23 ratings • 6 reviews
23 ratings • 6 reviews
At school Connell and Marianne pretend not to know each other. He’s popular and well-adjusted, star of the school soccer team while she is lonely, proud, and intensely private. But when Connell comes to pick his mother up from her housekeeping job at Marianne’s house, a strange and indelible connection grows between the two teenagers - one they are determined to conceal. A year later, they’re both studying at Trinity College in Dublin. Marianne has found her feet in a new social world while Connell hangs at the sidelines, shy and uncertain. Throughout their years in college, Marianne and Connell circle one another, straying toward other people and possibilities but always magnetically, irresistibly drawn back together. Then, as she veers into self-destruction and he begins to search for meaning elsewhere, each must confront how far they are willing to go to save the other. Sally Rooney brings her brilliant psychological acuity and perfectly spare prose to a story that explores the subtleties of class, the electricity of first love, and the complex entanglements of family and friendship.
No posts yet
Kick off the convo with a theory, question, musing, or update
I just want to hug the characters and tell them everything will be ok
2.5/5
I did really enjoy this book but I feel like it’s way overhyped. It is a good read overall though.
I didn't love it, but nor did I hate it. I found some of the writing exquisite, but crucially didn't feel invested in either Marianne or Connell – at least not in that way I expected to be.