A perfect novel. Dark and light, disastrous and delightful. 

Classically sweet and enjoyable, but predictably slow and removed. I probably would have enjoyed it more if I enjoyed the companionship of a sister! 

Updated on second read (March 2025): This is just such a singular book. Reading this coming off of a Paris trip was perfection. I think I liked this even more on the second read. I’m fascinated by the borders between love/hate, lust/disgust, bravery/shame, and this has it all. David is a painful narrator because he’s so full of shame, but Baldwin is a genius in how he puts us into David’s head: only narrating his moments of intense obsession and deep (self-)hate, keeping Giovanni (and Hella for that matter) as a one-dimensional character without full subjectivity, skipping depictions of homosexual sexual intimacy — it’s a masterclass in unreliable narrators (and what they can give away through their concealment). 

Literally a perfect novel. Both of the romantic relationships seemed so lifelike that I could see myself in them. I loved the interspersed emails between Alice and Eileen as well, which is something I wouldn’t have expected. It was an excellent vessel to continue to get to know the two women and to inject some of Rooney’s famously gripping and relatable social commentary. I also must add that I loved the ending. I waited during the whole book for one of Rooney’s tragic non-endings, but the finale of this novel was perfect: happy, uncertain, reflective, and imperfect. I don’t think I could love this book any more. 

I loved the premise of this book, and its characters did not disappoint. However, the exciting plot and original content was only hurt by the story’s faults. Despite being told mostly from Diana’s point of view, the narrative seemed to run away from Diana’s thoughts and take on a life of its own, such that it was hard to even remember that Diana was narrating and using “I” at all. Additionally, the pacing was awful. Time leapt around and scenes seemed to either drag or rush about wildly. Overall, the book seemed clumsy and poorly produced, but its content and worldbuilding was what kept me reading and what is propelling me on to the second book.