Finishing off 2024 with one last book, I am incredibly happy to have Sally Rooney’s Beautiful World, Where Are You, as my final read. It was a lovely novel that I received as a gift earlier in 2024 for my birthday, and while I regret not picking it up sooner, I feel that reading such a beautiful novel as the year comes to an end was perfect timing. If you are unfamiliar with Sally Rooney, she is an Irish author and screenwriter known for her two works, Normal People and Conversations with Friends, both of which have been adapted into television series. Beautiful World, Where Are You follows four characters: Eileen, Simon, Felix, and Alice. As readers, we follow the course of their lives as Rooney alternates between each character’s point of view. Throughout the novel, she also includes delightful tidbits in emails between Eileen and Alice, a pair of friends who met in college. It was a gorgeous read that explored friendship, love, sex, and the passage of time. 

Whenever I picked up the novel, I found myself inching toward my headphones and clicking on a cozy rain ambiance video that truly enhanced my reading experience. Reading this novel feltlike being embraced by a warm friend, and I often forgot that I was immersed in a book. Forgetting that you are reading is ultimately one of the best feelings, in my opinion. It was as if I knew each character, grasping their complexities and who they were at their core, even if the characters themselves could not comprehend it. Of all the characters I encountered, I closely related to Eileen. I connected with the way she questioned the course of her life and pondered how different things might have been had she made other decisions. But above all, I resonated with a question she posed to Simon: whether our happiness is created by our efforts or governed by an omniscient being such as God. There have been times when I’ve felt unhappy, and I often wondered whether such unhappiness stemmed from my carelessness or if every unfortunate moment was simply part of God’s plan. Who, among the two, is easier to blame? 

Furthermore, Rooney excels at portraying her characters realistically. It doesn’t feel as though these characters are above the reader; instead, they come across as real people with whom readers can relate. These characters grapple with the aftermath of their lives and the consequences of the decisions they made in the years leading to their current situations. Felix, Alice, Simon, and Eileen all question how things might be different had they made other choices. Felix reflects on how he has treated women in his life and thinks about what he would do differently if given a second chance. Alice contemplates her psychotic break and whether she is truly happy with her work, ultimately pushing Simon and Eileen away for a time. Simon also considers his relationships with women and how his desire to help people conflicts with his bond with Eileen. Lastly, Eileen reflects on her relationship with Simon and wonders if her life would truly have been saved had she chosen to date him earlier instead of keeping him at a distance when it was convenient. 

I will conclude this book review with one of my favorite moments that serves as a recurring theme throughout the novel: the resilience of relationships in the face of time’s inevitable changes. Friendships we once believed would last forever are often transformed by real-world challenges, including jobs, distance, financial struggles, or simply a lack of time for one another. Eileen and Alice embody what time can do to a relationship; they reached a point where both felt their bond was approaching an irreparable breaking point. This aspect is particularly significant because their relationship was nurtured in college, a setting where it flourished and continued to thrive during their time living together. However, their bond faced trials due to small yet impactful changes: Eileen moving out to be with her long-term boyfriend, Alice being committed to a hospital following a psychotic break and eventually relocating, and both becoming entangled in their own separate lives. It truly prompts one to reflect on their own life and consider how time has reshaped their relationships.

In conclusion, the novel was truly such a beautiful read, and I believe that I will spend the rest of 2025 searching for a novel that would give me the feeling Beautiful World, Where Are You had given me. If you have the chance, I highly recommend this novel as well as any of Sally Rooney’s works, as her writing style is simplistic yet beautiful. In the end, Sally Rooney’s Beautiful World, Where Are You received five stars from me.

This was written by our contributing writer, Nya Rowe.