Some books find you at just the right moment, and this one quite literally landed in my lap. I was sitting outside reading Normal People (I think for the third time) when my neighbor noticed, and we got to talking.
We both agreed that Normal People had this quiet, devastating impact on us, and before I knew it, she was running inside and coming back out with Beautiful World, Where Are You? in hand. I truly love the spirit of fellow readers.
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Going into this book, I wasn’t sure what to expect. Mainly because I didn’t read a single thing about the story, but also because of the author. Sally Rooney has a way of writing about love and relationships that isn’t always conventionally romantic, and as someone mentally trapped in a “happily ever after” headspace, I’m always rooting for love.
“Maybe we’re just born to love and worry about the people we know, and to go on loving and worrying even when there are more important things we should be doing.”
Sally Rooney, Beautiful World, Where Are You
Is It Casual?
Alice and Felix have their complicated, messy relationship, and Eileen and Simon have this lifelong, will-they-won’t-they tension. By coincidence, I had Chappell Roan’s Casual on repeat all week while reading this (I blame the Grammys—loved her performance), and honestly, it kind of fits.
The song’s mix of longing, frustration, and the question of whether something is ‘casual’ or something more reminded me of both Eileen and Alice—especially in those moments when they were hoping for a deeper emotional response that never quite came.
The push-and-pull in Beautiful World, Where Are You? definitely mirrors some of the emotional contradictions in Casual—the questioning of whether something is more meaningful than it’s being labeled.
The “I try to be the chill girl But honestly, I’m not”—ultimately not being okay with casual detachment? That’s so Eileen at certain points.
Unspoken Expectations
The novel follows Alice, a successful but emotionally fragile writer, and Eileen, her best friend who is stuck between nostalgia for her past and dissatisfaction with her present. They mainly communicate through emails, which are packed with musings on love and the state of the world.
Meanwhile, they’re both navigating their own relationships—Alice with Felix, an emotionally closed-off warehouse worker, and Eileen with Simon, a childhood friend who has been a constant presence in her life.
“Tenderly, it seemed almost painfully, they smiled at one another, saying nothing, and their questions were the same, am I the one you think about, when we made love were you happy, have I hurt you, do you love me, will you always.”
Sally Rooney, Beautiful World, Where Are You
For me, Eileen’s storyline was the one that resonated the hardest. At times, I felt like Rooney had plucked thoughts straight from my head and placed them on the page.
Eileen’s tendency to create narratives in her mind, expecting people to react or behave a certain way without actually voicing what she wants—it was painfully relatable. I’ve been there, and reading about Eileen’s inner world made me reflect on how easy it is to feel disappointed by unspoken expectations.
No Bows, Just Life
The ending didn’t shock me, but it still surprised me. Again, I tend to live in a happily-ever-after headspace, so I fully expected (or at least wanted) Eileen and Simon to end up together. But with Rooney, you can absolutely never, ever be sure.
Even when she gives you the outcome you’re hoping for, it doesn’t come wrapped in this picture-perfect bow. And even with a pregnancy in the mix, it didn’t feel final—it just felt like another moment in an ongoing story, which, honestly, is probably the most realistic way to end a novel about love and life.
Now, I just need to see if my neighbor has any more Rooney books to lend me…
Conversations With Friends, perhaps?
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