

She is reticent and proud of this fact, and a measure of each colors her begrudging participation in the requisite publicness that characterizes the contemporary version of her profession. A market exists for these books, a lot of people consider them good, and so Alice the novelist is successful. People,” as she says near the close of a stilted first date with Felix, a warehouse worker.

She-Alice, that is-writes books about, “oh, I don’t know. . . . She is one of four main characters in “ Beautiful World, Where Are You,” the third novel by the Irish author Sally Rooney. Her name contains five letters and two syllables: Alice.
