Conversations with Friends

Sally Rooney

A sharp, introspective novel about Frances, a college student and spoken-word poet in Dublin, who begins an affair with an older married actor, Nick, while her complicated friendship (and former relationship) with her best friend Bobbi evolves alongside it. Told through Frances's detached, intellectual narration, the book explores jealousy, class, chronic illness, and the blurry emotional boundaries between friendship and romance. It is less a traditional romance than a literary character study of modern intimacy and self-discovery.