“They really cannot tell the difference between someone they have heard of, and someone they personally know.” (p. 328). Kindle Edition.
Sally Rooney is intriguing, and her prose is undoubtedly engaging, relatable, and thought-provoking. While reading about thirtysomethings Alice, Felix, Eileen, and Simon, I repeatedly thought about my interactions with millennials. Live in the moment! Be wary of commitment. Don’t honor the institutions of your parents. Make every conversation political. Honor gender roles if they are convenient; if not, show how senseless they are. Religion is pointless. Sexual orientation is fluid. Relationships can be fleeting or lifelong. Meetups and hookups are ordinary life. Social media prevails. If these are millennial mantras, then Rooney has captured them well in her characters.
Alice Kelleher, a best-selling author, hates herself and her fame. However, she is proud of her ability to intimidate others. She meets Felix on Tinder, and although their first “date” is a failure, she invites him to accompany her on a business trip to Rome. Rooney touches upon professionals’ fine line between business and personal lives but emphasizes the precarious nature of Alice’s psyche and ability to have live relationships. Throughout the book, Alice communicates via email with Eileen, her former roommate and current best friend. The email exchanges between them include intimate details of their lives and much thoughtful philosophical banter about the world: politics, religion, capitalism, etc. The emails contain some of the book’s best writing, and besides highlighting Rooney’s craft, the characters reveal their innermost thoughts through these beautifully written prose pieces.
Eileen Lydon has a longtime friend named Simon, whom she has been in love with since she was fifteen years old. He is five years older than she is. Simon seems to also be in love with Eileen, but communicating their honest feelings seems difficult for both of them. Simon’s Catholicism and belief in God seem to be a significant obstacle for Eileen since she views his faith as a sign of weakness. The author explores the difficulties of a platonic relationship, especially when good friends choose to become lovers. Eileen and Simon have to work through the plusses and minuses and weigh the risks of allowing romance to ruin their friendship. Of course, since Eileen is a copy editor for a magazine and in a dead-end job making little money, there are questions about whether she is comfortable allowing Simon, who has a lucrative career, to provide for her. Will this arrangement lessen her sense of self and fulfillment?
The four main characters’ interactions could be analyzed ad infinitum. I strongly suggest you join the discussion.
