Ep 20 | BOOKS UP CLOSE | Sally Rooney, Conversations with Friends + Normal People
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- เผยแพร่เมื่อ 10 ก.พ. 2025
- Episode 20 of BOOKS UP CLOSE is here!
Dr Chris Lloyd reviews Sally Rooney's two novels: Conversations with Friends (2017) and Normal People (2018).
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Thank you for perfectly putting into words my thoughts on Rooney's books. I really enjoyed both reads, but afterwards I just didn't really care about the characters. One of my biggest pet peeves in literature is what I like to call "fake deepness", where the book appears to say a lot on important and existential themes, but beneath the surface not much is actually being said. You are told that these characters struggle with adult life, self worth, relationships and communication, but when you look closer, it's hard to tell /why/ they do. Also, the white, anorectic, self-harming woman who is beautiful but in an unorthodox way may be relatable to many millenials, but imo the trope is getting pretty old pretty fast. That was a long comment just to say that I completely agree with your review.
Thanks for this Katinka! Am always worried when I dislike a book that everyone else seemed to love... But yes, 'fake deepness' is a great way to put it. And yes, so much more to say about the representation of women and beauty and sexuality. Thanks for watching and replying 😀
So glad you said this. I started Conversations with Friends and gave up, it just didn't grab me at all and again I didn't care at all about the characters. Don't think I'll bother with Normal People.
Ha! Thanks Jennifer. NP is definitely the better book, but maybe don't rush to read it...
I didn't enjoy Conversations as much as I had hoped. So many people were talking about it and praising the writing style. I agree with you - I also thought there was too much 'tell' and too little 'show' in the book. Also, I didn't find any of the characters likeable and was not very invested in what was happening to them. I am not sure if I will read Normal People.
Thanks for responding! I do think NP is better than the first (and a video about the new book is coming soon!)
Yes, the book was a huge let down. A female friend and I both wondered what it was that we were missing. The characters were self-centred and flatly written, the plotting was just not believable and the cop-out ending had me wanting to fling the book against the wall. A much hyped writer who doesn't do it for me, gets just that one chance, no more. No more Rooney, and no more Ann Patchett after Bel Canto. No thanks, ladies, I'll take Bernadine Evaristo or Hillary Mantell instead.
@@tonybennett4159 I gave Rooney another try and read Normal People a few weeks ago. I liked it much better than Conversations. I found the characters to be more complex and I was really interested in what was happening to them. But Rooney's writing style was pretty much the same, so I'm not sure if you'd enjoy it. Still, if you are wondering whether to give Rooney another chance, then do it by reading NP. :-)
@@nicekaiken That may well be true, but there are still so many great writers, that I KNOW are great writers because of the titles I've already finished, whose books I look forward to reading. More Margaret Atwood, more Willa Cather, even good writers like Pat Barker, Kate Grenville, Madeline Miller are going to be more deserving of my time. I'm too long in the tooth to be overly generous to the Rooneys of the world!
I liked Conversations with Friends more because it wasn't as stressful as Normal people and I liked the representation of bisexuality in it.
Ha yes 'stressful' is a good word to describe it (and the characters)! Thanks for watching
Great review!
Thank you for watching!
Yes!! I feel the same way, for me it was a sort of ambient reading. The books were very readable, but lacked any true substance.
'Ambient reading' is such a good phrase! Thank you for watching!
Thank you so much for saying that you kind of did not care for the characters by the end of the book, Normal People. I also could not connect with the two characters; even though I tried my best. There really was nothing beneath the surface. Very eloquent reviews once again. Thank you.
Thanks for watching Niraj! Nice to hear your thoughts too.