Conversations with Friends

There's a kinship between this book and Elif Batuman's [b:The Idiot 30962053 The Idiot Elif Batuman https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1474782288s/30962053.jpg 51577226]. Both have young female protagonists who just entered adulthood, and both built heavily on conversations (the face-to-face and the email/messenger kind) to show the frail and complex dynamics in human communication. While Conversations with Friends lacks Batuman's wit and somewhat the likeability of its heroine, it does add a very seductive dose of sexy. Despite the characters not being the easiest to like due to their slightly pretentious vibe, I quickly warmed up to them and was pulled in (3-day read!). A lot of the story deals with the facades they (we) built to hide true emotions and when to let down those shields to let others in. The core relationships in focus are Frances and Nick, who start an affair based on attraction and sex and then very slowly transform it into something more, and Frances and Bobbi, who are long-time-friends (exes? friends? something completely new?) and share a deep love and co-dependency. I also thought the dynamic between Frances and her parents was particularly touching (I loved her mom). I was intrigued by where the story took Nick, it felt like a novel kind of character. One that is somewhat condemned for his passivity (Melissa's angry email!!) yet also showed a self-awareness and acknowledgement that seems to allow for every sort of character. I am still slightly perplexed but also charmed by that last phone conversation and it's outcome. Another surprising detail that I very much appreciated was how Rooney wove endometriosis into the plot.