Posts by jennburden

Conversations With Friends

Sally Rooney

It’s Sunday afternoon and I’ve been working on this novel, here and there, for 5 Days. At page 193, I decided to call it quits.

Conversations With Friends follows Frances, a young woman studying in Dublin, as finds herself involved with a married man. Frances and Bobbi, France’s ex-girlfriend and still best friend, meet Melissa at a poetry night where they were performing. Melissa, a photographer, enjoys their performance and wants to write a piece on them. Melissa invites Frances and Bobbi to her house. Over time, Frances finds herself involved in an affair with Melissa’s husband, Nick. This leads, obviously, to some awkward conversations and interactions.

While the writing was quite good, and the reason I made it as far as I did, the story fell flat for me. It seemed that none of the characters were growing or learning anything and the interactions felt repetitive. I became bored, quite frankly.

Conversations With Friends has several 4 and 5 star reviews, however I did not find that I could relate. It just wasn’t the story for me.

The Ghost in the House

Sara O’Leary

⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

Rating: 5 out of 5.

In The Ghost in the House, Fay wakes up on top of her piano wearing only her husband’s shirt and a string of pearls. Something isn’t right and she can’t put a finger on what it is at first, but eventually she figures out that she has died. She’s a ghost in her own home, where nothing is as it once was.

Fay’s husband has remarried and he now has a step-daughter. He moved on, somehow, without her and she has to come to terms with all the choices she did, and did not, make while she was alive. She has to come to terms with the reality of her situation.

My Thoughts

While it was apparent very early on that Fay was the ghost in this story, I found myself compelled to keep reading, wondering what would become of her. A story about grief, love, loss and the memories we make, O’Leary shaped characters, and a story, I cared about. I enjoyed the writing style and pacing and found myself sympathetic toward Fay. I could easily imagine her frustration, heartache and loneliness.

I thoroughly enjoyed reading this novel and would recommend it.