Sally Rooney: Straddling Worlds and Words Like A Pro

If you haven’t heard of Sally Rooney, chances are you are living under a rock. Rooney came with the force of a meteor and exploded over the literary-verse, making her perhaps the most talked-about author in recent times.

Guiding a social media-obsessed generation back to books

Her stories, tapping into the intricacies of human design, speak to a generation dealing with the ambiguity of love, loss and everything in between. Her novels are sensual, sensorial and centred around modern-day crises—the high school love birds who weren’t meant to be, youngsters ambling through the maze of adulthood, sibling relationships gone sour. Nothing out of the ordinary, and, yet, spot on.

However, when it comes to literary meritocracy, the prodigious 30-something Irish author with a globally resonant voice has triggered somewhat of a mixed response. From critiques of her women being ‘too white’, ‘too straight’, ‘too delicate’ and ‘too virtuous’—almost straight out of Victorian novellas—to their questionable life choices, it seems like Rooney is imposed with an unspoken onus of getting things right. Her romances are thought to be served with a side of capitalism and class antagonism.

Criticism notwithstanding, Rooney can be called the near-perfect personification of ‘very demure, very mindful’ when it comes to her craft. What’s remarkable to note is that she is guiding a generation obsessed with instant social media gratification back to books and the experience of sitting, racing or gasping through a paperback end-to-end. No mean feat.

The proof is in the proverbial pudding. Numbers indicate that her books are among this year’s most read, the hot-cake-like sales figures catapulting them to the same league as the Harry Potter series in terms of reception and fandom, according to an article in the New York Times.

Publishers across the world are beaming with the overwhelming adulation Rooney’s books have been able to amass. When it comes to capturing the dreams and disenchantment of the youth, few writers have been able to have their finger on the pulse of not just what a generation wants but also what it needs to make sense of a disruptive world.

In India, the verdict is no different, as the Rooney fandom has reached a fever pitch. With her fourth book Intermezzo (Faber & Faber), hitting shelves in late September, Indian readers— those with an appetite for contemporary fiction, literary fiction, non-fiction, romance and mystery alike — have voraciously devoured the book and are yearning for more. Thus prompting booksellers like Bahrisons to restock and post Instagram callouts.

“The demand for Intermezzo surged so much that it had gone out of stock for ten odd days in October,” Nikhilesh Singh, an associate from the Bahrisons Khan Market branch in New Delhi, tells us.

Mumbai-based independent bookstore Kitab Khana chose Intermezzo for their recent book club meeting. “Book club members between the ages of 20 and 40 enjoyed reading and discussing the characters of the book. The consensus was that this is the best book by the author so far,” Rachna Chopra, who handles digital marketing and events at Kitab Khana, shares.

What explains this boom? As a generation that has grown up consuming operatic histrionics in TV soaps, often a reflection of their own familial dysfunctions, it comes as no surprise that millennials are flocking towards Rooney’s chessboard-inspired family saga. A post-truth vertical, only punchier.

Or is it something far more complex and abiding? Like political turmoil, which can no longer be alienated from our personal lives. Rooney’s open condemnation of the perpetuation of violence against Palestinians and her sure-footedness when it comes to taking a stand against authoritarianism and hate definitely appeals to a society scrambling for voices of reason. To put it simply, she walks her talk, and that’s laudable.

But who are Rooney’s readers? Anecdotally we know that while more women read Rooney, the men are gradually opening up to a world where male vulnerability is celebrated.

“I picked up Roney’s second novel Normal People during COVID and the character of Connell immediately resonated with me,” U says while connecting with me online.

U articulates the appeal Rooney’s stories have to the millennial psyche pretty well. “Rooney happens to be a millennial writing about the world in terminal crisis. Her characters express the anxieties her generation is embroiled in.”

Four bestselling novels and two television adaptations later, what’s in the pipeline for this celebrated author? Would South Asian characters feature in her next project? More people of colour with diverse backgrounds? Guess one has to wait and watch.

Read the full story on ELLE India’s new issue, or download your digital copy via Magzter.