❥ Thank you for the book gifts, Crown Publishing. Thank you for the free audiobooks, PRH Audio. Aoife McMahon did a lovely job narrating both stories.
Ahead of next month’s release of Rooney’s newest book, Intermezzo, the publisher sent me this pretty book sleeve and two older, popular Rooney titles. Please check trigger warnings, as several difficult topics and situations are included. Both books feature flawed people, realistic dialogue, and some relatable situations. While the books felt heavy, they were also masterfully written.
Conversations with Friends
Frances is a coolheaded and darkly observant young woman, vaguely pursuing a career in writing while studying in Dublin. Her best friend is the beautiful and endlessly self-possessed Bobbi. At a local poetry performance one night, they meet a well-known photographer, and as the girls are then gradually drawn into her world, Frances is reluctantly impressed by the older woman’s sophisticated home and handsome husband, Nick. But however amusing Frances and Nick’s flirtation seems at first, it begins to give way to a strange—and then painful—intimacy.
This book illustrates the angers of youth, and the messy edges of female friendship. Gold star for queer rep!
Normal People
Connell and Marianne grew up in the same small town, but the similarities end there. At school, Connell is popular and well liked, while Marianne is a loner. But when the two strike up a conversation—awkward but electrifying—something life changing begins.
A year later, they’re both studying at Trinity College in Dublin. Marianne has found her feet in a new social world while Connell hangs at the sidelines, shy and uncertain. Throughout their years at university, Marianne and Connell circle one another, straying toward other people and possibilities but always magnetically, irresistibly drawn back together. And as she veers into self-destruction and he begins to search for meaning elsewhere, each must confront how far they are willing to go to save the other.
This book covers themes of identity, friendship, and young love. Rooney captures the loneliness of growing up and the desire to feel understood by peers. Gold star for counseling rep!