Beautiful World, Where Are You

Just finished “Beautiful World, Where Are You” by Sally Rooney, and honestly, it's a bit of a mixed bag.

First off, it took me a while to get into it. The first 50 pages were a bit of a slog, but once I connected with the characters, things picked up. Rooney's got a knack for creating interesting people – I found myself really invested in their stories and struggles.

Now, let's talk about the elephant in the room: the social and political commentary. Look, I get what Rooney's trying to do, showing how these characters think about the world and all. But man, it felt so disconnected from the actual story. Every time it popped up, it yanked me right out of the plot. Not a fan of how that was handled.

Character-wise, Eileen and Simon's relationship had me hooked. Alice and Felix? Not so much. Felt like their romance needed more deapth.

The book's structure was pretty cool – switching between regular chapters and emails. Never seen that before, but it worked for me.

Gotta say, some of the themes hit close to home. The loneliness, the feeling that no one likes you, wondering if you could do better in life – yeah, I felt that. Made the characters super relatable.

In the end, I'd give it 3.5 out of 5 stars. The characters and relatable themes pulled it up, but the distracting social commentary knocked it down a peg.

Would I read more Rooney? Maybe. I've got “Normal People” sitting on my shelf, so I'll probably give that a go. But if it's packed with the same kind of disjointed social commentary, I might have to call it quits on Rooney after that.

Bottom line: It's a decent read if you're into character-driven stories and don't mind some philosophical musings thrown in. Just be prepared for some random societal deep dives that might throw you off your reading groove.