Conversations with friends

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I hated the book. Nothing happens and the characters are just awful people. But I decided to give the TV series a try because I loved the TV adaptation of Normal People even though I found the book fairly average.

I'm halfway through and still hating it but somehow I keep watching it anyway. The characters are so annoying and unlikeable, but this means they have been cast well because that's what they're like in the book!

Frances in particular. God what a drab, gloomy, boring character.
 
Badabing101 said:
Loving reading everyone’s comments. I read CWF a few years ago and loved it. I remember thinking ending was perfect because it wasn’t tied up in a neat bow and I thought it was quite apt because people (Frances) sometimes keep making the same mistake in life.

Book wise, In comparison to Normal People, CWF was my favourite, but it was the opposite for the tv series. Agree with the comments about his accent! Dire…

Couldn’t warm to any of the characters, but I’m not sure we’re meant to?
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I’m exactly the same - I actually loved CWF the book and wasn’t as taken with NP. Haven’t started watching CWF yet but so nonplussed with the casting of Joe Alwyn. He’s so unbelievably dull! I also find him and Taylor such an odd couple.
 
Goujon said:
Does anyone else have find Sally Rooney's writing style really annoying? I know this stream of consciousness , writing in the present tense style stuff is seen as "innovative" but TBH I just find it tedious and irritating.
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It’s not her writing style that gets on my nerves, it’s the total inability to look outside her own experience. Someone let me know when she finally writes a book that isn’t about the fact that she went to Trinity College, please 😴
 
Goujon said:
Does anyone else have find Sally Rooney's writing style really annoying? I know this stream of consciousness , writing in the present tense style stuff is seen as "innovative" but TBH I just find it tedious and irritating.
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I read Normal People after watching the TV adaptation. I have never read a book where there were no speech marks so I found it difficult to get to grips with her writing style.

If you look on Amazon, all the lead reviews are negative!
 
Suzesnooze said:
I read Normal People after watching the TV adaptation. I have never read a book where there were no speech marks so I found it difficult to get to grips with her writing style.

If you look on Amazon, all the lead reviews are negative!
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Jesus you have just reminded me, no quotation marks ! That was the thing that really ground my gears!
It was like reading a story by someone in senior infants
 
That's so funny, I'd forgotten about the dodgy lack of quotation marks!
It's not like me to not get riled up about something like that 🤔
I keep thinking I'll give it go as I quite liked Normal People but the ads for Conversations didn't exactly draw me in!
 
Hated the lack of quotation marks with reading NP! Put me off reading her others.

Finding CWF really slow going and boring. Don’t get Frances’ appeal - she is like a wet weekend. None of the characters seem to have fun/enjoy each other’s company/or even have good conversations?!? A bunch of really self satisfied and dull people. And poor poor joe… what is that accent!! I like him in all other respects but he really can’t do the accent at all.
 
Tiger tat said:
It’s not her writing style that gets on my nerves, it’s the total inability to look outside her own experience. Someone let me know when she finally writes a book that isn’t about the fact that she went to Trinity College, please 😴
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she can’t, trinity college is her dominant personality trait
 
I’m halfway through and it’s so bleeping boring. A lot of the acting mannerisms are similar to Normal People but Normal People was a simpler story with better characters. There’s nobody that likeable here. Nicks a non entity in the book and that remains the same here. Francis and Bobbi - I’m not sure if it’s the acting or writing but something y is off.
 
I think it doesn't work as Bobbi being American kind of makes her 'exotic' and not growing up in a small Irish town and branching out into bohemian behaviour

Kind of the whole point of the story is how small-town and narrow-minded each character is despite their literary pretensions
 
Yeah the American accent always stands out in Irish production. It’s the same thing for the Irish accent in American productions. McIrish stuck out like a sore thumb in Greys Anatomy. It’s just distracting.

None of the actors seem that strong though or at the very least what worked for Paul and Daisy in Normal People ie awkward glances, pauses, long stares and silence just doesn’t work for the cast of CWF.
 
I think everyone here has read the book me included, but maybe spoiler tags in the thread just to be sure if we want to discuss it- I'm a few episodes to the end and it still hasn't been said what's wrong with Frances around her periods? If someone didn't know I can see them thinking it's going to be a much bigger plot point than it is- I think we found out around the middle of the book and then the story went on :)
 
It's was ok but just rather dull, didn't seen very much plot or chemistry between the leads I thought we see more of Bobbi and Melissa aswell not as good as NP I agree.
 
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