Conversations with Friends

A Novel

By: Sally Rooney

Narrated by: Aoife McMahon

NOW A HULU ORIGINAL SERIES • From the New York Times bestselling author of Normal People . . . “[A] cult-hit . . . [a] sharply realistic comedy of adultery and friendship.”—Entertainment Weekly

SALLY ROONEY NAMED TO THE TIME 100 NEXT LIST • WINNER OF THE SUNDAY TIMES (UK) YOUNG WRITER OF THE YEAR AWARD • ONE OF BUZZFEED’S BEST BOOKS OF THE DECADE AND THE TELEGRAPH’S 20 BEST NOVELS OF ALL TIME • ONE OF THE TEN BEST BOOKS OF THE YEAR: Vogue, Slate • ONE OF THE BEST BOOKS OF THE YEAR: Elle

Frances is a coolheaded and darkly observant young woman, vaguely pursuing a career in writing while studying in Dublin. Her best friend is the beautiful and endlessly self-possessed Bobbi. At a local poetry performance one night, they meet a well-known photographer, and as the girls are then gradually drawn into her world, Frances is reluctantly impressed by the older woman’s sophisticated home and handsome husband, Nick. But however amusing Frances and Nick’s flirtation seems at first, it begins to give way to a strange—and then painful—intimacy.

Written with gemlike precision and marked by a sly sense of humor, Conversations with Friends is wonderfully alive to the pleasures and dangers of youth, and the messy edges of female friendship.

SHORTLISTED FOR THE INTERNATIONAL DUBLIN LITERARY AWARD

“Sharp, funny, thought-provoking . . . a really great portrait of two young women as they’re figuring out how to be adults.”—Celeste Ng, Late Night with Seth Meyers Podcast

“The dialogue is superb, as are the insights about communicating in the age of electronic devices. Rooney has a magical ability to write scenes of such verisimilitude that even when little happens they’re suspenseful.”—Curtis Sittenfeld, The Week

“Rooney has the gift of imbuing everyday life with a sense of high stakes . . . a novel of delicious frictions.”—New York

“A writer of rare confidence, with a lucid, exacting style . . . One wonderful aspect of Rooney’s consistently wonderful novel is the fierce clarity with which she examines the self-delusion that so often festers alongside presumed self-knowledge. . . . But Rooney’s natural power is as a psychological portraitist. She is acute and sophisticated about the workings of innocence; the protagonist of this novel about growing up has no idea just how much of it she has left to do.”—Alexandra Schwartz, The New Yorker

“This book. This book. I read it in one day. I hear I’m not alone.”—Sarah Jessica Parker (Instagram)

Art © 2025 Alex Katz / Licensed by VAGA at Artists Rights Society (ARS), NY.

Awesomely sad and altogether great

It's a beautiful and unpretentious book about infatuation and attachment, about feelings which are not governed by morale or ethical principles, about times when we just cannot fight them.
The narration is amazing, as well.

In Love

This book made me feel so much in such a short amount of time.

Listened to this in one day!

I absolutely enjoyed this book so much. The complexity of the relationships can be so relatable to a person. The internal thoughts and overthinking aspects too. The want to keep things in and be strong. At least for me, I felt there were so many parts of the story where I found myself deep in thought or laughing because I could see myself having that inner convo.

Anyways, really enjoyed it! Going to watch the series on Hulu!

My favorite Rooney story yet

Words don’t do it justice, definitely give this a listen! I loved it and felt very connected with all of the characters, flaws and all.

I will not buy another Sally Rooney book unless…

I have time to binge it. I should have worked today, but I couldn’t stop myself from finishing such an emotional story. Thank you to Ms. Rooney and Ms. McMahon!