AM I A SALLY ROONEY GIRL | Reading Sally Rooney for the first time! :)

Hey! So we're doing this. You've seen the title. You know what we are doing. But first of all, HEY! WELCOME. Pleased to see you here. I'm Mia. It's been a while on this blog, but that's the content you receive here. I have been busy with my school studies the past 3 months.. fervently studying, I might add. Like, it's the 3rd month of year and I have read 26 books already.. and more than that, if you count the literary essays, which I won't. My exams have come to an end, and because we don't have the syllabus for next month yet (due to the changed educational policy), I have time to lay back. 

I don't consider this blog my job (like, no rigidity or rules)... It's for fun. For when I am reading and I have thoughts going in my head and it's a funny little zoo in there. 

And I have time now. Finally. And I'm gonna have fun. 

SOOO! AM I A SALLY ROONEY GIRL? That's the question. I'm picking up her 2 most famous works.. Normal People and Conversations With Friends, skipping the third one. I know nothing about either, except that both of these are like... about grey, fucked up people. And that's enough for me. Now, my prejudice is telling me that I would like Conversations With Friends better.. why? I wouldn't tell you the details but know that I'm a judgemental whore and this is based off of who liked what book on social media. So, just to save myself from the misery.. I will start with the one I think I'm actually gonna like. Because if I start the other way, I would keep thinking oh, I bet the other would be SO much better and not be fair to Normal People. And then when I will get to CWF, I would have these unrealistic million stars expectations which would fuck the whole reading experience. Just me things, I guess. So... instead, I will be kinder to all.

[[🚨🚨ALERT FOR THE WEAK OF HEART. ESPECIALLY THE LOVERS. THERE'S BRASH CRITICISM IN THIS REVIEW. NOT HATE JUST FOR THE SAKE OF IT, MIND YOU. CRITICISM. AND IF YOU CAN'T TAKE THAT, LEAVE. I DON'T APPRECIATE HATE GIVEN TO ME FOR MY JOB :) HOWEVER, IF YOU HAVE CRITICISMS FOR ME, OR FOR THE BOOK, BABE THE COMMENT SECTION IS DEDICATED TO YOU.🚨🚨]]

(I would also like to mention that if you enjoy just criticims, you're more than welcome here. You're very much appreciated.)

(And yep, spoiler alert, duh)

Ohk, shall we begin?????

Conversations With Friends : [ March, 15 - March 22]

My mind is taking time to comprehend that I actually took a good picture. Excuse my toffee there. I read the blurb, and my mind gave up to the amount of character names there were. I'm going in blind... BABY!

 

Update 1 : I'm 2 chapters in and that's it for Day 1. For the first 14 pages.. it was a whole lot of 'Oh' here.

I mean - 

Iykyk. 

And then it was big 'OOOH' and I think I know what the book is about now. [This married dude and Frances are gonna have an affair right? And her friend and the married woman?] That's... fun? Let's go bitch. 

And Joe is handsome 😏 (on Hulu)

Update 2 : Hey! So I'm on chapter number 6 and got just a few thoughts. First of all, the narrator is definitely bored. There's this passive tone about the writing, giving me the impression that Frances (the person whose pov we're getting) is just not interested in telling the story.. and she's uninterested about almost everything. Except probably the Nick guy.. a lil bit. 

I read Aspects Of Writing by E. M. Forster for last semester and he said this about storytelling that a story must keep you on your toes to find out what's gonna happen next... Otherwise you're not doing a very good job telling a story. I'm feeling complete absence of that from this book, and the writing style. 

The characters, I think they're just unlikable? Or I just don't like anyone per se.. because the narrator has this disinterested outlook towards everyone and everything.. and this coldish manner. I haven't been able to warm up to anyone. Frances has no personality for now, except like acting like a cold lonely snob main character in a K-drama (I'm sick of those). 

Bobbi is plain bitchy and self absorbed. She's doing none of the 'friendly' stuff. I can't figure out her relationship with Frances at all. Melissa is just... her.. vague?? And Nick, same, vague. 

But the thing is, since the story is going nowhere and I have nothing to look forward to because the narrator is just excited about nothing.. I have nothing to read further for. Now I'm just trying to figure out the hype and finish this blog. God, I'm feeling France's laziness wearing on me. 

Update 3 : Hey! It's... lost-the-day-count-day. Today was busy. Since the time I woke up, I realised the new syllabus has arrived for my next semester and so I went on to look up every single text online and downloading it. In the evening, I went through vlogs of this book market my friend had suggested to see if I could go on my own. I would rather go with someone really. But anyway, nothing gained from the half hour of YouTube because the market didn't look like it would have the classic literature texts I need. So probably, I would just go to my regular place this Sunday. 

In the morning, after I was done with downloading stuff, I forced my sister into watching Harry Potter with me. Had to literally bribe her with snacks, because she wouldn't budge, that nasty little pig :) And at the end, she just said she wasn't impressed. I'm pretty sure she's wanting me to bribe her to watch the next one too. But I was turned off by her reaction, so she can dream on those snacks. 

For the book, I didn't had much time to read today. Because the rest of the day, I was just studying continuously on Middle Ages. The political background is mind numbing to me. Anyway, I did read last night and I had some thoughts. I would come back to you in a few minutes after I am done reading a little bit more so I can recall those thoughts. So, wait up!

Update 4 : Welcome, hello! I've read till chapter 15. First of all, the thing I said last time... That there's nothing plot-wise that's making me want to read further and I can stop whenever I want? That's changed, obviously, thank God, with the introduction of their 'illicit affair'. Now I'm reading for them to be caught and go through the confrontation. 

But I'm definitely disappointed that there's no romance in the air. There's an affair.. but zero pining and ache and just no emotions except guilt. And I can't stop feeling that the whole set up is WRONG because these people aren't even fucking around because they're in love or something.. they're just fucking around because, hello, lust? 

And then this girl.. out of nowhere is like 'Are you breaking up with me?' and my head did a whole 180° dramatic WHAT? 

I mean, this is a fucking unrealistic book for me to imagine already, which just wouldn't fit in my reality. But I have read more books like these.. Wuthering Heights, and.. take Evelyn Hugo. There were things that were wrong morally, in relationships and otherwise, but especially in relationships, but everything had emotion and passion interlaced, and that's just missing here. From the romance, AND the characters, none of it is passionate. Frances says are we breaking up.. and I do not understand the rules of this whole setting they have. They haven't discussed it and okay, she has feelings for him, fine, but they're just in her head now and how's this 'breaking up' if the whole thing was 'just sex', as you guys talked about earlier in the book. In this context, I am just annoyed with miss Introverted Fraces Naive. 

Following this same pattern, she later says in the book, “I like him, but he didn't need to know that.” (Chapter 14). And okay, but then why does he need to take the burn of your sour moods when you feel he 'betrayed' you in some way when he 'ended' their 'relationship'. If you're in an only sex relationship with a guy, where HE is married, and if he wants to call it off, honestly, what else were you expecting?! And she says “I thought you were going to leave your wife so we could run away together”, the only thing about her feelings.. ONLY AFTER they've 'broken up'. Girl, is she for real?!

In short, I find Frances annoying. She had no personality before, and now all her personality is that of being Nick's mistress who's dreaming in her head and being overdramatic. 

Nick is... awkward. Boy, we know nothing about him. How's Frances in love with him again?😭 Is this the 'realistic portrayal' of women in 20's? Humor me. We're not having affairs with married guys who have never once said that they even remotely like me. He's said NONE of those things. Why was she expecting he would leave his wife?? This is so fucked up and I am ANNOYED that the characters don't realise it. 

Bobbi.. her friendship is so undefined and she gives off ssssnake vibes. She could be doing anything anywhere.. she's wild and I would never trust her. Like, Fraces too seems scared of her. Don't know why they're friends. 

Melissa is the only chill one here. The one with 'several affairs' is the only normal one here. Great. 

So that's what's up till now. I think I will update next when I'm 75% along next time? See ya! 

Update 5 : Well, ridiculous white people and their worthless made-up problems. Is this racist? I don't bloody care. Read this book and white girls dig it. That's their 'favorite book'. (Okay, just interrupting, I love MANY white girl's book recs, only this particular book sucks.)

I finished the book. I have a lot to say, because this didn't make me particularly feel anything... like sadness, or anger, everything was in a 'meh' way, but at the same time it was very different from the other books I've read. 

There's this dark, dismissive, depressing undertone to the book, which is especially evident in the second part. The first part had the undertone too, but the newness of these friendships/relationships, everything, so I was busy figuring out that, and then just realising oh, there's no point. I was trying to put label on things.. oh okay, so they pine for each other, no not, they're just lustful, oh so Frances and Bobbi are friends right? oh no, that's not friendship. Wtf is happening. At the end of it, there were no labels to anything. 

One good thing about the book was that it was VERY readable. Even with me not liking any characters, not connecting to the plot, not having any emotional attachment towards.. anything, and even after the narrator being the most bored person ever, I still kept flipping. The lack of “quotation marks” worked perfectly well for me. The chapters were short. And the writing was.. not great, but 'flowy'. I could easily spend 2 hours reading this without realising. 

On to the plot, there was very little ray of hope I had that this could be exciting, when they started their relationship/fucking around (I don't know the rules, I never know). But it becomes clear very soon that stakes are non-existent, so they do whatever they want.. nobody gives a fuck. Which, I presume is what Rooney's 'realistic representation' is, as fans say, that in reality people aren't so sorted and things are just more complicated in your head than they really are, and that once the cat is out of the hat, she would just take a stroll and not ruin everything. Frances and Nick have this secret, but oh, now everybody knows, but they're like.. did I interrupt at the wrong time. Keep going. I am soo sorry, is that why you're so happy these days? 

I mean, okay, probably, in America, in a 'barely surviving' marriage, or to a no life depressed college graduate with zero friends and parental issues.. this might be their reality, this might be 'realistic' to them. But you see, it's realistic to very particular people, and maybe they would appreciate the story. I, just found it monotonous, anti-climactic, and just lacking any usual drama I expect from a book. Not every book has to have high fantasy drama, I know. I read Tomorrow, and Tomorrow, and Tomorrow, 2 blogs ago and it was similar in certain ways (in context of the being not too dramatic), and it's one of my all time favourite books now. So, I guess Rooney was just lacking. The book made me realise how important that one 'climax' is. Even if you're writing a sad book, which is supposed to be 'realistic', it still needs some ups and downs, and in books these emotions and heights are elevated to a degree as opposed to the reality... But Rooney just brought it down to this.. 

Instead of this :

Anyway, so the plot is just this :

Hey Bobbi?

Patriarchy

So listen, that guy last night?

Glass of tepid water? 

Shouldn't have asked 

||||

It's hot in here. 

Uhhhhhhhhh I'm awkward

Kiss kiss

|||||||

The sex was GOOOOOODD

|||||

Dear depressed,

Dear awkward,

|||||

You're not fucking my husband, Frances, are you?

Nahh

I told your wife downstairs I wasn't fuckin' you

Same

Yes. Please. Please. Please. 

|||||

Update 6 : Anyway, I got really bored even talking about it. And this is me days later. Final judgement.. I think, yeah, probably, Rooney writes about 'normal people' and 'normal fucked up situations of depressed people who should see therapy but they wouldn't rather'. (And they don't know they're fuckin' depressed, so that's fuckin' annoying to read). My problem is.. it's too 'normal', nothing exciting is happening. The characters are all unbelievably shallow and toned down and unlikable. Ugghh, this was really really annoying because they're depressed people for God's sake, and like look at Frances' dad! Are you kidding me? And her disease and having zero friends.. and with all this 'serious' stuff going, the writing is just like 'yeahhh...' I mean? Am I supposed to feel... 

Exactly, I don't know what to feel.  

There's a lot of dump. And what am I supposed to do with that?

This was different from anything that I've ever read before, and I get what whole Rooney fans like about it, but I would just stick to my Taylor Jenkins Reid. 

On a second note, this book ruined Illicit Affairs (yes, Taylor) for me, because GOD! I hope the relationship in Illicit Affairs is nothing like Nick and Frances. Fuck them two! (P.s. Nahhh. Illicit Affairs is still good and the story in my head for that song is SOLID. Much better than this crap.)

Rating : 1 stars. 🖤 Heart. 

I'm dreading Normal People, but GOD!!! AT LEAST LET ME LIKE ONE. I'm doing a lot of University reading, so it's gonna take me long, and Ramadan going as well. Ramadan Mubarak to all muslims here!💗🤗

__________________________________________

Rating System :

🌠Stars -

⭐ : Either dnf'd or wondering why bother finishing

⭐⭐ : Okay.. but whatever, do something about the plot holes

⭐⭐⭐ : Hm.. but I don't feel it

⭐⭐⭐⭐ : You gave me something good which could've been better

⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ : Talk about my favorite

❣️ Hearts -

🖤 : Disappointed really.

💛 : Oh.. I read it? Yesterday? No impact.

💚 : Confused if I should lower the ratings

💙 : Happy got to read it.

💜: I looooved it but boy where did you miss??

❤️ : Giddy, Crying, Screaming. Don't talk to me rn pls

✨No hearts, No stars : HATED

✨ ❤️ heart, ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ stars : ALL

 TIME FAVOURITE

__________________________________________

Normal People : [March, 29 to March, 31]

There's 2 packs of wasted plastic tabs in that copy. Sorry, mother earth. I'll reuse. 

Update 1 and last : Right, hello people! I read Normal People. I would have to check real quick if it's the first dnf this year.. but yeah, I dnf'd it before 100 pages. Those 100 pages were read by the end of two days, so I would give it again to Rooney for writing quick page turners. BUT with every word from the male MC's pov, I had to suppress this urge to hurl my book out of the balcony, right into the clogged drain of the road in front of my house which has been overflowing because of rain these days. So there's that. 

I'll start with more praise. The story was nicer. I mean in comparison to CWF, whose plot was non-existent, you understood the task, Rooney. Yay! AND the characters were defined, hola! One was ugly and dumb, other was people pleasing asshole.  That's a win for me! After groaning throughout CWF because I didn't understand these people at all... Thank you. Genuinely, thank you. I could BREATHE. 

Now, the bad. I'm gonna feel silly for writing about how unlikable these characters were (again) because, I get it, they're supposed to be that way. But Rooney's still the person... writing about disgusting characters who never redeem themselves, and expects us to keep reading for no reason except that she hasn't used quotation marks, which reduces the labour. So if I'm a looser, she's still the bigger one.

Since it's been many days from when I put aside my copy (it's April now), let's do a tour of what I annotated. In Rooney fashion, the story begins and we're introduced to these characters. Unlike CWF, you can see the chemistry instantly. And that's good, because now I know what I'm reading for – their romance. 

That's there. When I started feeling that Normal People is better than CWF. And I cursed my prejudiced mind. 

There goes the Sally Rooney descriptions fillers that nobody understands what they mean. Marianne had the sense that her real life was happening somewhere very far away, happening without her, and she didn't know if she would ever find out where it was and become a part of it. Like.. what's that supposed to mean?! It's on page number 11, so you can't really blame me for that reaction. If I knew this character's backstory than probably this would make sense, but on page 11? I got the feeling she (Marianne) was weird as shit. 

After school some day she could tell him she had been watching him, and he'd laugh at her and call her weird. Okay, so she's just THINKING he would say that.. so, self loathing, loathing is a strong word.. let's say insecure, female protagonist? Check ✓. And then she also says at the end that she's 'weirder' and 'different' from anybody in the school because of these thoughts. And I am like... So you know.. you're kinda unhinged and you're like, yeah, quirky, ikr? 

And then this... Connell was so beautiful. It occurred to Marianne how much she wanted to see him having sex with someone; it didn’t have to be her, it could be anybody. It would be beautiful just to watch him. WHAT?! I wrote 'Normal thoughts, very normal' along that paragraph in my annotations, satirising the book's title. 

On the next page she 'snaps' at a teacher who's telling her to focus in class, and she tells him ‘Don’t delude yourself, I have nothing to learn from you.’

....

Should I remind you that we know 0 good things about her, except that she treats the male lead differently, which is evidently only because she's sexually attracted to him. I have no reason to like her. Simply, I don't find snapping at a teacher very lovable or 'cool', even if she's probably more intelligent than him. That's disrespectful, period. And the guy's like.. ‘He should have let you look out the window, I would agree there. You weren’t doing any harm.’ And this guy is a very goody-two-shoes, so except that he wants to have sex.. there's NO WAY he's okay with her getting away with that.

That same thing as CWF, people taking sexual attraction for 'love' and pursuing it blindly, and then being affected. I believe Rooney writes a lot reflecting to what her society's like, is this... Miscommunication because sex is easy and feelings are hard, really so prevalent in white society? I can't judge that correctly because my ideas are based off of white literature written for entertainment (even if a lot of books are about this only). But I wonder, since Rooney seems to be giving a social commentary. How much of that issue is true? Rooney has zero clarity.

‘She was attuned to the presence of his body in a microscopic way, as if the ordinary motion of his breathing was powerful enough to make her ill.’ Here, again, what am I supposed to feel reading that? Chemistry? When you're using 'microscopic' and 'motion' in that sentence. Look at that, chemistry, biology, physics. Science class!

I don't understand how a person feels that.. What? Breathing powerful enough to make her ill? ((Uhhh wait, I suddenly am reminded of this crush who was just doing that sitting very close to me, and I got a headache just because of that... Forget it, I don't have a point to make here.)) 

But they're seriously not that deep. Point being, romance is not equal to he smells so good drive me crazy is not equal to love. They have no romance.

Red alarms started going off. 

‘Don’t go telling people in school about this, okay?’ he said.

‘Like I would talk to anyone in school.’ Till now in the story we hadn't talked about how these two pretend to be strangers in school. I thought it was mutual. And then he says it like that.. and it's giving, OHh..? (what's going there?)

‘Connell, as usual, did not speak to Marianne in school or even look at her.’ This sentence. Marianne is thinking. So I'm like, does she want him to? She's a loner and she likes him, she probably does. So is the problem his reputation?

Missed opportunity to talk about class. When they're discussing which university he should go to. She suggested he should go to Trinity, just because she'd be there (VERY CLEARLY, SHE WANTS HIM IN FUTURE), and I thought oh, any real issues why they can't be together except the ones they've created for themselves in their head? Like if he's not rich enough to go there, than they can't be near each other and that would be disconnect. Missed. I am not sure if in future, after I dnf'd, this angle was explored, but I am sure it would just have been vague. Rooney never goes deep about ANYTHING. Her problems are there, in the book, impacting and ruining her characters' lives, and they just sit there.. remaining unexplored. And like, Rooney makes sure (sometimes) that you notice that they're present, but then she never does anything with them. And it's so frustrating!!!! There's ample opportunity lady, and she goes into NOTHING. 

Feeling the immense desi relief while reading these two incidents, I'm sure there were more. Girls telling the whole school he fucked me so good, hihi. I'm pretty sure there are white girls rolling their eyes reading this.. but Rooney is 'very realistic'. That's what white high school girls do all those years! Except the weird ones of course, like Marianne. 

But still, in Indian schools, our friends' sex life is almost always never a topic of gossip. It's never discussed, much less made fun of and giggled over, because none of us are even talking about that. Most of us keep our virginity at least till college. I think that's so much better. Ironically, white people have sex education in schools, and these kids never really pause and think that probably I should wait because I'm not sure how this will effect me mentally, especially with my high school culture. They bang without thinking of repercussions, and judge everyone else who doesn't. I'm not even sorry about this criticism for 'hating on highschool kids', because all I feel reading these white YA books is disgust because of the unchecked drama. Give them sex ed which includes shit about mental health, don't just give them free condoms!

I think about it, how an asian perspective among these characters can be so fulfilling to utilise, but that would set the book up for criticism from white audience. I'm sure they love money more than that. And I don't trust white people to accurately represent Asians anyway. (eyeing Hannah Grace who's second book in the series is coming).

This is the second ocassion. Like, how do white grown women who have had horrible experiences in their high school with gossip revolving around each other's sex life, go on to write these stories and never address the situation as WRONG! Why are you not trying to spread awareness that this can be reformed, and using writing for that? Rooney was especially draining me just casually penning this down and never just saying that it is wrong! 

In this particular scene, Lorianne, 'a cool mom' (trust me, she becomes my favourite character, but this is still relevant), says that she doesn't care about her son's sex life as long as it's not unprotected. If you don't take the dialogue at just the face value, her character actually does care a lot, that dialogue is just there because she has faith in her son that he won't rape anyone, and he's a good boy. But if, her attitude here, had continued throughout the book (which it didn't, that's why she's my favourite), we could've had a conversation topic about western parents not giving a shit about where there kids are so late. Honestly, there's so much indecency in the general American young society; I am all in for 'liberty', but I still feel very grateful to my parents for caring. Asian parents most of the time not being very comfortable with such topics, avoid long talk and just give orders, which comes off as controlling, many times.. but better they gave me time to think about, if I even want it (or am just doing it in peer pressure), than me regretting in future while battaling anxiety. Just, 'not caring' to give them 'some freedom'? I'm sorry, what?

We didn't explore that of course, this time not only because of Rooney's style, but also because Lorianne was an ideal mother. Good, at least that was one redeeming quality about Normal People. 

Glorified miscommunication, hello. Recurring theme in Sally Rooney. How many annotations do I even share about that? It's evident and frustrating and everybody knows it exists in her books. But it's never redeemed. To me, that's glorification. Because, oh, look at that aesthetic. These two people who just can't be together because they can't talk. 

Makes me think about the whole point of literature. And since that's my major, I'm thinking all history. Rooney, is the child of unchecked romanticism. Literature at the very beginning started as didactic, and it remained so even through the romantic era. If not didactic, than atleast moral. It addressed actual social issues, breaking out of the rigid literary parameters and writing about the society, for the society. Rooney is writing about society, no doubt, but for who?! Reads like melodramatic version of documentary for future generations, look what they used to! And adding zero value to present audience. Entertainment, all these issues, so cute, entertainment..! 

Okay, so I'm kinda bored now. There's a lot of my annotations left. I will probably do a part two of this Normal People / Rooney literary criticism, but this blog needs to end, and go away. You saw both, the reading process, the general detailed review of what I like (rather, don't like) about her works, and a lot of critique that I hadn't planned. I honestly thought this was gonna be fun. But cool, I'm happy with the final product!

Let's do a quick summarising. 

AM I A SALLY ROONEY GIRL?

The actual purpose of this blog. We can finally address the question head on. 

From my understanding, being a Sally Rooney girl means that either you connect with or related to these characters and their problems. They spoke to you and their representation was meaningful to you. Or, the second option, is that the narratives and the stories, told in those specific depressive, 'showing it as it is' manner, moved you. 

And I mean, I did.. move, to throw out my copies in garbage, whatever, but moving on. 

So, a Rooney girl has to lie somewhere on these lines. I was like, out of the venn diagram lol. No, I'm not a Rooney girlie.

And I'm very happy about the fact and not sad at all because I'm missing out on something that would be so fun. None of that. 

It probably is the trend now to turn everything into aesthetic. Pretty copies with tabs and good handwriting in them and different highlighters and all.. and giving everything a ✨ vibe ✨. But hey, you read these Rooney books again and tell me once do the vibes actually match of the contextual books and the Pinterest boards? This is some weird glorification of being hateful, pathetic, and depressed and lonely. Like, how are those things.. SO 'wannabe'? 

I don't want to be a Rooney girl because I have an actual very happy life and I don't go around making excuses for my bad attitude towards the whole world because I have some problems. As simple as that. Mind you, I'm judging Rooney's characters, not the Rooney girls because y'all are entitled to your own personal reasons, and that's okay. 

And probably because I'm not white at all – not face tone, not national identity. And probably it makes a hell lot of difference.

So that was it. If I will pick up any other of her books, it would probably be to criticize it, mind you, NOT hate. Because, duh, literature needs it. I hope you enjoyed the blog. I had fun writing it. And now I am a lot clearer with the approach I will be having while reading Rooney books. They're not entertainment for me, they're everything wrong with the society, left for the society to address. I will probably come up with another part for Normal People sometime. Tell me in the comments if you would like that. Or what else you'll have here. It's nice to put my new literature knowledge to some use. See ya! Bbye!

Xoxo Mia!

Some reviews that were my personal favs :