Beautiful World, Where Are You

Beautiful World, Where Are You by Sally Rooney (Farrar, Straus and Giroux, 2021)

There was something deeply nostalgic in the newest Sally Rooney book, for me. Reminiscent of a time when I used to send long emails rife with insecurities and ideals like the ones that drove me crazy in this book between Alice and Eileen. Was I as annoying as this? I think I must have been, as we all are looking back at the decisions and inclinations that drove us in our twenties. That inner debate, do we deserve love? Am I sabotaging this relationship, or is it inherently toxic? Are we outgrowing our friendships, or are they just harder work when you’re not living together or seeing each other every day? When you choose what to work at—prioritize—does that mean you love everything else less?

I love Sally Rooney because even when her characters are so pretentious and annoying that I want to claw my own eyes out, I am still invested. They have that cringe factor, like what keeps you up at night, reliving every conversation and moment that you regret. On the surface, this is a book about two best friends and the men they are involved with, their own grappling of their lives, careers and what they need from a partner and a friend. With Rooney, the magic isn’t in the story, it’s in the details of the characters and their day to day. There’s not a moment that I step outside of them and question their motives as characters, the narrative is real, authentic. They’re a bunch of idiots and assholes and deeply ordinary. Somehow, that’s exactly where the magic is.