5 Reasons to Read Beautiful World Where Are You
Hi friends! I hope January hasn’t been too hard on you. I’m excited to be finally posting my thoughts on the latest Sally Rooney book. Here are 5 reasons to read Beautiful World Where Are You!
Most Anticipated Books of 2021!
Title: Beautiful World, Where Are You
Author: Sally Rooney
Rating: 4 Stars
Genre: Literary Fiction
Format: Paperback
Publisher: Jonathan Ball Publishers
Date Published: September 7th 2021
Goodreads Description: Alice, a novelist, meets Felix, who works in a warehouse, and asks him if he’d like to travel to Rome with her. In Dublin, her best friend, Eileen, is getting over a break-up and slips back into flirting with Simon, a man she has known since childhood. Alice, Felix, Eileen, and Simon are still young—but life is catching up with them. They desire each other, they delude each other, they get together, they break apart. They have sex, they worry about sex, they worry about their friendships and the world they live in. Are they standing in the last lighted room before the darkness, bearing witness to something? Will they find a way to believe in a beautiful world?
I received a review copy from Jonathan Ball Publishers. All opinions are my own.
Purchase Links
5 Reasons to Read Beautiful World, Where Are You
5) If you’re a millennial, this will be a gut punch
Sally Rooney really knows what she’s doing. She manages to capture the specific brand of millennial existential angst perfectly. I had to put this book down multiple times because I felt personally attacked by the things the characters were going through. As my 25-year-old self creeps closer to 30, I can tell you I am anxious. Somehow this book makes me feel both better and worse about myself. There is just something about Rooney’s writing that pulls you in and doesn’t let you go.
4) It’s pretentious as hell
Hear me out. While no one particularly enjoys pretentious characters, I think Rooney did a good job with hers. They’re both writers in the literary world, so it makes sense that they would have some obscure knowledge. I enjoyed their emails back and forth and their commentary on Alice’s life as a bestselling author is very apt for the times. I found it interesting and even on occasion thought-provoking.
3) The audiobook is a blast
I’ve recently re-discovered audiobooks after a short hiatus and I really enjoyed this one. I think the narrator does an excellent job of bringing the characters to life. I did read a few pages of the physical book, but I enjoyed the audiobook more. If you’re looking for a new audiobook to pick up, I highly suggest this one.
2) You love to hate, and hate to love, the characters
I absolutely loathed Felix, but I loved Alice and Eileen. Felix seems like he has a massive chip on his shoulder and I really hated the way he treated Alice. Simon was marginally better, but I also didn’t like the way he toyed with Eileen. But at the same time, I enjoyed their struggles? I don’t know if that makes sense, but they felt so real. And real people are messy and complicated. Rooney really does messy and complicated very well.
1) It’s not about the plot
One of the main gripes I had with Normal People was the lack of a plot. It’s the same with Beautiful World, there just isn’t much of a plot. I think Beautiful World ended on a much better note than Normal People. Rooney’s work is (whether we like it or not) painfully relatable. Real-life often doesn’t have a plot, and it just meanders on. So does Beautiful World, which in my opinion is a great use of not having a plot. Sometimes you just need a book that meanders on, with no real purpose other than to showcase the lives we ordinary humans lead.
I won’t pretend to be very knowledgeable about literature, but this book struck a chord with me. I loved it, I hated it, I highly recommend it.
Chat with me about Beautiful World, Where Are You
Did you enjoy Beautiful World, Where Are You?
Enjoy my content? Please consider supporting me!
Pin This!
One thought on “5 Reasons to Read Beautiful World Where Are You”
Comments are closed.