I hadn’t heard of this novel until Mercedes mentioned it on Mercy’s Musings.
Here’s the blurb …
Connell and Marianne both grow up in the same town in rural Ireland. The similarities end there; they are from very different worlds. But they both get places to study at university in Dublin, and a connection that has grown between them despite the social tangle of school lasts long into the following years.
Sally Rooney’s second novel is a deeply political novel, just as it’s also a novel about love. It’s about how difficult it is to speak to what you feel and how difficult it is to change. It’s wry and seductive; perceptive and bold. It will make you cry and you will know yourself through it.
I enjoyed this – the writing is beautiful, but the stand outs for me were the characters and character development. Marianne and Connell are our narrators – chapter about. It’s about relationships, coming of age, finding or making your way in the wider world. Marianne and Connell are bright and articulate with thoughts about themselves, the world and relationships.