It’s been quite a while since you’ve heard anything from me, more than a year in fact. I’m currently in the middle of studying law, which is quite time-consuming and haven’t had the chance to read as many books as I would have liked to. I did manage to read some during the summer, and one has stood out in particular: Beautiful World, Where are you by Sally Rooney. It marks the third book I’ve read and loved written by the young Irish author. Rather than writing a review (it’s been a couple of months, so maybe better like this!), I’d like to share why I love her books and what makes them so special for me.
First and foremost, her writing style is absolutely unusual. Not marking any spoken words is something that you have to get used to when first reading a book and something that was a bit off-putting for me at the beginning. But something about the so very close to reality dialogue, with often not much said, short sentences, no explanation and an uncomfortable feeling while reading matches her style perfectly. Her characters are no people that give big speeches, that say something poetic, but rather ordinary people like you and me.
In contrast to the characters’ dialogue in her latest book being short and simple, the email exchanges between Alice and Eileen were full of deep, poetic and meaningful thoughts and quite a nice match to the actual story. The back and forth between the mail exchanges and the actual plot was a pleasant surprise, with the mails being deep and making you think (for me rather overthinking at some point), and then the story making you laugh and rooting for Alice and Simon.
Her characters never felt like what you would describe straight out of a movie, but rather like any random person she picked out, with an ordinary life and problems like any other person. That was probably why I could always relate to her writing in a powerful way that I’ve never experienced before. The struggles of going to university, meeting new people and finding your own identity away from your hometown and the people you were surrounded by in high school. The thoughts of having to find the purpose of life at a young age, of having to figure out your own path and the pressure of getting your life together all while finding love, making new friends.
The setting was always Dublin, the French or Irish country side and I love that she stuck to her hometown and made it a theme. I’ve never been to Dublin, but the way she describes it makes me want to visit. She is not a writer that describes a scenery in excruciating detail, but that was something quite refreshing to me.
Last but not least – although it doesn’t have anything to do with the books in particular – I love the mini series adaptions. I read Conversation with Friends and Normal People quite a while ago, so couldn’t remember all the plot details. But the characters were like I imagined them to be, the scenery fitting and the stories gripping.
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