Beautiful World, Where Are You Audiobook By Sally Rooney cover art

Beautiful World, Where Are You

A Novel

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Beautiful World, Where Are You

By: Sally Rooney
Narrated by: Aoife McMahon
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"Aoife McMahon is a gem of a narrator, helping create the perfect atmosphere for Rooney’s story." -Book Riot

"McMahon's acting dexterity shows in seamless shifts between points of view, characters, and emotions. Male to female, white-collar to blue-collar, anger to passion - her crisp Irish accent makes these transitions with the lightness of a lark. Likewise, via McMahon, Rooney's peerless descriptions imprint upon the mind's eye. The listener won't soon forget a silk blouse caressed like a pet, freckled arms made pink by the sun, the coast of Ireland at nightfall, or the forgiveness of a best friend." -AudioFile Magazine, Earphones Award winning review

Beautiful World, Where Are You is a new novel by Sally Rooney, the bestselling author of Normal People and Conversations with Friends.

Alice, a novelist, meets Felix, who works in a warehouse, and asks him if he’d like to travel to Rome with her. In Dublin, her best friend, Eileen, is getting over a break-up, and slips back into flirting with Simon, a man she has known since childhood.

Alice, Felix, Eileen, and Simon are still young—but life is catching up with them. They desire each other, they delude each other, they get together, they break apart. They have sex, they worry about sex, they worry about their friendships and the world they live in. Are they standing in the last lighted room before the darkness, bearing witness to something? Will they find a way to believe in a beautiful world?

A Macmillan Audio production from Farrar, Straus and Giroux

©2021 Sally Rooney (P)2021 Macmillan Audio

Accolades & Awards

Goodreads Choice Award
2021
Fiction Goodreads Choice Award Literary Fiction Friendship Women's Fiction Genre Fiction Coming of Age

Critic reviews

Los Angeles Times Holiday Books Guide, 2021

New York Times Book Review Notable Books of the Year, 2021

The Guardian (UK) Best Books of the Year, 2021

Financial Times Books of the Year, 2021

NPR Best Book of the Year, 2021

Kirkus Reviews Best Books of the Year, 2021

BuzzFeed Best Books of the Year, 2021

Hudson Booksellers Best of the Year, 2021

Time Magazine Best Books of the Year, 2021

USA Today Best Books of the Year, 2021

Amazon.com Best Books of the Year, 2021

Washington Post Best Books of the Year, 2021

Goodreads Choice Awards, 2021

Featured Article: Standout Contemporary Irish Authors You Should Give a Listen


Ireland may be a small country, but it's brimming with talent. Just listen to some of these popular contemporary Irish authors and see if you're not impressed with what this North Atlantic island has to offer to the literary community. Winning prestigious awards and topping best seller lists, today’s Ireland-born-and-bred authors are making a big impression on the literary world. Here are some contemporary Irish authors you should listen to now.

Featured Article Standout Contemporary Irish Authors You Should Give a Listen

Editor's Pick

This spoke to my hardened pandemic heart
There is nothing like a dependable writer. Sorry, does that sound boring? It's not. Sally Rooney is that rare author whom I can absolutely, 100% trust to be bowl-me-over brilliant. Aoife McMahon, who has narrated Rooney's two other books, continues to be the listening linchpin, providing distinct voices for Rooney's conversation-rich stories without slipping into caricature. And in Beautiful World, Where Are You, Rooney brings us so much amazing conversation; her four main characters—all fully fleshed out—orbit around each other in various modes of longing, despair, and hope. They seem surprised that adulthood has grabbed them by the ankle and is hanging on, as they flail for both freedom and security in equal measure. Though the book's events predate the tragedy of COVID, the four's restlessness foreshadows lockdown, and the story ends amidst the emergence of the pandemic. Yet strangely, and without giving any spoilers, I will say that Beautiful World, Where Are You left me more settled than Rooney's other works. This novel is an ode to people asking for, and finding, what they need in life. And it may be that what we all need most right now is a little peace. And the certainty of a great listen. —Emily C., Audible Editor

All stars
Most relevant
I couldn’t get in to this one. I finished it (because I’m no quitter) thinking the story would click together but it never did. Maybe it’s one of those you have to read the words to understand…..not sure. I might come back to it to listen again to make sure but…..eh.

Maybe I didn’t understand it but….

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I'll be recommending this to my very best friends. It's lovely. Kind, poignant, great story. The narrator is excellent.

Beautiful novel, it's here

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The two female protagonists were their own worst enemies and despite the talented narrator, the story was just plain boring.

Annoying characters

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Ms. Rooney's work may not be for everyone but I found this novel to be thoroughly enjoyable, quite moving and extremely sharp and funny. The narration was perfectly suited to it and brought a great deal of insight, compassion and humor to the story and its characters.

Just wonderful

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The narrator’s voice is very nice on the ears. Felix stands out as the most honest, smart and interesting character. Beautifully written sexual “scenes”.

Enjoyed very much

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