The last of my summer reads to be completed. I've been dragging my heels on this one.
Conversations With Friends | Sally Rooney
Frances and Bobbi and Melissa and Nick are friends. They meander about Dublin, Ireland - and sometimes the south of France - and they talk. A lot.
Of course, complications ensue. Frances and Bobbi had a sweet teenage lesbian love affair in their high school days, but that's over now. Still they are uni besties and perform spoken word poetry together. Frances writes all their material but worries that Bobbi has the stronger presence on stage. Hmm.
They encounter Melissa, a well-known writer who wants to do a piece on their artistry, and when they meet, she often brings along her gorgeously handsome and borderline broody actor husband, Nick. Wagging tongues tell that all is not well in the marriage; at the very least, they sleep in different rooms. Hmm.
Melissa and Nick are an easy ten years older than Frances and Bobbi, which raises eyebrows among their other friends. But the four are drawn to one another in strange ways, and tensions rise as their individual relationships strain the fabric of their overall friendship. What holds them together is their deep devotion to conversation. They talk. A lot.
There's little action in this plot. Oh sure, there's a skinny dipping episode and a couple emergency trips to the hospital, but mostly our four main characters exchange email, chat on the phone, and meet for a series of endless meals and coffee dates filled with endless conversation.
They talk. A lot.
Rooney's distinctive dialog drives the story forward; love it or hate it, her style of verbal lunges and parries is what sets this book apart.
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Last night, I emptied a box of fresh strawberries into a colander, placed it under a gentle stream of cool water, and began sorting through the slightly overripe fruit.
One by one, I picked up each beautiful berry, for they all looked as perfect as can be, and gave it a soft squeeze between my fingertips. Some were still firm and fresh, but most were not. Their sweet red flesh collapsed into balls of mush, and under the stream of water, dissolved down the drain. I watched in horror as one, ten, twenty, probably thirty berries fell to nothing beneath my fingers, and all I could do was remind myself that they were rotten from the start.
This is exactly how I feel about Frances and Bobbi, Melissa and Nick. They look pretty on the outside - or so our author insists - but under the slightest bit of pressure, they turn to mush and quickly slide down the drain. I can only conclude that they were rotten from the start.
What is left behind is a book full of pretentious and tedious sniping and sarcasm, which may amuse some readers but leaves me feeling tired and bored. Once again, Rooney leads her characters to blithely normalize any number of mental health issues - self-harm, disordered eating, and body dysmorphia, just to name a few - and that makes me mad. At least the author uses her platform to spread awareness about the relatively common but rarely discussed condition of endometriosis and for that reason alone, I appreciate this book.
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When I write about books I've read, I normally enjoy finding quotes
that demonstrate the touch and feel of the book,
that bring out what I like best about the work,
that put a smile on my face.
As I searched for quotes to light up this review, I considered several dozen. And each one of them set my teeth on edge and brought back the full force of my annoyance with this book.
So down here, at the very bottom of the page where hopefully they will cause no harm, I will dredge up just a few eye roll-worthy examples.
"He was the first person I had met since Bobbi who made me enjoy conversation, in the same irrational and sensuous way I enjoyed coffee or loud music."
"Is it possible we could develop an alternative model of loving each other?"
"This could only interfere with my other ambitions, such as achieving enlightenment and being a fun girl."
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Hey! Wanna read more about the books I've read in 2022? Check these out:
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For a full list of books I've read in the past few years, click here:
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