Rating: 4.5 stars
Ever since I watched Normal People, I have been wanting to read a book by Sally Rooney. But I saw so many polarising opinions about her books that I kept delaying. I saw people continually bring up the fact that she doesn't use speech marks for dialogue or any punctuation in general. I also saw a lot of people complain that her books were so boring and tedious to get into. Well I am happy to say, that I do not share such opinions!
Over the summer I missed the periods of intense academic concentration which helped to relax me during term time. I liked to sit in the library to write essays, allowing my sense of time and personal identity to dissolve as the light dimmed outside the windows...Physical sensations reintroduced themselves to me with a feeling of genuine novelty...
Conversations with Friends explores the relationship between two college friends, Frances and Bobbi, and a famous couple, Melissa, a journalist, and Nick, a famous actor. I thought going into this book I would struggle to read it because I don't generally like reading about affairs/cheating. But this book was so much more than that. It's a book about very complex, layered and flawed characters and their fascinating relationships to one another.
Frances was an extremely compelling character. She was unlike any character I had ever read before. The way she would describe things often left me scratching my head and wondering what she meant, but in the best possible way. For example, early on in the novel Frances is woken up by period pain and she says that she's exhilarated by the seriousness of her pain. I remember thinking what did she mean by that? Was it that her life had become so monotonous and mundane that medical issues gave her a source of enjoyment? Or perhaps the fact that she could feel something other than boredom made her excited? I'm not quite sure even now, and I wish I could have consumed this novel at a much a slower pace but alas I had to return it to the library. I would definitely like to read it again one day just so I can fully absorb all of Frances' reflections/feelings.
As for Frances' relationship with Nick, I was never rooting for them. I found Nick to be quite bland until more of his past was revealed, which aided in giving him depth. And even though Nick was cheating on Melissa with Frances, we soon find out that things aren't so simple. The messiness of this novel is its true strength. Bobbi was also another interesting character and one that I didn't like all that much. Her bond with Frances was very complicated and one that I am glad not to have in my own life. At times Bobbi would be dismissive of Frances and her feelings, but then when Frances needed her the most Bobbi would show up and be there. It's easy to dismiss their friendship but I have seen such friendships in real life. They are fraught with emotion and while there is strength in that friendship there is also a great fragility to it.
There was a lot of discussion of politics in this book, which I didn't care for too much. I think political discussions are important but whether they should be discussed in such depth in a novel is a topic for another day.
I closed my eyes. Things and people moved around me, taking positions in obscure hierarchies, participating in systems I didn't know about and never would. A complex network of objects and concepts. You live through certain things before you understand them. You can't always take the analytical position.
Overall, this was unlike any book I had read before. I still think about it and found myself talking about it with a friend just the other day. The beauty of this book lies in its four central characters and their relationships with each other. It is a portrait of what it is to be human, to connect with others and to live a life that perhaps deviates from the conventional.
I'm looking forward to reading more by Sally Rooney. I would highly recommend!