Sometimes starting in the middle of things works, but this one did not work for me. I felt confused and couldn't get into it.

For me, the book rated closer to a 3.5 but I rounded up to 4 stars. The publisher's review described the book as "intelligently' written. I agree. The terse sentence structure seemed to reflect the personality of the main character, A book of characters who interact dysfunctionallly with life and therefore, with each other. Who do not know how to show up in their own lives, much less the lives of others.

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.

This book, for me, was an example of "less is more." Which is more difficult that it might appear.

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.

It is told from the point of view of Frances which at times can be described as very matter-of-factly and at other times as very introspective. A lot of the interactions happened by email which I thought was a bit strange since nowadays most people communicate by text. I mean, there were some texts but a large part of the interactions happened by email.

I think that two of the main themes of this book are loneliness and the need to connect to other people. The main character attended literary events often and was generally noticing the artsy stuff around her, for example, at one time she noted a "Toulouse-Lautrec poster" at her home, art items like this were mentioned often.

Overall I had a hard time connecting to the main character. Although things happened throughout, I do not feel that Frances grew or accomplished something after the events in the book. I enjoy reading about self-centered, unlikeable characters but they have to be interesting which was not the case for me.

Thanks to NetGalley, the publisher, and the author for an ARC of this novel in exchange for an honest review.

An interesting look at the dynamics of friendship, marriages, and the connection between the two.

I thought that CONVERSATIONS WITH FRIENDS was great. I found the characters and conversations to be totally believable. The start of the relationships is real, as is the fraying and fracturing of those same relationships. The story centers around four characters, Frances, her best friend, Bobbi, and the moderately famous couple Nick and Melissa.

Frances and Bobbi are both friends and in college and do spoken word performance art. Frances and Bobbi used to be lovers. Melissa is writing a piece on them and Nick is her actor husband. There is a lot dialogue about the meaning of life, culture and relationships.

There is a tremendous amount of tension because they all start falling for one another. There is an unpleasant dynamic between two of the women and the struggle to determine what is right and wrong. What is right and wrong if the person you love is with a person that does not love them?

A very tepid 3 stars. Conversations with Friends is another one of those books about not particularly nice people entangled in awkward relationships. I've certainly read many books of this nature that I've found clever and quite enjoyed, but this one was just ok. Frances and Bobbi -- both young women who used to be in a relationship with each other -- become entangled with somewhat older heterosexual couple Nick and Melissa. It's all told from Frances' perspective. She doesn't seem to be able to figure out what she wants. Nor does anyone else. It gets messy and it stays pretty messy. I was attracted to this one partially because it's set in Dublin, but it could have been anywhere in North America or Europe. I'm at a low three stars because I did enjoy the the first half of Conversations with Friends, but my enjoyment started to wane in the second half. Frances' inner gaze and self-centredness started to feel suffocating. I don't have much more to say. Time to move on to something that makes me less grumpy. Thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for an opportunity to read an advance copy.

This book is a Sharp and insightful view of friendship as it ebbs and flows.. Sally Rooney is a fresh new voice , She has been placed on my Must read by Author list

This book gave me a glimpse into Rebecca's life. Most of us have been in a relationship in which we accept less than what we should. I am glad I am beyond that point but I sure do remember it.

This book is just really boring--the two main characters are supposed to be spoken word performers, but there is no sense at all of what their performances are like, or why anyone would be interested in them.