Normal People

I have to open with saying that I absolutely loved this book. It was heart-wrenching and heartwarming and interesting and fun and sad. It was everything I wanted it to be. It was a little short but I think I only think that because I wish that there was more of it. I simultaneously believe that it is just the right length for the book and any more content would have stretched the characters and story too thinly. I was first introduced to the concept of this book when browsing YouTube. I found the trailer for the Hulu series based on the book and was instantly sold on the idea. Of course I had to read the book first and I am so glad that I did. The story is deeply psychological and a lot of it takes place in the heads of the characters. No matter how good an actor is they can’t come close to portraying the inner workings of the mind in the same way that Sally Rooney does with her writing. There are two unique quirks of the book that a reader should be aware of. First it uses present tense which isn’t too difficult for most readers to get through but it is a deviation from the norm and it took me a couple of pages before I settled into this style of reading. Over the course of the book Sally Rooney’s use of present tense enhances the book by providing a deep divide between the inner thought of the characters in the moment as they forge their relationship forward and their deep ruminations on the past actions that have been taken. I definitely think it was a good choice and my experience was better for it. The second quirk is a little harder to get past. The dialogue does not use any quotation marks at all. I don’t know why the book is like this and it took me some time to get used to this wild deviation from standard writing practice but eventually I did move past it. I wonder if I missed some nuance and intrigue in the opening of the book as my mind adjusted to the new normal of Normal People but there was enough in the rest of the book to satiate my appetite fully. Once I was used to the dialogue reading through it was totally natural.

I love the emotions tied up in this book. Even though I wanted to scream at the communication issues these two had, sometimes that is just reality and some people can’t face it. It was unique to read it all play out. I loved it

Beautiful and relatable

The characters are relatable, I don’t think the point of the story is to climax I think it is simply to be relatable, which the author does very well.

Amazing book. Very compelling characters and story line. I felt the emotions of the characters so deeply and really related to the story line

Exceptional book and an exceptional film. Captured many things…brought on so many feelings. I felt myself wanting to know where the relationship platonic or romantic might go next.

the writing style is nice but it isn’t enough to make up for the lackluster story. I was captivated at certain points but really struggled and still haven’t finished the book.

I love how deeply into the minds of Connell and Marianne the writer goes but , when it comes towards the end I felt it was a little more to say.. I don’t know. The ending in the show gave me more closure but, again, maybe that’s what the writer wanted, to let the possibly out there for Connell and Marianne to be together one day..

I was into this book until the end when it seemed like the author just gave Connell a free pass from all the hurt he inflicted upon Marianne. He used her for sex and was at times kind of repulsed by her but yet he kept going back to her when he needed something emotionally. He was ashamed of her and made her feel bad about herself over and over again. It was a very messed up relationship. He was not a good person. He was weak, wish washy and a coward and just fell into things instead of actively going after things with a goal. And yet the author actually wants us to view him as some kind of savior to Marianne just because he threatened her brother. Sorry you don’t get absolution from YEARS of knowingly outright emotionally abusing someone from one act. Marianne was very mentally unstable (I can only deduce that it was due to sexual abuse from her father which made her mother blame her and treat her terribly. Her brother abused her emotionally and physically but not quite clear if there was also sexual abuse towards her along the way - not sure because the author never explains. The mother is pretty much absent throughout the book and the father has long since died so we are given nothing to work with there and thusly must draw our own conclusions). Marianne feels she deserves to be mistreated in every way by everyone she comes in contact with. This was a tough read due to all those issues. You can only endure so much soul crushing negativity before you feel like you have to save yourself. I wish I could scrub my mind from some of the stuff in this book. This is basically just two damaged people who inflict their extreme dysfunction on one another over and over ad naseum. Finally it appears that Connell may be getting on with his life but next thing you know he and Marianne are living together and everything is perfect (how?! She all of a sudden woke up one day and said ya know I should be useful and get a job and try to function in the world like other people? So ridiculous! She needed a lot of therapy and medication and yet nope! She just fixes herself?! Why then? Why not before then? So bizarre) until the author can’t help herself and she throws these two into another conundrum where they can’t quite get on the same page. At some point you gotta move on and these two just can’t quit one another. If you’re a miserable person with no redeeming qualities this might be the book for you. Everyone else - find something different. This will only leave you infuriatingly frustrated.

Something about her writing just speaks to me. I reread it in one night a few months later and liked it even more