I'm deeply uncomfortable with the age gap but sadly also deeply in love with the writing style and some of the beautiful quotes in this."Death was, of course, the most ordinary thing that could happen, at some level I knew that. Still, I had stood there waiting to see the body in the river, ignoring the real living bodies all around me, as if death was more of a miracle than life was. I was a cold customer. It was too cold to think of things all the way through."and, a lot less sad: "We used to watch films together like that, and he would touch my hair in that exact way, distractedly. I found his distraction comforting. In a way I wanted to live inside it, as if it was a place of its own, where he would never notice I had entered."

My very first Rooney (because of a reading prompt - "the shortest book on your tbr") and I am obsessed with her style here, it's very atmospheric. Makes me wann read more of hers. Nonetheless I didn't understand the story and just feel like there was something missing or that I am just plain stupid.

i was going to give this a 4 ⭐️ but then i thought: i loved the relationship dynamic, i love the familial dynamic, i love the conversations, i love the angst (and this is coming from someone that hates angst). i actually enjoyed this story. and i have to see from a short story perspective/ not a full novel perspective. and as a short story, it was really nice and intriguing. i never got bored. it’s keeps you invested. suggest you read this if you enjoy rooney’s work