Do you know what I love about book hauls? The colourfully varied array of bookmarks they give you at the counter promulgating new books you absolutely have to read. One such bookmarker I received was a commercial for Conversations With Friends by Sally Rooney, published in 2017 by Faber & Faber Ltd. So, I decided to procure myself a copy. Set in modern day Dublin, Conversations With Friends is about relationships and the complexities that typify them.

From the outset, this book held my interest until the very end, compelling me to turn yet another page and bear witness to the events that would unravel next. The prose is very unromantic, so don’t expect any atmospheric imagery, but I think that the pragmatist style of writing and serious tone go hand-in-hand to complement the more serious moments in the book.

Conversations With Friends doesn’t linger about advancing the the plot. From Chapter 5 we start to see the sparks of chemistry igniting between Frances and Nick, and are therefore drawn as much to their illicit romance as they are to each other. Their complicated love affair sees the development of their characters interestingly executed. Frances is an unassuming young literature student whose lack of confidence and insecurity seems to swell in direct proportion to her growing affections for Nick. Nick despite his celebrity status, has mental instabilities and a pacifist nature that gravitates him to Frances and her sporadic hostilities towards him.

The book has a marked political presence in that its characters, mainly Bobbi, propagate very non traditionalist, anarchist ideals except when it comes to the Bank of Mum and Dad, then it’s as traditionalist as it gets. I’ll never understand what it’s like to depend on one’s parents for money, never having done so since I turned 18, but I digress.

I very much enjoyed reading this book, I loved how effortless the romance was which didn’t feel forced as many romances do, rather it spiralled in harmony with the tonally realist nature of the book. It also does well to accentuate the modern day complications of relationships. I rate Conversations with Friends.. 

⭐️⭐️⭐️ ⭐️

Hey Friends, Thank you so much for reading this review. I hope you’ll stick around and check out some of my other reviews that will hopefully inspire your next read! Or mine, if you would like to send me any suggestions, please comment away 💛💛💛

I want to read some more amazing reviews!