Description
Sally Rooney’s Conversations with Friends is a powerful and honest look at modern relationships and the mental problems that come with them. Set in modern-day Dublin, it follows Frances and Bobbi, two university students and former lovers who perform spoken-word poetry together and have a complicated, intimate friendship. Rooney writes a multifaceted look at intimacy, power, treachery, and emotional vulnerability with her trademark sharpness and cool, clear-eyed prose.
The main character and narrator of the book is Frances, whose inner existence is described in great detail. She is smart, sarcastic, attentive, and very aware of herself. She often looks at her feelings in a clinical way, even when she is having trouble understanding them. Frances is in a bad financial situation, is emotionally guarded, and has health difficulties that make her feel alone and acutely conscious of how weak she is physically.
Bobbi, on the other hand, is captivating, charming, and able to speak clearly without any trouble. Even though Frances and Bobbi are no longer dating, they are still friends in a complicated, often competitive way that includes intimacy, intellectual sparring, and a need for one other. Their teasing is harsh and often nasty, but there is also an implicit loyalty between them that neither will confess.
When they meet Melissa, a gorgeous older writer, their closed-off world is turned upside down. She becomes interested in their poetry and personalities. Melissa’s life seems sophisticated and steady, and she draws them into her circle with a sense of interest and quiet power. Melissa introduces Frances to her husband Nick, who is a lovely actor but doesn’t show his feelings.
The main drama in the book is Frances’s affair with Nick. Their relationship is not just based on passion or wanting to get away from it all; it is also full of awkwardness, vulnerability, and emotional instability. Frances is interested in Nick’s seeming passivity and kindness, but she is also disturbed that he can’t express his thoughts. Their relationships can be sweet or very hurtful, which makes Frances face the contradictions in her wants and the emotional risks she’s ready to take.
At the same time, her friendship with Bobbi is stressed by envy, secrecy, and the complicated moral issues that come up when someone cheats or betrays someone else. Bobbi, who is very observant and often selfish, won’t let Frances take the lead in her life, even if Frances’s actions are putting their connection at risk. Rooney won’t put their friendship into a simple category; instead, he describes it as a changing, heated relationship that is just as important as any love relationship.
Conversations with Friends is also a book about finding yourself and being honest with yourself. Frances’s voice is brutally honest, yet it often lies and makes excuses that aren’t always true. She struggles with issues of class, privilege, art, and honesty, showing her own inconsistencies without ever fully resolving them. Rooney’s writing is known for her quiet accuracy, which allows her to show both emotional anguish and boring things with an uncompromising view.
In the end, Conversations with Friends is about all the different kinds of closeness that people have with each other: how they use and need each other, the weak ties that keep relationships together, and the agony and potential that come from being fully seen. This book is incredibly mature and intelligent. It depicts the perplexity, longing, and stark honesty of adolescence without being condescending or romantic.
About the Author
Sally Rooney is an award-winning Irish author whose novels have been translated into more than 40 languages and adapted for television. Known for her sharp, clear prose and psychological realism, Rooney has been celebrated for her unflinching examinations of love, friendship, class, and modern life. Her other acclaimed works include Normal People and Beautiful World, Where Are You.
Product Details
- Title: Conversations with Friends
- Author: Sally Rooney
- ISBN-13: 9780393635758
- Publisher: Hogarth
- Published: July 2017
- Pages: 336
- Binding: Paperpack
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