Conversations with Friends

Reviews

“A writer of rare confidence, with a lucid, exacting style . . . But Rooney’s natural power is as a psychological portraitist. She is acute and sophisticated about the workings of innocence; the protagonist of this novel about growing up has no idea just how much of it she has left to do.”—The New Yorker

“Rooney has the gift of imbuing everyday life with a sense of high stakes…a novel of delicious frictions.”—New York Magazine

"Rooney writes so well of the condition of being a young, gifted but self-destructive woman, both the mentality and physicality of it. She is alert to the invisible bars imprisoning the apparently free.”—The Guardian

"A novelist to watch: An addictive debut, with nods to Tender is the Night, heralds a bright new talent.”—The Sunday Times

“Conversations with Friends paints a nuanced, page-turning portrait of a whip-smart university student in the throes of an affair with an older married man.”—Zadie Smith, Elle

“Rooney has a magical ability to write scenes of such verisimilitude that even when little happens they’re suspenseful.”—Curtis Sittenfeld, The Week

“Sharp, funny, thought-provoking . . . a really great portrait of two young women as they’re figuring out how to be adults.”—Celeste Ng, "Late Night with Seth Meyers Podcast"

“This book. This book. I read it in one day. I hear I'm not alone.”—Sarah Jessica Parker

“A coming-of-age story that’s weightier and wiser than you might expect.”—Vulture

“Sally Rooney’s debut novel is a remarkably charming exploration of that very uncharming subject: the human ego . . . Conversations With Friends sparkles with controlled rhetoric. But it ends up emphasizing the truths exploding in the silences.”—Slate

“In this searing, insightful debut, Rooney offers an unapologetic perspective on the vagaries of relationships . . . a treatise on married life, the impact of infidelity, the ramifications of one’s actions, and how the person one chooses to be with can impact one’s individuality.”—Publishers Weekly, starred review

“Readers who enjoyed Belinda McKeon's Tender and Caitriona Lally's Eggshells will enjoy this exceptional debut.”—Library Journal, starred review

“A smart, sexy, realistic portrayal of a woman finding herself.”—Booklist, starred review

“The book of the summer.”—Refinery29

"Fascinating, ferocious and shrewd. Sally Rooney has the sharpest eye for all of the most delicate cruelties of human interaction."—Lisa McInerney, author of The Glorious Heresies, winner of the Baileys Women's Prize for Fiction Expand reviews