The fact that there was no traditional dialogue and punctuation format took me off guard, at first, but I did get a little more used to it the longer I read the book. I had a similar reaction to it when I read Bullet Train, but this entire book had no dialogue punctuation at all. It took me a second at first to realise when someone was talking. I got more used to it because a phrase would be followed by a comma and then "[so-and-so] said" and a full stop, but the phrase after that had me questioning and took me out of the reading flow. I was more often than not super confused about whether it was internal dialogue of the narrator or something a character had actually said out loud in the scene.

There was a very blurred line between writer and narrator, for me. I found that Frances often observed things like she already knew someone's secrets or hidden meanings, but it there was no way for her to actually know those things so the knowledge came down to the author projecting their knowledge onto the narrator. Most times a narrator is written in a way where the readers knows what they know, but in this book it's like Frances knows things but she doesn't know that she knows them or she shouldn't know them.

Overall, I found the first part of the novel quite bland and I wasn't really enjoying it. It took me a long while to actually get into reading it. I originally felt like I was just observing these characters that I was super interested in, like watching through a window. It did start picking up and I was interested by the second part, however, and I felt less detached and more involved in the narrative. I found myself thinking as I was reading that I could have easily put the book down and not come back to it for a while, which is actually what I ended up doing lol. But I did read part two in one sitting because it found it really engaging and evocative.

Despite part two being a wreck, not wanting to watch the awful thing/s happening but being unable to look away, it was melancholically gripping. It was emotional, biting, punching you where it hurt. These characters were feeling and going through these awful things that would make you feel sad anyway, but Rooney described them in such a way that was so real and universally felt. Sometimes they were put in the simplest of terms and sometimes written in the most beautifully sad prose within the entire text. I often felt my face get a little hot when reading what Frances, especially, was going through as I was more connected to her as the narrator. It was just so emotionally hard-hitting, part two.

I do understand the appeal of this kind of narrative. It felt real. I usually read to escape, so reading a book that is incredibly based on and in real life is not usually one I would pick up, but I'm a sucker for wanting to analyse the print and visual adaptations of stories so I decided to read this. I can still appreciate the plot and the writing, though. Reading it does feel like talking to someone and having a conversation (ha). There are sometimes things mentioned by the characters that really specific or usually aren't included or deemed necessary for a traditional novel. The characters would also sometimes say things that I didn't full understand, which reminded me of conversations with people where you pretend you know what they are on about just so you can carry on with the conversation and not feel stupid for asking. For example, Frances says "I was cold like a fish" in the middle of a paragraph about how her father had an alcoholic temper which took me off guard for a moment. It was just very real. I can definitely see the appeal of it, but it's not entirely my style because I like to really be taken into a novel and forget that real people exist haha.

The ending though? Vicious and mean and I hated it but I also loved it. The "come and get me"? So good. As soon as i read that line I was like, it better not be the end but then the next page was the acknowledgements and I cursed at the word haha. It was a great place to end but at the same time I wanted to know more still.

Throughout the entire narrative, I did enjoy being able to see all the different kinds of nuances of human emotion. I like that a lot in any kind of writing. The author didn't stray what was difficult, but it wasn't done in a disrespectful way. There were some uncomfortable moments but I think they were important to the overall story as it made sense with the writing style and chracters that Rooney had been building for the entire book.

Random notes: 
- I very much liked that a lot of the narrative came down to the little things. E.g. Melissa pouring "bowl-sized glasses" of wine to two strangers she'd met mere hours ago, or less, showed that she was financially stable and possibly even well-off.
- I really enjoyed the rapport between Nick and Frances. I think because they were both presented as awkward and quiet characters, especially in contrast to their extroverted companions, it felt very natural for them to bounce off each other.
- I found the immediate hierarchy between Bobbi and Frances that was presented to us quite interesting. Immediately we were given the impression that Bobbi was the dominant one in the relationship and Frances was basically a doormat lol. I think this contrasted super well with the fact that she ended up being quite bold and having an affair with a married man because Bobbi was upset with her for kissing Nick but she had kissed Melissa.
- I liked that the characters were all a bit morally grey, which helped push the narrative that this reading experience almost was like an actual conversation with friends. You don't agree with everything they do or say or think, but at the same time you still want to know what was going to happen.