ignore thenectarine stains on the ARC。Devastating， floofy。

Carley ，

:） thank you penguin random house canada for this ARC it literally made my dreams come trueive really had to sit with beautiful world， where are you because sally rooney has such a chokehold on me i wanted to make sure i was being objective with my review and thoughts。let me just say， i enjoyed this book to the highest degree。 i think about the questions about purpose and love and friendship and sex daily now。 the ethos of this book felt so incredibly relevant on a personal level: the tension be :） thank you penguin random house canada for this ARC it literally made my dreams come trueive really had to sit with beautiful world， where are you because sally rooney has such a chokehold on me i wanted to make sure i was being objective with my review and thoughts。let me just say， i enjoyed this book to the highest degree。 i think about the questions about purpose and love and friendship and sex daily now。 the ethos of this book felt so incredibly relevant on a personal level: the tension between knowing the human race is basically ruining the world and the fact although we know this， we still care so much about romance and friendship and sex。 its like sally rooney knew that when the world was ending and i was in quarantine， all i could think about was my friends and my partner and my family。 at the heart of all of the intellectualizing and philosophizing i do to make sense of the world， the only thing that matters to me is other people。i do think this book is a bold departure from her last two novels， i felt myself less connected to the individual characters like i did in normal people or conversations with friends。 instead， i felt enamoured by their relationships with each other and their experiences。 it feels more mature， both in style and subject matter。definitely would recommend and also wanna do a book club when this is released to the general public :） 。。。more

Sam ，

…

Andrea ，

this sounds so dramatic， can't wait。 this sounds so dramatic， can't wait。 。。。more

Barbara Hall ，

With her 3rd novel， Sally Rooney delivers again with the story of Alice and Eileen， 2 women in their late 20s， good friends since their university days。 Alice is a successful novelist， while Eileen works for a literary magazine。 Each one is trying to navigate through the complications of a romantic relationship。 These relationships are explored in alternating chapters and interspersed between， are fascinating and lengthy email exchanges between Alice and Eileen， where they ruminate over love， se With her 3rd novel， Sally Rooney delivers again with the story of Alice and Eileen， 2 women in their late 20s， good friends since their university days。 Alice is a successful novelist， while Eileen works for a literary magazine。 Each one is trying to navigate through the complications of a romantic relationship。 These relationships are explored in alternating chapters and interspersed between， are fascinating and lengthy email exchanges between Alice and Eileen， where they ruminate over love， sex， philosophy， politics， mental health， in addition to inquiries into the state of each other's love life。 Rooney has been called the voice of her generation -- the Millennials。 Though I am a Baby Boomer， Rooney's immense talent for writing about human emotions in an intelligent and unsentimental fashion， makes her a voice for all ages。 。。。more

Alice Pickard ，

Struggled through it and gave up 3/4 of the way through。 Disappointing :-（

Rahaf ，

I cant wait for September！ I wanna read it now 🥲

Natalie Field ，

I absolutely loved this book from start to finish。 Sally Rooney’s ability to detail the ordinary lives of her characters with such language and depth allows the reader to passionately affix with them。 So much so that the work literally resonates with you for the following days。 Beautiful World， Where Are You is another incredible story detailing our rat race in life for a semblance of financial security and personal connection。

Amy ，

As most of the previous reviews don't include having yet read the book-- let me begin by saying I just finished reading the ARC。 Thank you， Edelweiss。Honestly， if it had been written by anyone other than Sally Rooney， I would not have finished it。 And yes， at the end I had to ask myself that question--what did I just read。 There appears to be a whole lot of Ms。 Rooney gettting things off her chest， including celeb culture and everything you don't really understand about your favorite author who As most of the previous reviews don't include having yet read the book-- let me begin by saying I just finished reading the ARC。 Thank you， Edelweiss。Honestly， if it had been written by anyone other than Sally Rooney， I would not have finished it。 And yes， at the end I had to ask myself that question--what did I just read。 There appears to be a whole lot of Ms。 Rooney gettting things off her chest， including celeb culture and everything you don't really understand about your favorite author who gets overly criticized for only writing about relationships。 Hence， there are wandering pieces about art， religion， and history。 But they just feel forced， out of place， and contribute very little to the content of the characters， much less the book itself。 Content for content's sake as if one has something to prove。I am grateful for the access to this title， but I can't say I'm glad I read it。 。。。more

lily ，

this was truly the most brilliant and tenderly heartbreaking novel i have ever read。 the world really is beautiful， especially when books like this exist。

Chloe Jade ，

It’s so hard to rate this book， because my heart says 5 stars because as always it’s prose is rhythmic and controlling， you’re reading it at the pace she sets， not the other way around。 She writes the mundanity， the every day so we’ll it might well be memoir， and giving it five stars feels … cheap？ Like， it’s worth so much more， the silence in this book is so gut wrenching and hard to sit through， but I did because the characters are just there with their hearts on their sleeves。 I wished this b It’s so hard to rate this book， because my heart says 5 stars because as always it’s prose is rhythmic and controlling， you’re reading it at the pace she sets， not the other way around。 She writes the mundanity， the every day so we’ll it might well be memoir， and giving it five stars feels … cheap？ Like， it’s worth so much more， the silence in this book is so gut wrenching and hard to sit through， but I did because the characters are just there with their hearts on their sleeves。 I wished this book was four times as long。 I loved reading her words， looking into her brain again， and I’m absolutely devastated that it’s over 🥲 。。。more

Cam Waller ，

Alright， here's my thoughts。 Sally Rooney almost had a five-star book on her hands up until the last 30 pages。 Not only did the "happy" ending truly come out of left field， but she also shoe-horned the pandemic into the plot in the worst and most clunky way humanly possible。 If I was her editor， I'd have just chucked the last bit of this book and leave it as is （I suppose there is still time， I did read an arc after all）。 Looking back， you can see the influence of the pandemic throughout various Alright， here's my thoughts。 Sally Rooney almost had a five-star book on her hands up until the last 30 pages。 Not only did the "happy" ending truly come out of left field， but she also shoe-horned the pandemic into the plot in the worst and most clunky way humanly possible。 If I was her editor， I'd have just chucked the last bit of this book and leave it as is （I suppose there is still time， I did read an arc after all）。 Looking back， you can see the influence of the pandemic throughout various points in the novel， but as soon as it became overtly stated， the whole book was cheapened。 Show don't tell？ How Rooney handled the ending was so sloppy and cheap that I almost deducted more stars， but frankly I REALLY loved the meandering story up to that point。 I was truly blown away by most of this book and thought it showcased Sally at her very best。 But then the story hit its natural end point， and she decided to extend the story when it shouldn't have been。 In doing so， the novel feels unfinished to me， like it needs several more rounds of editing and a few more years to really take the shape that Sally would like it to。 I'm happy that Sally is writing from a more happy/settled place， but I get the impression that this was not intended to be a happy/settled book from the onset and she tried to course correct at the last possible moment。 This novel had momentum from the start， its a shame she wouldn't allow the novel to take itself to its natural conclusion。--Original review:I can’t give this a star rating， not yet。 It’s too fresh， and I’m far too conflicted。 Full review to come… suffice to say I loved it *most of the time。 My high expectations and anticipation weren’t disappointed， but they weren’t exceeded either。 。。。more

Shelby ，

Tag yourself， I’m Eileen。 In BWWAY， Rooney does what she does best， while at the same time mocking the Contemporary Novel that concerns itself with sex and friendship。 RIYL: melodrama， millennial romance， socialism， interpersonal class conflict， characters who should obviously be with their lovers but self sabotage

Sean Loughran ，

I have been so excited for Beautiful World， Where Are You since I heard about its release earlier this year。 Having read Normal People and Conversations With Friends， I was dying to read the latest from Sally Rooney。 I'm also from Ireland， so there's something about the way she writes that just completely captivates me。 I remember when I first read Normal People， I loved it so much I went out and purchased copies for my mum and a few friends who all adored and cherished it just as much as I did。 I have been so excited for Beautiful World， Where Are You since I heard about its release earlier this year。 Having read Normal People and Conversations With Friends， I was dying to read the latest from Sally Rooney。 I'm also from Ireland， so there's something about the way she writes that just completely captivates me。 I remember when I first read Normal People， I loved it so much I went out and purchased copies for my mum and a few friends who all adored and cherished it just as much as I did。 I'm so grateful to Knopf Canada for the advanced reader copy of this one， it felt like a true gift being able to read this early。 Right off the bat， on the opening pages， I could picture Alice and Felix sitting together in the bar， freshly acquainted with one another。 Funnily， I found my Irish accent coming back as I read along， reading to myself as I was imagining them chatting together。 Reading the book was like watching a movie， each scene put into play perfectly and described so vividly。Rooney's prose is so deadpan and witty throughout， very similar to her other novels， which is exactly what I hoped for。 Her typical dry humour is downright hilarious。The story captures a gorgeous friendship between two girls who the reader has the pleasure of getting to know over the course of dozens of lengthy emails exchanged between them throughout the book。 Both on completely different paths， and wise beyond their years， but still sharing such a special bond。 I felt myself becoming truly absorbed by their lives。Beautiful World， Where Are You， was an absolutely lovely read。 I finished it too quickly and only wanted more。 Selected as one of Indigo's most anticipated releases， and one of the most hyped books of the season， this one won't let you down。 It's flipping brilliant。Avocado Diaries 。。。more

Sasha ，

As an ageing GenXer， I don’t really feel like the target market for this book and I wasn’t sure I would like it。 But， as a bookseller， I know this will be one of the biggest books of the autumn， so when an advanced proof arrived， I thought I ought to give it a read。Starting out， I wasn’t keen on the style and I didn’t feel connected to the characters but。。。 you just get used to a style after a while and I did get drawn into the plot and the protagonists lives。 My thoughts on finishing are that t As an ageing GenXer， I don’t really feel like the target market for this book and I wasn’t sure I would like it。 But， as a bookseller， I know this will be one of the biggest books of the autumn， so when an advanced proof arrived， I thought I ought to give it a read。Starting out， I wasn’t keen on the style and I didn’t feel connected to the characters but。。。 you just get used to a style after a while and I did get drawn into the plot and the protagonists lives。 My thoughts on finishing are that this is an extremely talented and skilled writer， who made me really care about her people and their stories despite my initial misgivings。The search for a beautiful world is universal and I thought this novel explored that search extremely well。 And I was very happy with the ending。。。 。。。more

LittleSophie ，

Well， I think we can safely say that I'm too old for Sally Rooney now。 While this charts similar territory as her previous books， I found my patience wearing thin with people constantly misunderstanding each other and finding reasons not to be together。。。 you both said you love each other， to your face， why do you both seem to pretend that didn't happen？！ I found myself often baffled by the turns the conversations took and how bad they all were at listening to each other。 While I loved this clos Well， I think we can safely say that I'm too old for Sally Rooney now。 While this charts similar territory as her previous books， I found my patience wearing thin with people constantly misunderstanding each other and finding reasons not to be together。。。 you both said you love each other， to your face， why do you both seem to pretend that didn't happen？！ I found myself often baffled by the turns the conversations took and how bad they all were at listening to each other。 While I loved this close attention in Normal People， it didn't really work me this time， partly because we get less back story here and partly because Rooney herself often widens the narrative to metaphorically place her characters in the world， which just serves to make their troubles look more ridiculous。 There were lots of things I enjoyed about this novel too， like the fact that the Alice character is a writer with a similar biography to Rooney's and seems to be used to critisize the intense media attention on young authors， the weirdness and danger of fame and how she never asked for this。 It's prickly， honest and believable and I respect that。 She also tries a couple of new things in this one， like having an epistolary novel run through it and defending the happiness that can be found in a middle-class， intellecutal fulfilling life。 It's also perfectly alright for her to keep exploring these young contemporary people's relationship muddles with the same intense focus。 I'd just be soo curious to see her try her hand at something else too。 。。。more

Jaclyn ，

Rooney’s writing is always character explored through relationships and sex。 This book hinges on those three things， the friendship between Alice and Eileen being the most important of them all。 I loved novelist Alice fiercely。 Her commentary on writers， publishing and the whole damn mess was delicious。 It’s hard not to equate her with Rooney despite my best intentions to never conflate art and artist。 It’s worth talking about form and structure， too。 Rooney’s use of the epistolary form works pa Rooney’s writing is always character explored through relationships and sex。 This book hinges on those three things， the friendship between Alice and Eileen being the most important of them all。 I loved novelist Alice fiercely。 Her commentary on writers， publishing and the whole damn mess was delicious。 It’s hard not to equate her with Rooney despite my best intentions to never conflate art and artist。 It’s worth talking about form and structure， too。 Rooney’s use of the epistolary form works particularly well。 The friendship between Alice and Eileen is so interesting and their long emails back and forth standing in for conversations is clever and effective。 These emails are broken up by real world contained moments between each woman and usually Felix or Simon respectively。 The insights the emails the women write each other offer about these moments opens them up for the reader。 Form and structure work in perfect harmony here and there’s a lovely contrast between the intimacy of the emails and the coolness of the scenes。 When she does finally get them in a room together the feeling is electric。 I believe in Rooney’s vision of a beautiful world。 This book is wonderful and my personal favourite Rooney yet。 。。。more

Hein Matthew Hattie ，

Abandoned p 225。

Fiona Lansdown ，

This book made me feel old and grumpy。 Was I so self absorbed when I was young？ Probably。

Jenbebookish ，

Don’t ask me why I just added this to my TBR， when I very pointedly said after reading ‘Conversations with Friends’， my SECOND book by her， that I get the gist of what she’s trying to say and I don’t need to continue reading more of her work。 And this sounds like it’s going to be EXACTLY the same as her other two books， more of the same stuff: flawed characters， power dynamics within relationships， narcissists & their first world problems & endless existential musings， sufferings， etc etc。 All I Don’t ask me why I just added this to my TBR， when I very pointedly said after reading ‘Conversations with Friends’， my SECOND book by her， that I get the gist of what she’s trying to say and I don’t need to continue reading more of her work。 And this sounds like it’s going to be EXACTLY the same as her other two books， more of the same stuff: flawed characters， power dynamics within relationships， narcissists & their first world problems & endless existential musings， sufferings， etc etc。 All I had to do was read the blurb to know this is pretty much the same book only with different character names， but I for some reason feel compelled to read it。 What does this say about my feelings about Sally Rooney？！ Could I actually like Sally Rooney？！？Hah！ Not。 Definitely not。 But I’m interested somehow， interested enough to consider reading this 🤨🤨🧐🧐🤔 。。。more

Emma ，

Sally doesn't miss！ （but we knew that already） Sally doesn't miss！ （but we knew that already） 。。。more

Dave ，

Another superb example of human drama done by a mastery of this kind of novel。 This one for me was a lot about Alice and Eileen’s friendship as they are navigating the later stages of their youth， their love interests， Felix and Simon respectively， and the ever present back drop of a very unique and challenging time period。 There is so much I enjoyed about this one and would definitely recommend。 Thank you to the publisher for providing me with this Drc available through edelweiss。

Ingrid Nelson ，

Def her best one yet

Helen ，

Thank you to Faber & Faber for the ARC - it’s been the reading highlight of my year so far。 Full review to come but I’ve been floored by Rooney’s writing once again。

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