Reviews with content warning for Emotional abuse - Gespräche mit Freunden

my second go with Sally Rooney (first being Normal People), and this time was much more enjoyable. nowhere near as bleak and depressing, but still very emotional. i found the narrator’s desperate need for validation relatable; me too girlie. really well plotted. don’t be fooled by the title though: it’s a lot of internal monologue and more about the conversations that didn’t happen than the ones that did.

i have to comment on the US cover, especially for the audiobook (storygraph shows a different one but you can see what i’m talking about here: https://m.media-amazon.com/images/I/41DTekX2n4L._SL500_.jpg). first of all, i don’t mind the composition but i dislike the art style, its flatness and lifelessness when this book is all about complex characters. but what really bothers me is that i think some other artist was given the task of adapting the cover art to a square aspect ratio for the audiobook, and literally copied, pasted, and mirrored the original tightly-cropped faces, adding in the nose bits. because, why are they so symmetrical?? why are their facial features so small?? it’s firmly in the uncanny valley. shoutout to the Danish cover, though, so pretty: https://app.thestorygraph.com/books/0bf9c4f3-3123-4d7b-a6b5-8955ff06e5f6
edit: the Russian hardcover is also beautiful: https://app.thestorygraph.com/books/183d6a3b-d207-4cfb-aa9e-e36bc6df3f84

Content Warnings

matthewslaura's review against another edition

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emotional reflective sad medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.0

I really liked Normal People, so this book was lackluster in comparison. I didn’t enjoy the characters but was still interested in what happened to them. I also hated the amount of miscommunication, but it feels like reality and how people have a tendency to make assumptions. While the story wasn’t great, it did make me think a lot of interesting questions about society and our relationships with others. I’m probably going to donate my physical copy to the library or something since I don’t see myself rereading this.

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inlaraland's review against another edition

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reflective medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? No
Loveable characters? No
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.0

I was recommended to try out reading "Conversations With Friends" or "Normal People" because I didn't have the best reading experience with "Beautiful World, Where Are You?" and was told that these books were much better!

I actually found myself more invested in this story, I was really interested to see how the messy drama would play out between all the characters. Although, I still have mixed feelings about this book.

Miscommunication is the main source of conflict in this story, and while it's not a trope that bothers me, I found myself getting really frustrated with the characters with every chapter. There were points to this story that really sparked my interest but overall, everything fell very flat for me in the end. Another thing that I also disliked in this book was the characters. I found them to be unlikeable, and there was no development between any of them or their relationships. I don't know if that was intentional to highlight some of the themes in this book, but they all just kind of read like empty shells.

However, I will say that as an overall reading experience I did enjoy reading this book more than
"Beautiful World, Where Are You?". I thought the writing was a lot better, the story more linear and the plot a lot more engaging.

I personally don't think the author's writing style is for me, but I wouldn't steer anyone from reading her works - it's definitely one of those books that you have to read to see if you will enjoy, and I think that depends on your preferences as a reader.

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andreapepsii's review against another edition

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emotional lighthearted reflective sad slow-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

2.5

I’ll admit it, I’m not Sally Rooney’s target audience. I don’t relate to her characters, I get annoyed at them for trying to be so much “unlike everyone else” but just like everyone else at the same time and their conversation usually bore me whenever they don’t revolve about their relationships (and even then they sometimes do).
But there’s one thing I have to say positively about her and it’s that she can write a mood. This book sustains and captures its desired tone, mood and scenery amazingly, which is why it manages to sneak those 3 stars.
I wish I could relate more to her stories and characters because I would love them. Unfortunately though, I do not care for her characters, which ultimately makes me not fully enjoy the book.
I enjoyed this more than Normal People even though I probably understood it less. I also feel she copied a lot from it to Normal People which probably makes me like it even less. But enough about Normal People, this is Conversations with Friends and I’ve already talked too much about it anyway. Off to the next book!

Content Warnings

anneklein's review against another edition

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dark sad tense fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

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