Of course, mess ensues, and like with any Rooney work, the audience is left unsure of who to love and who to hate who is the victim, and who is the perpetrator.Īlthough Rooney was only involved in the planning stages and casting of Conversations and not the script or filming, the show largely remained true to the book, often using Rooney’s writing verbatim in the characters’ dialogue. The novel and the resulting show are complex and frustrating at times as they highlight the life of introverted college student and poet Frances (Alison Oliver), who exists at the center of a group of four friends who take turns desiring and despising one another: Frances and Bobbi (Sasha Lane), best friends who used to date, become entangled with a successful married couple, Nick (Joe Alwyn) and Melissa (Jemima Kirke) Nick and Frances begin an affair while Bobbi develops a crush on Melissa. Spoiler alert: Spoilers for Conversations With Friends follow. Like it was with Normal People, this new adaptation is quite faithful, but there are still some key differences between the Conversations With Friends book and series. Following that series’ success, Hulu went back and adapted Rooney’s first work, also for a 12-episode run. But it was her second novel, 2018’s Normal People, that brought her mainstream stardom when it was adapted as a 12-episode Hulu series in 2020.

Sally Rooney released her first novel, Conversations with Friends, in 2017 to critical acclaim.

Conversations with friends book