‘Beautiful world, where are you?’ by Sally Rooney is about four Irish people in their late twenties/early thirties and their relationships with each other, as friends and lovers. Alice is a successful novelist and her best friend is Eileen, though they haven’t seen each other in ages and communicate by email. The book starts with Alice meeting Felix, a warehouse worker, via a dating app, whilst Eileen reconnects with childhood friend Simon. Some of the characters are a bit adrift and trying to find their way in life.

There were times in this book when I really didn’t really care for these characters. as they had a tendency to be a bit whiny and self centered. But it’s testament to Sally Rooney’s talent that I became completely absorbed by this book and their lives. As you’d expect if you are a fan of ‘Normal people’ or ‘Conversations with friends’, it’s beautifully observed and the dialogue in particular is a joy. Rooney has a perfect ear.

‘The world is crumbling’

Eileen at one stage says that it seems decadent to invest so much energy into relationships and sex, whilst the world is crumbling. And although she has denied it, maybe this is a concern of Rooney’s (Alice, also a novelist, cannot read contemporary novels, written by ‘people who go away and write their sensitive novels about ordinary life, even though they know nothing about it’). Given her level of fame, you wonder are we seeing any of the authors own concerns about becoming a cloistered writer? And yet, Eileen says, maybe the whole point of life is to love and worry about people. Until humans have attained a higher plane of existence and direct all of their energy to these existential questions, maybe that will continue to be the main concern of humans. Like the fixation of the characters, maybe the important thing is just to live and be with other people.

There are big issues discussed in the emails between Alice and Eileen, which I enjoyed. It allowed access to the characters deeper thoughts and I took my time with these sections as there’s a lot of ideas. Rooney has described herself as a Marxist, so it’s no surprise that we get topics such as the end of history, bronze age collapse, the fluidity of relationships and sexuality. And mental health is also a factor for some of the characters. There’s one fantastic sequence where two characters days are laid side by side, and we look at the division of labour and consider how each fills their day, the fulfullment or lack thereof.

In another email that I found interesting, religion pops up, in relation to Simon. One character wonders whether that older form of worship that was present in Ireland would be anathema to todays generation and whether they could even begin to understand that level of idolatary of someone not themselves

‘Fluidity of Relationships’

One of the things I really enjoyed was the fluidity of relationships depicted, the shifting sands. the changing dynamics. After one character hears another saying that they love them, you can tell the change in them just from the descriptions that follow. Such strong, supple writing. There were times when tension was cranking up in a scene, just a chat between two of the characters, and I almost felt I wanted to leave the room, such was the awkwardness. You can feel the pauses, the spaces at the end of sentences. Another quality of the writing was Rooney’s ability to zoom out and give us a wider perspective of the world these people inhabitated. Such control.

I have read the criticism that nothing happens in the book, but I do think that misses the point a bit. I think by the end of the book a lot has happened to these characters, to their worlds. For me, plot can be overrated, and I’m saying that as someone who loves a good page turner as much as the next reader. But there’s also many a book where you can speed through the pages to see what happens and be content with the outcome but a week later will you remember anything about the characters or how the novel made you feel? Much like some fast food from the chipper might satisfy an immediate hunger, a lovingly prepared meal eaten over a longer period will surely provide more nourishment.

Like I say, at times I didn’t really care for the characters in ‘beautiful world, where are you? as they annoyed and frustrated me. And it’s rare for me to enjoy a book where I’m not invested in at least one character. But it seems irrelevant with this novel as these people and their lives seemed so real, and like us all, they are complex. Things aren’t black and white, but grey - life is full of misunderstandings and miscommunications. We hide many parts of ourselves from each other, even those we love the most.

One of the best compliments I can pay ‘Beautiful world where are you?’ is the speed at which I read it – slowly. A chapter a night was enough to let it linger with me. I savoured this book and I can’t wait to see what Sally Rooney does next.

You’ll like this book if….you enjoy a slow burning beautifully written novel about modern love and friendship.

Book review - Beautiful world, where are you? by Sally Rooney

Faber and Faber

337 Pages

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