Reviews tagging 'Medical content'

Gespräche mit Freunden by Sally Rooney

220 reviews

doramak's review against another edition

funny lighthearted reflective relaxing medium-paced

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

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Alcoholism, Infidelity, Self harm, Sexual content, Medical content, and Toxic friendship

shaleen64's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional hopeful reflective sad medium-paced

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

3.75

Sally Rooney’s debut is no different to her other works in the sense that she creates fully realised and relatable characters. 

Whilst not a traditional romance, the book is an exploration of modern relationships. It is thought provoking, frustrating and relatable. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Infidelity

Moderate: Chronic illness, Self harm, Suicidal thoughts, Toxic relationship, and Medical content

Minor: Infertility and Pregnancy

bowelhaus's review against another edition

emotional tense 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

4.25

Funny and full of drama. The characters feel like real people and you’re the normal friend listening to them tell you how they’re fucking up their lives.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Chronic illness, Infertility, Infidelity, Panic attacks/disorders, Self harm, Sexual content, Suicidal thoughts, Medical content, Pregnancy, Gaslighting, and Toxic friendship

lumew2's review against another edition

emotional funny lighthearted tense 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

4.0

idk how i started liking the characters by the end but i did. good god. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Chronic illness, Infidelity, Self harm, Sexual content, Toxic relationship, Blood, Medical content, Toxic friendship, and Injury/Injury detail

Moderate: Cursing, Vomit, and Alcohol

Minor: Addiction, Lesbophobia, and Classism

manukahoney_reads's review against another edition

emotional reflective medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Chronic illness and Mental illness

Moderate: Alcoholism, Self harm, and Medical content

Minor: Miscarriage and Police brutality

caitlynburns2007's review against another edition

dark emotional sad slow-paced

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

2.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Eating disorder, Infertility, Mental illness, Self harm, Sexual content, Suicidal thoughts, Medical content, and Injury/Injury detail

jeffgoldblumsbeats's review against another edition

3.5

ack once again sally rooney exposes my inability to deal with conflict even in character form - well written, hard to read as the characters are flawed and human

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Chronic illness, Infidelity, Self harm, and Medical content

nineinchnails's review against another edition

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? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

frances was painfully relatable and i really loved her despite all the secondhand embarrassment and frustration. i definitely came out of it confused and conflicted on how to feel about nick but at least i don’t completely loathe him! for now this is tied with normal people but i’m not sure if it’ll measure up beyond the short term since i really loved normal people.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Infidelity and Mental illness

Moderate: Chronic illness, Self harm, Sexual content, Medical content, Toxic friendship, and Classism

Minor: Infertility, Miscarriage, Suicidal thoughts, Vomit, and Police brutality

Body dysmorphia

withlivjones's review against another edition

reflective slow-paced

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

4.5

My first time reading a Sally Rooney book didn’t disappoint! This is a powerful debut that perfectly reflects what it means to be in your early twenties: making a lot of bad decisions. I would probably find Frances (the protagonist) insufferable if I didn’t relate to her so damn much, from her tendency to close off and snap at people when given the opportunity to be vulnerable, to her having a panic attack about the inevitable heat death of the universe. Books like this can be difficult to read because the main characters show us the worst parts of ourselves, the parts that we don’t necessarily want to address. Every single character is complex and flawed and very interesting. Sally Rooney’s writing is incredible, she has a very “show don’t tell” approach with a focus on the small details that make up the big picture. I do feel like the book could’ve been a little shorter as it lost steam a bit in the final chapters, but I really enjoyed my first venture into her novels and I look forward to reading more! 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Chronic illness

Moderate: Mental illness, Self harm, and Medical content

theliteraryteapot's review against another edition

fast-paced

• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

2.0

I have absolutely zero tolerance when it comes to adultery so obviously this was not a book for me. Yes, I understand the characters are meant to be very flawed and all that stuff. Okay and then what? It certainly didn't feel like any of them grew out of this. No character development whatsover and they all need therapy. Reading about privileged wealthy and culturally bourgeois white characters is not much interesting to me. They are left-leaning but their political discussions felt so very performative (reminding me of people patting themselves on the back after watching the tv show Dear White People). I've seen people debating on Rooney's writing style and I don't get why? There's nothing to say to it, it's easy to read and very accessible.

Although I have endometriosis, I don't think I can judge the representation that much because it can manifest in many different ways from one person to another. The only thing (maybe I'm nitpicking here), is that no you don't necessarily need a surgery to confirm a diagnosis, an mri scan is enough. And no, endometriosis is not just painful periods and infertility, it's so much more, there are so many other symptoms and different types of pain (outside periods and ovulations).
It's funny because on paper, Frances could have been my representation: bi, endometriosis, poetess, studying literature, financially struggling (except for the fact her uncle owns her apartment), and yet... Nothing worked for me. It's just not for me.

I'm glad it got me out of a reading slump and I'm glad to see endometriosis more in fiction. That's it.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Alcoholism, Chronic illness, Mental illness, Self harm, Sexual content, Suicidal thoughts, Toxic relationship, Blood, Vomit, Alcohol, and Classism

Moderate: Medical content

Minor: Adult/minor relationship, Miscarriage, Pedophilia, and Pregnancy