Frances is 21 years old, works at a job she is not at all engaged with and almost would seem to prefer to not have, goes to college, and performs her spoken word poetry with her best friend/ex-girlfriend Bobbi at night. The latter has gotten enough attention to draw into their orbit Melissa, a 30something writer and photographer who wants to profile them, and her husband Nick, a working actor who has found only minor success. While Melissa and Bobbi hit it off, Frances and Nick develop a connection of their own and it’s not too long before they wind up in bed together. This doesn’t feel like a spoiler, as it is very obvious that it’s going to end up there. This obviously has reverberations for Frances’s relationships with both Bobbi and Melissa. Sally Rooney is one of those authors that has a devoted following, so I was really excited to start reading her work with this, her debut novel. But if I’m being honest, I didn’t really understand the fuss. This is a character book, which I’m inclined to like, but without a character I found compelling. Frances is a frustrating protagonist. Not because she’s aimless or sleeps with someone else’s husband or is trying to figure out who she is, but because she’s just not very interesting while she’s doing all of that. I didn’t find her unlikeable, I just found her boring. I found myself wondering why and even if I was supposed to care about her or her connections with Nick, Bobbi, and Melissa. I had a hard time understanding how a person seemingly so empty and detached could write poetry that was engaging enough to get anyone’s attention. What kept my interest was the quality of the prose. Rooney’s writing is subtle, and she has a real knack for dialogue and descriptions. Her words are clearly deliberately chosen but she never slides into flowery language. Her use of language alone makes me want to read her other books, but I hope they’re better than this one. ( )

An intense relationship between a young writer and an older man set against the background of literary Dublin and Trinity College. ( )

Absolutely loved "Normal People." But could not force myself to finish this. Wanted to smack all of the characters and tell them about ethical non-monogamy. And if several of the main characters are supposed to have left wing views how could that not come up in convo or cross someone's mind? But I guess ethical non-monogamy done well is no way to drive a plot? ( )

oh this was everything...beautifully unlikable characters in the most lovable sense, messy exes, dramatic affairs, ambiguous open ending...feels like it was made just for me ( )

Mark the date: 1 December 2019. On this day, I am giving 5 stars to a book, written in the last five years, by a novelist I'd never read before.

Miracles happen. ( )