Beautiful World, Where Are You: Chapter Sampler

by Sally Rooney

Download the first chapter of a new novel by Sally Rooney, the bestselling author of Normal People and Conversations with Friends.Alice, a novelist, meets Felix, who works in a warehouse, and asks him if he’d like to travel to Rome with her. In Dublin, her best friend, Eileen, is getting over a break-up, and slips back into flirting with Simon, a man she has known since childhood.Alice, Felix, Eileen, and Simon are still young—but life is catching up with them. They desire each other, they delude each other, they get together, they break apart. They have sex, they worry about sex, they worry about their friendships and the world they live in. Are they standing in the last lighted room before the darkness, bearing witness to something? Will they find a way to believe in a beautiful world?

Genres: Fiction, Romance, Audiobook, Contemporary, Literary Fiction, Summer, Friendship

374 pages, Kindle Edition

Published August 17, 2021

About the author

Sally Rooney was born in 1991 and lives in Dublin, where she graduated from Trinity College. Her work has appeared in Granta, The Dublin Review, The White Review, The Stinging Fly, and the Winter Pages anthology.

Reviews

[ᴹⁱᵃ ᴸᵘᶜᵏᵉ · Rating 1 out of 5]

Not very good
I didn’t get it
But I killed a bug with it
Good book weight

[Johanna Weiss · Rating 3 out of 5]

The last 100 pages saved this book.
This is the third book I read by Sally Rooney and probably the one I liked the least.
The things people usually criticize, like her characters being flawed, there not being a real plot or the writing style, are all themes that have been picked up in her previous books. I didn't have an issue with them, I actually quite enjoy that.

My main problem throughout this whole book was how I couldn't sympathize with ANY of the character until the last 100 pages. I found them quite insufferable. The lack of acknowledging their own privilege (mainly from Alice's side), while simultaneously criticizing society and power structures, just seemed entitled and annoying to me. The bad communication, that didn't annoy me in any of the other books, actually made me mad in this one. So, for 2/3 I found it hard to pick the book back up again and continue.

The last 100 pages saved the whole reading experience for me. Maybe the characters should see each other more often, because it seemed like misunderstandings and feelings are better voiced face-to-face. The sentence "If you weren't my friend, I wouldn't know who I was" really touched me and got stuck in my head for a few more days.

In conclusion, it's definitely worth sticking to it, but I wouldn't recommend it as the first dip into the Sally Rooney universe.

[Sarah Wiehe · Rating 1 out of 5]

This book would have been a did not finish but it was a bookclub book for me. I did not understand the point of this book nor did I like any of the 4 characters very much.

[Olivia Stoops · Rating 5 out of 5]

I just finished this book and I'm honestly shocked at all the negative reviews. So many people seem to miss the whole point!

Rooney's writing reminds me so much of Fitzgerald - her words dance across the page like an elegant waltz while simultaneously evoking this heavy poeticness, a nostalgia for moments even before they're gone. The emails between Eileen and Alice aren't pointless at all - they're literally the heart of what this book is trying to say about beauty and meaning in our world. This isn't your typical plot-driven story with some huge climax, and that's exactly what makes it special, it's very Catcher in the Rye in how it just follows these lives and shines insight on what it means to be alive.

What hit me hardest was how relatable all four characters felt at different moments. Felix, with his unfiltered way of speaking and thinking, has these Holden Caulfield vibes that made me think he'd absolutely hate being called "yellow." But beyond that, Rooney just gets people - their anxieties, vulnerabilities, and contradictions. I connected with this book on a level that might have just topped my previous favorite, Beautiful and Damned.

If you're looking for big dramatic plot twists, maybe this isn't for you, but if you want something that honestly captures what it feels like to exist in this complicated world, you need to read this.​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​

[Mia Strauß · Rating 4 out of 5]

The writing style totally blew me away. It was extremely authentic and seemed so naturally written. The words were just right, in every situation. I liked the logic of the book, the emails in between were like essays which I enjoyed because they were self reflective and critical to society. Especially when it came to plastic and the loss of beauty in the postmodern times my heart opened up. The characters were deep and just true. Nothing was foreseeable or even boring. Not at one point I didn’t like to read this book. The end was very pleasing, not too perfect but certainly with a positive view into the future. It was not at typical perfect love story from students but a story of people who were a bit older and didn’t know what happened to their lifes. The characters were likeable but not too much so could always think critically about their behavior. It was thought provoking, it was natural, it was about love and life!
The thing that made me read it was the recitation of a verse of Schillers poem Die Götter Griechenlands in the title. Intertextualität gibt’s immer bei Rooney, mag ich gerne!

[Karen Wilkinson · Rating 1 out of 5]

I found this book very hard to read.Very weak storyline with characters I didn’t like.This book could have been much shorter without all the pointless emails between Alice & Eileen.A rushed background explanation of the characters towards the end of the book didn’t make me warm to them.

[Audrey Patterson · Rating 2 out of 5]

the lack of quotation marks made me feel angrier than ever

[Itz Shasanka here · Rating 4 out of 5]

Alice felt extremely personal

[teaniia · Rating 5 out of 5]

Autobiografia moich myśli, Sally cieszę się, że istniejesz

[Sarah · Rating 4 out of 5]

3.5 rounded up

How much of a feeling can one get for a book from reading just one chapter? I guess it all depends, but suffice it to say that in this instance a handful of pages was all I needed to know that Rooney will be following her usual style - from what we see of Alice and Felix this novel will portray the intricacies of the emotional lives of a handful of characters in their 20s - and I think (and hope!) this will be what the fans are waiting for. Looking forward to reading the full novel soon!

Thank you Netgalley and Faber & Faber for the advance copy, which was provided in exchange for an honest review.

[Annie Connors · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5 stars. I honestly really liked the book, especially the ending but it was predictable and repetitive. I also can’t stand the fact that Sally Rooney doesn’t use quotation marks hahaha. But overall a pretty good book!

[Hanna · Rating 2 out of 5]

Whatever.

[Caroline Turansky · Rating 1 out of 5]

You couldn’t pay me to tell you wtf was up with this book

[Gemma Norgate · Rating 1 out of 5]

Two words for this book; BO-RING. I hate to be harsh but it’s the truth. I couldn’t even get to the end of this book and my inner competitive streak has never let me do that before. But my distaste for this book outweighed my desire to add another peice of literature to my completed reads 2024. You win this round Sally Rooney…but only in the sense that you win at writing a bad book !!! I particularly didn’t like the lack of quotation marks. I understand there is a deeper more nuanced meaning to this editorial decision, but to me, I was left feeling frustrated. Any who, this review only reflects the personal opinion of the reader and is not a reflection of her business.

[Maitri Paul · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book was fun at first and reminiscent of normal people in terms of the slow-burn and the complicated, heartfelt romantic attachments but at some point it just felt like a book about angst and conflict that could have been resolved if even one character learned how to honestly and directly communicate their feelings. The characters are all grown adults but act like high schoolers who can’t process their emotions and it just started to get a little grating.

[Kate · Rating 4 out of 5]

"Beautiful World..." tells the story of two women's love lives - the sort of "ordinary" topic one of them bemoans being the stuff of so many novels - juxtaposed with emails they exchange in which they explore existential questions and ponder the state of the world with extraordinary philosophical acumen. It is this juxtaposition, and the quality of the writing with which it's rendered, that marks Rooney as a master of her craft. The women's daily lives are presented in an almost detached style of narration, which paradoxically makes it all the more engaging. The wisdom contained in the emails is what makes the book worth reading. The story begins to drag a bit towards the end, but is ultimately satisfying nonetheless. Recommend.

[Carolina · Rating 4 out of 5]

sally rooney will always make me rethink everything about my life. honestly, as usual, this book was relatively boring. her style of writing takes some years off my life and really takes me a while to get through. BUT i really appreciated the discussions that the two mc’s had since they were so relatable and real. i honestly LOVED simon and hated the other male mc who’s name i can’t remember lmao. felix?

[mar · Rating 4 out of 5]

3.5⭐️
gràcies Mariona🪻🎀🌷🌷✨🩷🪷

[Ivy Goodman · Rating 3 out of 5]

3/3.5 I’m just on the fence. I had a lot of trouble finishing this because it didn’t really go anywhere. Full of awkward conversations and really awkward sex. I get both can be awkward but all the time, not so much.

[Courtney Wright · Rating 2 out of 5]

This book was a disappointment after the success of Normal People. I found the characters not relatable and pretentious. It was hard to read. I ended up skipping the email parts a lot of the time. I found them to be pointless to the story.

[Kayla · Rating 4 out of 5]

had to give a quick reread bc my girl inspired me 🫶🏻.

when i first read this in 2021, i remember absolutely loving it, and would have probably been a 4.5 stars. i would say now it’s probably a 3.5 but no hate at all.
loving rereading and seeing how some rating stay the same and other change.

eileen and simon lowkey weird, felix and alice 4 eva!

[Emma K. · Rating 5 out of 5]

Often uncomfortably relatable. So very very good.

[Thea Gabrielsen · Rating 2 out of 5]

Not what I expected, and not in a good way. Boring read that I had to force myself to finish

[Sydney Anas · Rating 2 out of 5]

this book was ass

[Amelia · Rating 5 out of 5]

wspaniała, jak zawsze od sally

[Lira · Rating 4 out of 5]

hm. what to say about this, other than, why are there no quotes when they talk? i guess what impressed me was how real it began to feel when there were parties. the dynamic between Alice and Felix was sort of wild to me.

[Riley Walker · Rating 3 out of 5]

Book started to grow on me about halfway through. Loved how the characters analyzed one another!

[Joan Herrero · Rating 5 out of 5]

El 90% dels meus pensaments diaris plasmats en una novel•la. Tan profunda, tan ben escrita, com tots els detalls de la psicologia dels personatges i les accions més xicotetes del seu dia a dia son clau per a la història. És increïble com Sally Rooney retrata tan bé als humans del segle XXI, és sense dubte la nostra novelista.

[Leyla · Rating 4 out of 5]

felix, çok sempatik bir karakter, başlarda bir kaşım kalkıktı ama sonradan ısındım kendisine
alice, sanırım olmak istediğim kişiyi ve sahip olmak istediğim hayatı yaşadığı için en çok onu benimsedim
eileen, hassas, kırılgan ve düşünceli; alice ile olan malum sahnesinde içini dökmesine ve kendisini anlatmasına sevindim. sadece simon'a olan bağlılığı ve bu bağlılıyla korkulu ve anksiyetik bir şekilde baş etmesi beni biraz düşündürdü ama hepimiz biraz böyleyiz aslında
simon, seni sevemedim dostum, kitapta bana en uzak gelen karakter oldun

[Lauren · Rating 5 out of 5]

This little snippet of chapter one just has me even more excited for the release date!
I love Sally Rooney’s style and realistic viewpoint of how complicated life and love can be and after reading this extract I am left with so many questions about these characters and how their worlds are going to entwine. I am sure this will be a page turner for fans and new readers of Rooney’s beautiful prose.