Trigger Warning: Self-harm, Sexual assault, Domestic Abuse
Right before we started Hiranmaya and maybe even a reason we started it, I raved about Normal People to Meera: both the book and show. Sally Rooney captured intimacy to a different level, so raw and emotional and real that I believed in the power of words once again. Also, as someone who has dealt with mental health issues for the majority of my life, Rooney uses this subject matter as a major issue and not just as a throwaway detail. Needless to say, Conversations with Friends, Rooney’s first novel, was at the top of my list.
Conversations with Friends follows Frances and her best friend/ex-girlfriend, Bobbi, two college students who befriend a wealthy, exciting couple and with whom they form complicated, passionate relationships. The book has an interesting take on adultery, viewing it from Frances’s eyes as she engages in a relationship with the husband, Nick. It also dives deep into the emotional trauma that Frances has faced in her lifetime and how she copes, or rather does not cope, with these issues.
Rooney does such a great job making the reader read in between the lines of text to look at the deeper intentions of these characters.
She makes this easy by having created very well developed characters that are utterly human.
The informality with which she writes her novels, without punctuation surrounding dialogue, makes the reading experience more intimate. What I specifically loved about the novel was that the significance of the title came to me after finishing the book. From afar, the book may seem as though it is about Frances’s romantic relationship with Nick.
However, up close, it discusses how different people are in friendships with other people; almost indicative of how you don’t have to be the same person with everyone.
Another key factor of this book was mental health and I truly appreciate how Rooney uses it as a real force in her novels. Here are real characters that are struggling with real mental health issues; it showcases how forceful and directing these problems can be in a person’s life.
I absolutely loved Conversations with Friends and would recommend it if you’re looking for something exciting but also subdued. I know that sounds complicated but this book is also that way. As always, let us know what you think and happy reading!