I loved the writing and the dialogue style in this book, but really didn't like the characters so found it very difficult to root for them.

I can't do a lack of quotation marks, DNF'd pretty quick. I do not enjoy reading books with odd punctuation patterns, and a lack of quotation marks makes reading too much of a chore.

The audio-narration was wonderfully alive an addictive. This book revolves around two college students in Dublin named Frances and Bobbi and their relationship with Melissa & Nick who are a married couple they meet early in the story.

Ok - normally I wouldn't have finished this book because the narrative style is cumbersome - no punctuation to indicate dialogue or who's talking. There's even a dearth of pronouns to help figure this out. Then, the entitled millennials....oh we have so much money so we have to feign poverty and condemn the bourgeoisie....while we take a private jet and pursue a noncareer "finding ourselves." But I liked it in spite of all that. The characters were oh so complicated but they have great sex, drink good wine, and travel to beautiful locations. Painful at times but I loved it.

Perhaps the most apt, simultaneously high literary yet also universally relatable take on young adulthood and female friendship I’ve read in years. Rooney is a fierce, natural talent, and I can’t wait to read whatever she comes out with next.

Two university girls, best friends and occasional lovers, come under the thrall of a successful, somewhat famous couple, and emotional chaos ensues.

At twenty-one, Frances considers herself an independent woman. She writes poetry and interns with a publishing house while (occasionally) going to classes at university. She and Bobbi, her best friend and on-again, off-again girlfriend, have their cadre of friends, and they perform spoken poetry around town. During one of those shows, they meet Melissa, a photographer, who is taken with them. She invites them into her life, and they meet Nick, Melissa's husband. Frances finds herself attracted to the handsome, moderately successful actor, and it's clear that he's attracted to her. Their growing closeness, however, disturbs the fragile stability Frances has established.

It's difficult to get close to Frances because she keeps herself isolated behind a veneer of cool detachment. You know, even if she does not, that she needs people. She needs to see her divorced parents somewhat regularly, whether for emotional bolstering from her mother or to ensure her father's safety. She needs her absent uncle, in whose apartment she lives rent-free. She needs Bobbi, who keeps Frances accountable for her decisions, and she needs the popularity and worldliness of Melissa. Her need of Nick is different but every bit as vital as that she feels for Bobbi.

Sally Rooney will force you to set aside the way you define relationships. Nick and Melissa's marriage is not conventional, nor is Frances and Bobbi's friendship. Rooney develops the idea that we should accept that what we give to and take from each other what each of us needs. Relationships are transactional in that way.

Yet all the while, you fear for Frances. She has tough lessons to learn, and you worry for her. How will she fare when she realizes her role in the exchanges in her friendships and romances? What will happen to her when she is forced to confront the fact that she needs attachments?

To engage in a conversation, all parties must participate, whether in speaking or responding. Frances has to learn when to speak and when to respond, and she has to learn to do both truthfully and openly. Withholding, whether in words or actions, represents a betrayal of sorts, a violation of the contract, so to speak. Frances must understand this.

There is much to enjoy about this book. Rooney imbues it with a sort of bohemian-esque atmosphere, as well as a sense of isolation and loneliness. She increases the sense that Frances is going to suffer mightily, and you find yourself holding your breath as you read. Sometimes the prose feels a bit frustrating with its lack of focus, and there is a loose thread or two that needs resolution. In Frances, Rooney has a heroine who wants your love, even if she can't admit that. Will she have it when you finish the book? Do come back and let me know what your thoughts.

Ugh. Not so likeable people engaging in not so great things. Pass.

I really just could not get into this book and have posted it on my DNF list.

Thanks for the opportunity, however.

I think I was really excited about this because my favourite movie is Conversations With Other Women, so I thought it was obviously going to be just as great, having a similar title.

This was solid. This was good. I ultimately enjoyed this. But I think to an extent, it was also too literary--not that that's necessarily a bad thing--when the storyline could have merited more fun and play to give it some livelihood.

The character relations in this book were golden, and what drove it forward. I found myself really relating to Frances in her general apathetic manner, and the way she kind of simply let life happen, and that was probably what kept me intrigued by and moving through this book.

Ultimately though, I can't think of a good reason why I'd tell my mum or anyone else that they should read this book, and while it was solid and I did ultimately make it through, it was slow without really giving cause for the slowness.

I received a free copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

Not a humorous or uplifting book. But a thought-provoking one. Sentences that often caused me to stop and consider my own life. This could have felt like a maudlin reading experience, but throughout it, I trusted the integrity of the writer....a writer who respected me as a reader. I was not disappointed.

Frances and Bobbie are best friends in their early twenties. Despite the fact that they used to date back in the day, they still have an easy friendship. They also perform spoken word poetry together and are basically inseparable. Their relationship is tested, though, when they meet a quasi-famous and free-spirited couple, photographer Melissa and her actor husband Nick. Bobbie immediately develops a crush on Melissa, which goes nowhere. But Frances surprises herself by falling hard for Nick. Over time, their relationship becomes something…more, and, as you might expect, things get complicated.

* * * * *

I heard this book described (many times) as intellectual and dark. I don’t know if I completely agree with that assessment, but I would say that it is moody and a bit pretentious. Honestly, I didn’t expect to like it much at first, what with that whole “detached twenty-something who’s too cool for school” angle. The weird thing, though, is that I did really enjoy it. The story moves along nicely, and even though I was able to predict many of the plot points, some moments really surprised me—especially the ending—and I appreciated that.

Also, there is just something likable about these characters. They could be annoying, but I liked that they felt whole and true—flawed and damaged, but also earnest and genuinely trying to figure things out. I also kind of loved the book’s unconventional ending. I liked how it acknowledged the complexity of relationships, especially marriage, without judgment. I’m not sure how realistic the final “arrangement” actually is, but I still enjoyed reading something not so choked by mainstream expectations. It was refreshing.

I think some people might have a hard time with this book because the characters are not particularly likable. I really enjoyed Frances' journey as she learns to explore her emotions more.

I'd requested an advanced reader copy (ARC) of Conversations with Friends after reading the description and some good early reviews; I've also had good luck, in the past, with releases from this publisher, Hogarth. A story about two college students, and the unlikely bond they form with a married couple, drew my attention.

Unfortunately, I had a really tough time connecting to this story and/or its characters; I stuck with it for the first third, just over 100 pages, and found myself feeling frustrated and rushing through the paragraphs. I decided it would be best to move on.

I am a firm believer that timing is everything; this will be a great read for many, I just don't think I picked it up at the right time and I will likely return to it later on.

Conversations with Friends is an intense character study, following the lives of two young women who were once lovers and are now best friends. Frances and Bobbi are twenty-one-year-old college students in Dublin, where they perform spoken-word poetry in night clubs and interact with the various artists and literati of the city. One night they meet photo-journalist Melissa, who wants to write an article about their work, and their lives are changed forever.

Frances is cool and calm in the face of strong emotion – she is darkly funny and yet deeply serious. Bobbi is beautiful and confident, and often self-involved when it comes to understanding the emotions of others. When the two young women are thrown into the lives of Melissa and her handsome actor husband Nick, their beliefs about themselves and others are challenged in unexpected ways. Bobbi, who is confident in her attraction to women, becomes obsessed with Melissa. Meanwhile, sexually-ambiguous Frances finds Nick intriguing despite herself – he is apathetic yet attractive, and she can’t help but seek him out to spend more time with him.

At the start, Frances is mostly amused by her flirtation with Nick – it is as if she is practicing for a more meaningful future relationship, both in conversations and in the bedroom. She sees him as a negative symbol of wealth and patriarchy, which is ironic because it doesn’t bother her that her dad pays her bills. Frances’ analysis of her own thoughts and feelings are self-conscious, and her intellectual debates with friends will make you cringe with their self-aware awkwardness. In her naivete, Frances explores the complications of intimacy, and the misunderstandings that stem from email and messenger conversations – feelings are often confused, and both Nick and Frances assume the other is cold and lacking emotion when in fact it is simply lost in translation.

Throughout the novel, Frances’ various relationships take on new meanings and fill new roles in her life – with Bobbi, with her mother and father, and especially with Nick and even Melissa. Intellectual stimulation is the most important aspect of Frances’ life, and yet she is forced to reconcile herself to the physical world as well. She has always placed mind over body, but eventually health concerns force her to pay attention to her physicality and put herself first.

The conversations between friends, lovers, acquaintances, and even adversaries are always at the forefront of this intelligent, thought-provoking novel. It is a novel of ideas, although they are always applied thoughtfully to the characters and their development. At first this reminded me of another 2017 novel, Elif Batuman’s The Idiot – both books feature a naïve young female protagonist, using deadpan humour and probing intelligence to explore a troubling relationship in the age of the internet. However, Frances is much less endearing and less likeable, which isn’t necessary a bad thing. The problem for me was the ending, in which it didn’t seem that Frances truly developed or changed at all – despite all her experiences, there was no real growth, and that was disappointing. However, the strength of this novel is in its concepts and conversations, written in a unique prose style that I savoured throughout Frances’ oddly compelling journey – despite or maybe because of Frances’ many issues, I found this book impossible to put down and I will be seeking out more by the talented Sally Rooney.

I received this book from Crown Publishing and NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

*sigh* Where to begin.

Everyone in this book is very self centered and self involved. Melissa and Nick are a married couple who befriend Bonnie and our narrator Francis. What follows is a kind of boring story about friendship and affairs and jealousy and periods and families. Francis and Bonnie are ex-girlfriend/best friends who are 21 year old students.

Of all the people in the book, I identified with Melissa the most and that's likely because she's closer to my age that either Francis or Bonnie. Francis is so concerned about herself without any real feelings or cares for anyone.

The writing is fantastic but the story is lacking depth. It's very matter of fact. The last few pages were the most interesting part, to be perfectly honest.

Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for the opportunity to read and review this book.

The novel, Conversations with Friends, by Sally Rooney is a formidable conversation on the complexity of relationship: friendship, love, sex—and the interconnectedness and fluidity of it—their thrill, their danger, their illogical compulsions.

It begins with Frances and Billie, two young women in college, friends who evolve into lovers, who meet through their poetry readings, a woman who wishes to write an article on them and their work. Melissa, the writer and photographer, in wanting to get closer to her subjects, invites the girls into her home and into her social circle.

From there, the circle permeates with social gatherings and connections that seem almost inevitable, ranging from the verbosity of intellectual and theoretical arguments, to the sensuality of sexual discourse and desire.
The plot of the book is rooted in its emotional development—a discourse in itself on what is not said, nor thought, but alluded to. This is the gift of the book, its character-driven clarity and depth. They move with an assurance of being exactly who the author wishes them to be in the story.

Bobbi, is an extroverted and attention-seeking lesbian, feminist, one who is both articulate as she is aggressive—and unsuspectingly sensitive. Melissa, is a wealthy, attractive, married, bisexual woman whose avant-garde style and social status arms her with a sense of power, control, and confidence. Nick, Melissa’s husband, born to wealth and natural giftedness, is accused of passivity and charm, afraid perhaps he is too good-looking to be taken seriously. And Frances, while known to be intelligent, if not more so than Bobbi, prefers to watch with calculated coldness, an astute observer and woman of few words—especially of those that express her feelings—she finds herself with debilitating trauma, both, of the physical and the repressed.
The book is not solely self-indulgent in the affairs of couples, but also has secondary plots that involve the weariness of estranged relationships with flawed parents.

At the same time, the book is also a novel that not only creates a venue for discussions at poetry readings, gallery openings, and dinner parties; its speaks to the act of writing as well. There are emails, chat messages, articles for publication, poetry readings, a short story publication. It seems the book is not only about the varying intellectual conversations amongst friends and lovers, but a comment on the boundaries, fluidity, and intentions of narrative—verbal, emotional, written, or otherwise.

The novel is rich is graphic sexuality, emotional turmoil, self-harm, and compulsion—and throws the moral compass of monogamy against the magnetized thrill of polyamorous love.

It is a love story that will immerse the reader into the world of women and men—and how they must navigate the relationships they are bound to, in friendship, in marriage, and in passion.
***
Characters: 4 stars
Plot: 4 stars
Language/Narrative: 4 stars
Dialogue: 4.5 stars
Pacing: 4 stars
Cover Design: 3 stars
***
Zara's Overall Rating: 4 stars
***

I received a copy of this book from NetGalley.

Frances is a college student in Dublin who performs spoken word poetry with her closest friend and former girlfriend Bobbi. They meet and befriend a writer, Melissa, and her actor husband Nick, and as they spend more time together Frances and Nick become closer as Frances and Bobbi drift apart.

I finished this book a few days ago but I found it really hard to write this review. I’ve decided to write more of a review about the characters, specifically Frances, than the story itself.

At the beginning I thought that Frances and Bobbi seemed very self-possessed for their age (21); they seemed to seamlessly move from college circles to having dinner with a celebrated author and her friends. But then at times Frances was full of self-loathing and inadequacy. I couldn’t figure out if this was typical 21 year old behavior in this day and age or if Frances’ personality was very different depending on who she was with.
After the self-possessed situations it was annoying to read the conversations between Frances and Nick. Yes, I realize that’s what crushes/love can do to you, but there was too much of the book where I just felt annoyed with Frances and her bad choices. Bobbi is obnoxious and Melissa and Nick don’t know what the hell they want, so Frances is the one that suffers. Unfortunately I wasn’t that empathetic.
The ending was a disappointment. Was that supposed to be Frances ultimately giving up because she’s ill and/or doesn’t have any other options/friends? If so that’s a very depressing way to end a book that started off with such a favorable impression of a bright young woman.

While reading this, I sorta felt like I had read it before, which in a way I have, since I have read many books like this one. I did enjoy the first half of this book, however, it began to be apparent that these characters weren't growing or changing, especially Francis, which is the main character. Her self-centeredness became difficult to overlook. There wasn't anything unique about it this book. It was about overprivileged, not-so-nice people, who don't know what they want. But thank you for the copy, I am most grateful.

I requested an ARC of this novel after seeing it previewed on a best books of the 2nd half of 2017 list on TheMillions.com. Unfortunately, this book didn't live up to the hype, the title or the blurb. All three implied that this was an exploration of female friendship. However, this novel follows two couples who become friends of sorts and they have tangled sexual attractions and relationships, and it is the sexual relationships that create the conflict and anxiety in this book. The protagonist of the book is perhaps the least interesting of the four. Ultimately, I found this to be an unsatisfying read.

I received an advanced copy of this novel from the publisher via netgalley in exchange for an honest review. Thanks!