No 1 on the Sunday Times bestseller list

Novel of the Year at the An Post Irish Book Awards

Alice, a young writer, meets Felix, who works in a warehouse in the Irish countryside, and invites him to accompany her on a trip to Rome. In Dublin, her best friend, Eileen, tries to get over her breakup by flirting with Simon, whom she has known since childhood. Alice, Felix, Eileen, and Simon are still young – yet life is slowly passing them by. They fall in love with each other, deceive one another, come together, and part ways. They grapple with sex, friendship, and the world they live in. Are they perhaps in the last “bright room” before the darkness falls forever? Are they witnesses to some great change? Will they find a way to believe that a beautiful world truly exists?

“This book made me tear up multiple times… It is Rooney's best novel.” Times

“A genuine tour de force. The dialogue never stumbles and the prose sets the pages on fire.” Guardian

“The best thing Rooney has written so far… Pages of moving honesty and calm genius.” Financial Times

“Rooney's best novel to date. Funny, brilliant, filled with sex and love, featuring characters who do everything they can to communicate meaningfully.” New York Times

“A book worth not only reading but also thinking about again and again.” Irish Independent

“Exceptionally well-written, riveting, irresistible, and heartbreaking.” Telegraph