Review July/August 2022 - Beautiful World Where Are You

Beautiful World Where Are You: Sally Rooney

Overall rating 2.5/5

As a fan of Normal People and Conversation With Friends I was excited to read this book from Sally Rooney. Unfortunately I was a little disappointed and had a pretty tough time getting into this book.

Firstly, I found it really difficult to engage with either of the main characters in the book; I felt that their stories just weren’t going anywhere. I also found some of their decisions infuriating-which isn’t an unfamiliar theme with Sally Rooney however there seemed too few redeeming events in the book. I was also somewhat underwhelmed with both characters' endings which seemed totally out of character for both of the ladies who we had been following.

For me, the other problem was that the format very other chapter was an email between the two main characters. They often felt very long, without a break which made these parts really difficult to read. I was really struggling to focus and certainly didn't find myself desperate to read on. I also think that these chapters were somewhat self indulgent; Sally clearly has a lot of ideas and thoughts that they want to share which is great but I found these monologues a bit tiring.

Recommendations

Would I recommend?

We'll maybe if you’re a big fan of Sally Rooney but this is not the most dyslexic friendly book in my opinion!