Sally Rooney's Novels: The Aesthetics of the Contemporary Irish Bildungsroman

Sally Rooney has of late attracted attention, among other things, for her straightforward depictions of youth in present-day Ireland. Her works have been said to represent the voice of the younger generation, the millennials, not only because of the topics she tackles, but also because of her narrat...

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Authors: Barros del Río, María Amor, Muro, Alicia
Format: book part
Status:Versión aceptada para publicación
Publication Date:2025
Country:España
Institution:Universidad de Burgos (UBU)
Repository:Repositorio Institucional de la Universidad de Burgos (RIUBU)
OAI Identifier:oai:riubu.ubu.es:10259/10441
Online Access:http://hdl.handle.net/10259/10441
Access Level:Embargoed access
Keyword:Rooney
Aesthetics
Bildungsroman
Ungrammaticality
Neoliberalism
Literatura irlandesa (Inglés)
English literature-Irish authors
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spelling Sally Rooney's Novels: The Aesthetics of the Contemporary Irish BildungsromanBarros del Río, María AmorMuro, AliciaRooneyAestheticsBildungsromanUngrammaticalityNeoliberalismLiteratura irlandesa (Inglés)English literature-Irish authorsSally Rooney has of late attracted attention, among other things, for her straightforward depictions of youth in present-day Ireland. Her works have been said to represent the voice of the younger generation, the millennials, not only because of the topics she tackles, but also because of her narrative style. The introspective nature of her novels is reflected through email exchanges between her characters, structural alterations, uneven time lapses, ungrammaticality, and the use of parataxis. These characteristics, ever-present in her narrative, replace some features of the traditional Bildungsroman, updating its creative form. This essay aims to analyse Rooney's aesthetics as a reflection of the socio-economic context within which her novels are set, as well as their engagement with the problematic articulation of identity formation in an economic climate of recession. This chapter is focused on her particular recreation of the Bildung genre and its necessary accommodation to the neoliberal context of Ireland. It does so by highlighting the salient features of her aesthetics, examining topic, form, and style. Her three novels to date, Conversations with Friends (2017), Normal People (2018), and Beautiful World, Where Are You (2021), all examples of the contemporary Irish Bildungsroman, are discussed, looking at such features as alterations in form and structure, the focus on the individual, the choice of paired protagonists, and the implications of digital media. Finally, light is cast on Rooney's narrative style, the way it evokes the contradictions and challenges of life in contemporary Ireland, and the underlying critique of her novels.Routledgeinfo202520252025info:eu-repo/semantics/bookPartinfo:eu-repo/semantics/acceptedVersionapplication/pdfhttp://hdl.handle.net/10259/10441reponame:Repositorio Institucional de la Universidad de Burgos (RIUBU)instname:Universidad de Burgos (UBU)InglésThe Routledge Companion to Sally Rooney, p. 284-297https://www.taylorfrancis.com/chapters/edit/10.4324/9781032721873-21/sally-rooney-novels-mar%C3%ADa-amor-barros-del-r%C3%ADo-alicia-muro?context=ubx&refId=3a93662d-03a6-4be4-aa41-10e3d8cdae88Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 Internacionalhttp://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/info:eu-repo/semantics/embargoedAccessoai:riubu.ubu.es:10259/104412026-05-28T07:56:11Z
dc.title.none.fl_str_mv Sally Rooney's Novels: The Aesthetics of the Contemporary Irish Bildungsroman
title Sally Rooney's Novels: The Aesthetics of the Contemporary Irish Bildungsroman
spellingShingle Sally Rooney's Novels: The Aesthetics of the Contemporary Irish Bildungsroman
Barros del Río, María Amor
Rooney
Aesthetics
Bildungsroman
Ungrammaticality
Neoliberalism
Literatura irlandesa (Inglés)
English literature-Irish authors
title_short Sally Rooney's Novels: The Aesthetics of the Contemporary Irish Bildungsroman
title_full Sally Rooney's Novels: The Aesthetics of the Contemporary Irish Bildungsroman
title_fullStr Sally Rooney's Novels: The Aesthetics of the Contemporary Irish Bildungsroman
title_full_unstemmed Sally Rooney's Novels: The Aesthetics of the Contemporary Irish Bildungsroman
title_sort Sally Rooney's Novels: The Aesthetics of the Contemporary Irish Bildungsroman
dc.creator.none.fl_str_mv Barros del Río, María Amor
Muro, Alicia
author Barros del Río, María Amor
author_facet Barros del Río, María Amor
Muro, Alicia
author_role author
author2 Muro, Alicia
author2_role author
dc.subject.none.fl_str_mv Rooney
Aesthetics
Bildungsroman
Ungrammaticality
Neoliberalism
Literatura irlandesa (Inglés)
English literature-Irish authors
topic Rooney
Aesthetics
Bildungsroman
Ungrammaticality
Neoliberalism
Literatura irlandesa (Inglés)
English literature-Irish authors
description Sally Rooney has of late attracted attention, among other things, for her straightforward depictions of youth in present-day Ireland. Her works have been said to represent the voice of the younger generation, the millennials, not only because of the topics she tackles, but also because of her narrative style. The introspective nature of her novels is reflected through email exchanges between her characters, structural alterations, uneven time lapses, ungrammaticality, and the use of parataxis. These characteristics, ever-present in her narrative, replace some features of the traditional Bildungsroman, updating its creative form. This essay aims to analyse Rooney's aesthetics as a reflection of the socio-economic context within which her novels are set, as well as their engagement with the problematic articulation of identity formation in an economic climate of recession. This chapter is focused on her particular recreation of the Bildung genre and its necessary accommodation to the neoliberal context of Ireland. It does so by highlighting the salient features of her aesthetics, examining topic, form, and style. Her three novels to date, Conversations with Friends (2017), Normal People (2018), and Beautiful World, Where Are You (2021), all examples of the contemporary Irish Bildungsroman, are discussed, looking at such features as alterations in form and structure, the focus on the individual, the choice of paired protagonists, and the implications of digital media. Finally, light is cast on Rooney's narrative style, the way it evokes the contradictions and challenges of life in contemporary Ireland, and the underlying critique of her novels.
publishDate 2025
dc.date.none.fl_str_mv 2025
2025
2025
info
dc.type.none.fl_str_mv info:eu-repo/semantics/bookPart
info:eu-repo/semantics/acceptedVersion
format bookPart
status_str acceptedVersion
dc.identifier.none.fl_str_mv http://hdl.handle.net/10259/10441
url http://hdl.handle.net/10259/10441
dc.language.none.fl_str_mv Inglés
language_invalid_str_mv Inglés
dc.relation.none.fl_str_mv The Routledge Companion to Sally Rooney, p. 284-297
https://www.taylorfrancis.com/chapters/edit/10.4324/9781032721873-21/sally-rooney-novels-mar%C3%ADa-amor-barros-del-r%C3%ADo-alicia-muro?context=ubx&refId=3a93662d-03a6-4be4-aa41-10e3d8cdae88
dc.rights.none.fl_str_mv Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 Internacional
http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/
info:eu-repo/semantics/embargoedAccess
rights_invalid_str_mv Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 Internacional
http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/
eu_rights_str_mv embargoedAccess
dc.format.none.fl_str_mv application/pdf
dc.publisher.none.fl_str_mv Routledge
publisher.none.fl_str_mv Routledge
dc.source.none.fl_str_mv reponame:Repositorio Institucional de la Universidad de Burgos (RIUBU)
instname:Universidad de Burgos (UBU)
instname_str Universidad de Burgos (UBU)
reponame_str Repositorio Institucional de la Universidad de Burgos (RIUBU)
collection Repositorio Institucional de la Universidad de Burgos (RIUBU)
repository.name.fl_str_mv
repository.mail.fl_str_mv
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