Now Out: Beautiful World, Where Are You (Extract)

Chapter 1

by Sally Rooney

#BeautifulWorldWhereAreYou #NetGalley

Pub Date 07 Sep 2021

These comments cover just the first chapter of Sally Rooney’s upcoming new novel. I was intrigued by what I read.

In this chapter, Ms. Rooney does an excellent job of creating an atmosphere. A woman is sitting in a bar alone. It becomes clear that she is waiting for someone. A man enters. He does not know the woman but finds her after checking his phone. Who are they? What, if anything, will they become to one another?

It seems that Ms. Rooney may be planning to answer these questions slowly. Readers learn that the woman is Alice. As the layers unfold, readers discover that she is an author and that she is living rent free in a home that turns out to be a rectory.

Readers learn that the man is Felix. He works in a warehouse and is a native of the place where this scene takes place. It eventually becomes clear that this is some kind of date. The two spend a brief time at Alice’s house before the chapter ends.

And that is all I know without reading the description of the book. I would like to know more. Would you?

Many thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for this content. All opinions are my own.