The earnestness of her characters and their tame exploration of social and political progressiveness captivated readers, earning Rooney the title “Voice of A Generation.” In her third book and newest release, Beautiful World, Where Are You, Rooney once again narrates the lives of people-distinctly men and women-interacting and engaging in their overlapping relationships.

After the pandemic year that we’ve had, this message is something we all could stand to hear.Millennial Irish author, Sally Rooney, took the literary world by storm when her sophomore novel, Normal People, rose to popularity in 2019. Ultimately, Beautiful World, Where Are You is a slow-paced, character-driven story about finding hope in a world that is often hopeless. While this made it a bit difficult to get close to the characters, it allowed for a concurrent look at each character’s life, which masterfully illustrated their class and wealth disparities. Outside of the emails, Beautiful World, Where Are You is told by an omniscient, 3rd person narrator. They were are also where Rooney’s writing on relationships in the digital age was able to shine: from checking up on exes and their new partners, endlessly scrolling even though you know it makes you feel bad, questioning each text you send, and the anxiety behind each message let on ‘seen,’ Sally Rooney very much captured the millenial dating experience. The emails to/from Eileen that sandwiched each chapter were beautiful, vulnerable, and insightful, and I would have loved to read this as an entirely epistolary novel.Įileen was much more likeable than Alice, and I preferred her chapters. I didn’t care about her relationship with Felix – in fact, I found it troubling – but her relationship with Eileen is what kept me reading. I found this to be more relatable than Normal People (which I did not enjoy) and Conversations with Friends (which I liked well enough), though – the characters were closer to my age and the climate anxiety which permeated their conversations about life and love mirrored my own concerns about the state of the world and my future in it.Īlice, the novelist, was clearly a self-insert for the author, complete with a disdain for fame. In typical Sally Rooney fashion, Beautiful World, Where Are You explores sex, friendship, and relationships alongside philosophical musings and discussions about class consciousness. “Of course, in the midst of everything, the state of the world being what it is, humanity on the cusp of extinction, here I am writing another email about sex and friendship.

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