Sally Rooney’s Beautiful World, Where Are You

Released on 7 September 2021, Sally Rooney’s Beautiful World, Where are You is her third, much anticipated, novel. Following the storm of Rooney’s second novel Normal People – a book about the intense relationship/friendship between two young people as they navigate their late teens and early twenties, which has been made into a hit TV adaptation that many devoured during last year’s first lockdown – Rooney’s latest novel has certainly been placed at the height of expectation. But does it live up to the hype?

Certainly, the book seems to have gripped readers, with The Guardian reporting that it has – perhaps unsurprisingly – topped book charts in its first week of sales. It also, in my opinion, does live up to the Rooney hype if you are a previous fan of her books (I devoured the book in less than 24 hours which ultimately does tell you something about the book that grips the reader!), but if you have never read a book by Rooney, then her writing style may take a while to get used to. For instance, Rooney does not use speech marks in her writing, but once the reader has begun reading, then this is something they quickly become accustomed to.

So, what is Beautiful World, Where are You actually about? Similarly to Rooney’s other books, it has a less specific plot, than say a thriller might have (if you are interested in reading more about thrillers, the two previous blog posts – one about the genre of thrillers and the other about Neil Root’s Covering Darkness: Writing True Crime – can be found by clicking the hyperlink). This novel explores the complex interactions between people. Specifically, the plot focuses on the friendships of four people – Felix, Eileen, Alice and Simon – all in their late twenties to early thirties, and how they navigate the world around them. Perhaps one of the most beautifully complicated parts of the book is the series of email exchanges between Alice and Eileen, who have been friends since university. Within their email exchanges which punctuate the narrative, everything from philosophy to the state of the environment is explored in a brilliantly clever way which Sally Rooney has honed to perfection.

If you are yet to give Rooney a try – or are a seasoned fan of her novels, having read both her first book Conversations with Friends and, of course, the more famous Normal People – Beautiful World, Where Are You is definitely worth a read. Let us know what you think, if you do delve into the world of Sally Rooney’s novels.