Normal People
Normal People, a fictional novel by Sally Rooney, follows Connell and Marianne’s relationship from high school through college. In high school, they started to see each other - secretly, upon Connell’s request, because while he was popular and well-adjusted, Marianne was an outcast. Marianne was supposedly okay with this because she’s been mistreated her entire life. However, post-high school, the tables turn. Marianne reinvents herself and becomes well-liked at Trinity College, while Connell struggles with making friends and his mental health. They both embark on relationships with different people, but they always find their way back to each other once those relationships inevitably end.
This book made me absolutely miserable, but in a good way. It’s the same ol’ plot line we all know and hate (because we’ve lived through it in our own lives) - the will-they-or-won’t-they, the on-and-off tug-of-war. It’s certainly familiar to me. While Normal People broke my heart, it made me feel less lonely in my heartbreak. It reminded me that most people we get with aren’t right for us, but that doesn’t stop us from trying to hold on to them. Even imperfect love born out of brokenness can be beautiful.
The writing can be a little off-putting. There aren’t any quotation marks anywhere, and I understand it as a stylistic choice, but it made the distance between the reader and the characters feel really pronounced, which is great if that’s what Rooney was going for, but I’m not sure why she would go for that. It felt like I was watching them through a TV screen instead of actually being there in the room. On top of that, all of the side characters were so one-dimensional that they could’ve all been the same person and I wouldn’t have noticed. Rooney placed strange emphasis on insignificant moments (at one point, she spent three paragraphs describing Marianne making tea) and brushed over some really potentially poignant parts. Despite all this, the plot carried this book and made it a worthwhile read.
Rating: 7/10
