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ClareR (5726 KP) rated Conversations With Friends in Books

Oct 28, 2019

Conversations With Friends

Sally Rooney | 2017 | Fiction & Poetry

6.3

(4 Ratings)

Book Rating

Frances is a student in Dublin who performs her poetry with her ex-girlfriend Bobbi. They meet Melissa, a journalist and photographer, at one of their shows and she befriends them. When they go back to her house they meet her husband, Nick, and Frances goes on to start an affair with him.

Frances seems to be a very unapproachable person. She doesn’t give OF herself, but expects everyone to respond towards her with love. Which must be hard work. Her youth really comes across when she talks about never wanting to work and not wanting or needing money - and then later her father stops paying her allowance. She realises then just what having no money is really like. There are other hints at her mental state. She talks about self-harming, and she seems reluctant to talk to either Bobbi or Nick about her feelings for them (my theory is that her parents separation is responsible for this). She’s not a particularly likeable character, and writing this has made me realise that I actually seem to like books where the main characters just aren’t particularly nice. Perhaps I just want to see why people are like this?

Anyway, I listened to this on Audible as I read along (when I could), and I really liked the narrator, Aoife McMahon. She’s engaging, has a really nice voice and there was never any doubt in my mind that she was a good choice. She really made this book for me.

I can see why there was such a buzz around this book when it first came out, because I enjoyed it too!