Conversations with friends
Sally Rooney
Faber and faber
Irish author Sally Rooney is still in her twenties. She was born a year after I played my last gig (1990 for me). Conversations with a friends is a story of four people who are close to each other. Four ordinary Irish people living in the 21st century.
I care little about them but am interested in their lives as Sally takes the reader through the complicated world that is life. One thing that concerns me with books like this and, while I’m at it, tv series on Ireland’s national tv, is that the peoples whose lives are being depicted are ones with wealth. Their concern is around how many gin and tonics they will have it and who they shall sleep with. Whilst these may be real problems for some they are not problems that resonate with me. Hence my lack of care about the 4 lives.
It does however have a great line about someone being in a psychiatric hospital but capitalism really is the crazy thing. There’s other hints and nods to progressive thinking. Ireland’s 8th amendment gets a mention. But overall it’s a story of relationships and a question of love and fidelity.
niallhope
