Normal People
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- Type：Epub+TxT+PDF+Mobi
- Create Date：2021-03-29 13:18:31
- Update Date：2025-09-06
- Status：finish
- Author：Sally Rooney
- ISBN：0571334652
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Summary
Connell and Marianne grow up in the same small town in rural Ireland。 The similarities end there; they are from very different worlds。 When they both earn places at Trinity College in Dublin， a connection that has grown between them lasts long into the following years。
This is an exquisite love story about how a person can change another person's life - a simple yet profound realisation that unfolds beautifully over the course of the novel。 It tells us how difficult it is to talk about how we feel and it tells us - blazingly - about cycles of domination， legitimacy and privilege。 Alternating menace with overwhelming tenderness， Sally Rooney's second novel breathes fiction with new life。
This is an exquisite love story about how a person can change another person's life - a simple yet profound realisation that unfolds beautifully over the course of the novel。 It tells us how difficult it is to talk about how we feel and it tells us - blazingly - about cycles of domination， legitimacy and privilege。 Alternating menace with overwhelming tenderness， Sally Rooney's second novel breathes fiction with new life。
Reviews
luxe
，
This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers。 To view it， click here。 I love this bookbut I absolutely hate the ending- hate the sadism/masochism relationship- hate the hadestown -eque cyclethey've been through so much mangive em a white picket fencebut I love it I love this bookbut I absolutely hate the ending- hate the sadism/masochism relationship- hate the hadestown -eque cyclethey've been through so much mangive em a white picket fencebut I love it 。。。more
Sagarika
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I feel like I was actually inside the heads of ordinary people when reading this novel。 As a reader， it helps you know that everyone you meet has a tale to tell。 A person's mind is full of continuing battles， as shown by characters， Marianne and Connell。 The love story between the characters didn't make any sense to me。 I tried to understand the dynamic but it felt as if their relationship was complicated for minute reasons。 Marianne and Connell constantly tell each other， "I love you" and "you I feel like I was actually inside the heads of ordinary people when reading this novel。 As a reader， it helps you know that everyone you meet has a tale to tell。 A person's mind is full of continuing battles， as shown by characters， Marianne and Connell。 The love story between the characters didn't make any sense to me。 I tried to understand the dynamic but it felt as if their relationship was complicated for minute reasons。 Marianne and Connell constantly tell each other， "I love you" and "you understand me the best out of everyone in the world"， yet do not want to be in a relationship。 The book would have been better if the relationship factor is taken out because it really leaves the reader confused and agitated。 It was nice to divulged into the inner workings of the human mind and how different stages in life change everyone。 P。S。 don't read this book if you are looking for romance。 It is anything but romance。 。。。more
Zoé
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Beautifully developed characters。 Was a bit slow and repetitive at times for me personally， but overall still great。 I liked the ending。
Joselyn Alvarez
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Doloroso pero necesario。
Samaria
，
The writing style was enjoyable， but I feel as though there wasn’t enough substance to the characters。 The way the emotionally charged moments blend with the awkward and bland moments makes it feel like there’s not really any surprise moments or things that you feel are extremely new and important for/about the characters， and it kind of drags on at points。 But there were enjoyable parts of it， so I wouldn’t want to rate it any lower than 3 stars。
Hannah
，
Someone described this book as a quiet beauty， and this is legitimately the best way to describe it。
Kristel
，
This story follows a man and woman who have been friends or acquaintances since childhood。 Their lives always are intersecting with each other。 The story is set in Ireland and I listened to the audio book with the lilting speech in the reading。 I guess one of the themes of the book is friendships but it is also class。 Marianne is from wealth but her family life is horrible and abusive （I don't think that all wealthy kids live in abusive situations）。 Connell is from probably a middle class family This story follows a man and woman who have been friends or acquaintances since childhood。 Their lives always are intersecting with each other。 The story is set in Ireland and I listened to the audio book with the lilting speech in the reading。 I guess one of the themes of the book is friendships but it is also class。 Marianne is from wealth but her family life is horrible and abusive （I don't think that all wealthy kids live in abusive situations）。 Connell is from probably a middle class family and his relationship with his mother is about perfect。 In grade school Marianne never fit in （also not typical of wealthy people） and Connell did。 In college， Marianne is fitting in and Connell isn't。 The relationship that they share is one of meeting， separating， and very poor communication。 Quote: “It was culture as class performance， literature fetishized for its ability to take educated people on false emotional journeys， so that they might afterward feel superior to the uneducated people whose emotional journeys they liked to read about。”I didn't know this: "Normal People has also been called the first great millennial novel。" see review on the main page。Normal People has been made into a limited series on Hulu。 I have Hulu so maybe I will check it out。 。。。more
Alison Frye
，
Real life is difficult。 The emotions these two felt were visceral。
Niks Eehee
，
Great first work。 Enjoyed the ending， as a good example of a "continual" ending （not with any sort of finite ending）。 I did feel throughout that even M was a secondary character and her friends were all further tertiary characters， while Helen was more prominent etc。 Great first work。 Enjoyed the ending， as a good example of a "continual" ending （not with any sort of finite ending）。 I did feel throughout that even M was a secondary character and her friends were all further tertiary characters， while Helen was more prominent etc。 。。。more
Nicole Miller
，
Loved it but actually thought the character development in the show was even better。
Elise Maajid
，
This is the worst book I have ever read。 Super boring。 Literally no plot。 0/10 do not recommend
Laura
，
If you haven’t been through the experiences these people had been through， you wouldn’t get it。 They’re unlikeable， insecure， and lonely but the patterns make sense。 Unfortunately， my pessimism goes to that this is not real life and while I wish we all could have these fairytale endings where everything is okay， it’s not true。 I found myself believing that I would have been more satisfied if it ended unsatisfyingly。 Maybe I’m just bitter， I don’t know， but I resonated with the story basically un If you haven’t been through the experiences these people had been through， you wouldn’t get it。 They’re unlikeable， insecure， and lonely but the patterns make sense。 Unfortunately， my pessimism goes to that this is not real life and while I wish we all could have these fairytale endings where everything is okay， it’s not true。 I found myself believing that I would have been more satisfied if it ended unsatisfyingly。 Maybe I’m just bitter， I don’t know， but I resonated with the story basically until the end。 Will check out the show though， because sometimes it helps to feel understood。 。。。more
Patricia-Ann Convery
，
Couldn't put this down。 An amazing story of love though mental health an family chaos。 Truly touching and relatable。 Couldn't put this down。 An amazing story of love though mental health an family chaos。 Truly touching and relatable。 。。。more
Rachel Stephens
，
2。5/5 stars - At first the writing really annoyed me because of the lack of quotation marks because all I could think was 'okay Sally， we get it， you don't like grammer。 You're not like other writers。'And now after reading it， I can say that the whole book feels like that intial feeling。 It makes something so small and pointless seem deep and meaningful。The story is just about two people who can't stop sleeping together and keep going in and out of each other's lives。The characters all felt pret 2。5/5 stars - At first the writing really annoyed me because of the lack of quotation marks because all I could think was 'okay Sally， we get it， you don't like grammer。 You're not like other writers。'And now after reading it， I can say that the whole book feels like that intial feeling。 It makes something so small and pointless seem deep and meaningful。The story is just about two people who can't stop sleeping together and keep going in and out of each other's lives。The characters all felt pretty one dimensional too apart from Connell and Marianne who had a bit more depth （not a lot， but a bit）。I also hated the ending。 Like I understand what Rooney was going for， but it just fell so flat haha 。。。more
sarah
，
cishets [crowd boos]
Cë
，
"𝑳𝒐 𝒒𝒖𝒆 𝒕𝒊𝒆𝒏𝒆𝒏 𝒂𝒉𝒐𝒓𝒂 𝒏𝒐 𝒗𝒐𝒍𝒗𝒆𝒓𝒂́𝒏 𝒂 𝒕𝒆𝒏𝒆𝒓𝒍𝒐 𝒏𝒖𝒏𝒄𝒂 𝒎𝒂𝒔。 𝑷𝒆𝒓𝒐 𝒑𝒂𝒓𝒂 𝒆𝒍𝒍𝒂 𝒆𝒍 𝒅𝒐𝒍𝒐𝒓 𝒅𝒆 𝒍𝒂 𝒔𝒐𝒍𝒆𝒅𝒂𝒅 𝒏𝒐 𝒔𝒆𝒓𝒂́ 𝒏𝒂𝒅𝒂 𝒄𝒐𝒎𝒑𝒂𝒓𝒂𝒅𝒐 𝒂𝒍 𝒅𝒐𝒍𝒐𝒓 𝒒𝒖𝒆 𝒔𝒆𝒏𝒕𝒊́𝒂 𝒂𝒏𝒕𝒆𝒔， 𝒆𝒍 𝒅𝒆 𝒔𝒆𝒏𝒕𝒊𝒓 𝒒𝒖𝒆 𝒏𝒐 𝒎𝒆𝒓𝒆𝒄𝒊́𝒂 𝒏𝒂𝒅𝒂。 𝑪𝒐𝒏𝒏𝒆𝒍𝒍 𝒍𝒆 𝒉𝒂 𝒕𝒓𝒂𝒊́𝒅𝒐 𝒆𝒍 𝒓𝒆𝒈𝒂𝒍𝒐 𝒅𝒆 𝒍𝒂 𝒃𝒐𝒏𝒅𝒂𝒅， 𝒚 𝒂𝒉𝒐𝒓𝒂 𝒆𝒔𝒕𝒂 𝒍𝒆 𝒑𝒆𝒓𝒕𝒆𝒏𝒆𝒄𝒆。 𝒀 𝒎𝒊𝒆𝒏𝒕𝒓𝒂𝒔， 𝒍𝒂 𝒗𝒊𝒅𝒂 𝒔𝒆 𝒅𝒆𝒔𝒑𝒍𝒊𝒆𝒈𝒂 𝒂𝒏𝒕𝒆 𝒆́𝒍 𝒆𝒏 𝒕𝒐𝒅𝒂𝒔 𝒍𝒂𝒔 𝒅𝒊𝒓𝒆𝒄𝒄𝒊𝒐𝒏𝒆𝒔 𝒂 𝒍𝒂 𝒗𝒆𝒛。 𝑺𝒆 𝒉𝒂𝒏 𝒉𝒆𝒄𝒉𝒐 𝒎𝒖𝒄𝒉𝒐 𝒃𝒊𝒆𝒏 𝒆𝒍 𝒖𝒏𝒐 𝒂𝒍 𝒐𝒕𝒓𝒐。 𝑬𝒔 𝒂𝒔𝒊́， 𝒑𝒊𝒆𝒏𝒔𝒂， 𝒆𝒔 𝒂𝒔𝒊́。 𝑳𝒂𝒔 𝒑𝒆𝒓𝒔𝒐𝒏𝒂𝒔 𝒑𝒖𝒆𝒅𝒆𝒏 𝒕𝒓𝒂𝒏𝒔𝒇𝒐𝒓𝒎𝒂𝒓𝒔𝒆 𝒅𝒆 𝒗𝒆𝒓𝒅𝒂𝒅 𝒖𝒏𝒂𝒔 𝒂 𝒐𝒕𝒓𝒂𝒔。" 4。5/5 ⭐️ En este libro la autora Sally Roone "𝑳𝒐 𝒒𝒖𝒆 𝒕𝒊𝒆𝒏𝒆𝒏 𝒂𝒉𝒐𝒓𝒂 𝒏𝒐 𝒗𝒐𝒍𝒗𝒆𝒓𝒂́𝒏 𝒂 𝒕𝒆𝒏𝒆𝒓𝒍𝒐 𝒏𝒖𝒏𝒄𝒂 𝒎𝒂𝒔。 𝑷𝒆𝒓𝒐 𝒑𝒂𝒓𝒂 𝒆𝒍𝒍𝒂 𝒆𝒍 𝒅𝒐𝒍𝒐𝒓 𝒅𝒆 𝒍𝒂 𝒔𝒐𝒍𝒆𝒅𝒂𝒅 𝒏𝒐 𝒔𝒆𝒓𝒂́ 𝒏𝒂𝒅𝒂 𝒄𝒐𝒎𝒑𝒂𝒓𝒂𝒅𝒐 𝒂𝒍 𝒅𝒐𝒍𝒐𝒓 𝒒𝒖𝒆 𝒔𝒆𝒏𝒕𝒊́𝒂 𝒂𝒏𝒕𝒆𝒔， 𝒆𝒍 𝒅𝒆 𝒔𝒆𝒏𝒕𝒊𝒓 𝒒𝒖𝒆 𝒏𝒐 𝒎𝒆𝒓𝒆𝒄𝒊́𝒂 𝒏𝒂𝒅𝒂。 𝑪𝒐𝒏𝒏𝒆𝒍𝒍 𝒍𝒆 𝒉𝒂 𝒕𝒓𝒂𝒊́𝒅𝒐 𝒆𝒍 𝒓𝒆𝒈𝒂𝒍𝒐 𝒅𝒆 𝒍𝒂 𝒃𝒐𝒏𝒅𝒂𝒅， 𝒚 𝒂𝒉𝒐𝒓𝒂 𝒆𝒔𝒕𝒂 𝒍𝒆 𝒑𝒆𝒓𝒕𝒆𝒏𝒆𝒄𝒆。 𝒀 𝒎𝒊𝒆𝒏𝒕𝒓𝒂𝒔， 𝒍𝒂 𝒗𝒊𝒅𝒂 𝒔𝒆 𝒅𝒆𝒔𝒑𝒍𝒊𝒆𝒈𝒂 𝒂𝒏𝒕𝒆 𝒆́𝒍 𝒆𝒏 𝒕𝒐𝒅𝒂𝒔 𝒍𝒂𝒔 𝒅𝒊𝒓𝒆𝒄𝒄𝒊𝒐𝒏𝒆𝒔 𝒂 𝒍𝒂 𝒗𝒆𝒛。 𝑺𝒆 𝒉𝒂𝒏 𝒉𝒆𝒄𝒉𝒐 𝒎𝒖𝒄𝒉𝒐 𝒃𝒊𝒆𝒏 𝒆𝒍 𝒖𝒏𝒐 𝒂𝒍 𝒐𝒕𝒓𝒐。 𝑬𝒔 𝒂𝒔𝒊́， 𝒑𝒊𝒆𝒏𝒔𝒂， 𝒆𝒔 𝒂𝒔𝒊́。 𝑳𝒂𝒔 𝒑𝒆𝒓𝒔𝒐𝒏𝒂𝒔 𝒑𝒖𝒆𝒅𝒆𝒏 𝒕𝒓𝒂𝒏𝒔𝒇𝒐𝒓𝒎𝒂𝒓𝒔𝒆 𝒅𝒆 𝒗𝒆𝒓𝒅𝒂𝒅 𝒖𝒏𝒂𝒔 𝒂 𝒐𝒕𝒓𝒂𝒔。" 4。5/5 ⭐️ En este libro la autora Sally Rooney nos trae la historia entre dos adolescentes， Marianne y Connell， que pasan de ser simplemente conocidos， a serlo todo。 Marianne y Connell son como dos almas gemelas que no están necesariamente destinadas a estar juntas。 Se entienden el uno al otro， se complementan， son el refugio seguro del otro pero aún así， las circunstancias de la vida los mantienen alejados。------------------------------------------------------------------------- Lo primero que voy a decir es que este libro es de mis lecturas favoritas en lo que va del 2021 y partiendo de esa base， ya es predecible lo que pienso del libro。 Básicamente， lo amé。 Me pareció una historia tan real y me metí tan de lleno que por momentos era como si no estuviera leyendo simplemente un libro。 Creo que los personajes están tan muy bien desarrollados y con sus personalidades super plasmadas en la historia， con lo cual te conectas de una manera casi automática con ellos。 No me costó nada empatizar y sufrir de la forma en la que ellos sufrían。 Además que es casi imposible no verse reflejadx en muchas de las situaciones que pasan。Generalmente cuando termino un libro que tiene una historia de amor que no tiene un final "feliz" o el esperado， me suele pasar que siento como un dolorcito en el pecho， que no es el caso de "Gente normal"。 No se si será el simple hecho de que la viví como una historia tan transparente y con los pies sobre la tierra （no se me ocurrió otra expresión） o que。 （Vale aclarar que este libro no es simplemente una historia de amor）。 Yo lo recomiendo para +15/16， a ver， no hay nada muuuuy picante pero si que hay escenas explicitas。Si es verdad que la narración es un poco confusa y rápida， de repente estas en marzo y en el capitulo que le sigue ya es agosto， con lo cual eso dificulta seguirle un poco el ritmo。 Sin embargo no es algo taaaan grave。 Otro punto a destacar es que después de leer algunas reseñas de otras personas， coincido con muchxs de que los temas tan serios que se plantean en el libro （depresión， suicidi0， violencia， etc） no son tocados con tanta profundidad y con la importancia que se merecen。 Por lo que yo entiendo， y sin intención de justificar， creo que la autora decidió no indagar tanto en esto。 Son temas tan delicados （que por supuesto MERECEN Y DEBEN de ser hablados） pero que si no están bien desarrollados， pueden causar incomodidad y un malestar entre quienes leen el libro。 En conclusión， es un buen libro para leer y que lo super recomiendo， animense :） 。。。more
Faith Nee
，
This book gives me Girls on HBO By Lena Dunham vibes but， I don’t hate it。
Kitty Schwartz
，
I watched the show before reading the book， and though I enjoyed the show， there were still so many things that didn’t translate for me through the visual medium。 I’m so happy I decided to read the book because it’s by far one of my favorites I’ve read so far this year。 I can relate heavily to Connell’s anxiety and Marianne’s matter-of-fact self-hatred， on some level。 It’s almost painful to watch these aspects of yourself alive and playing against one another at every turn。 So much that stands i I watched the show before reading the book， and though I enjoyed the show， there were still so many things that didn’t translate for me through the visual medium。 I’m so happy I decided to read the book because it’s by far one of my favorites I’ve read so far this year。 I can relate heavily to Connell’s anxiety and Marianne’s matter-of-fact self-hatred， on some level。 It’s almost painful to watch these aspects of yourself alive and playing against one another at every turn。 So much that stands in the way of their relationship seemed to come from a fundamental lack of communication， but it’s so much more than that。 They have to deal with mental illness， a warped sense of love and devotion stemming from abuse， and major power differences in terms of gender and most especially， class。 It’s fascinating how their positions change and shift over a period of time。 It’s genuinely sad to see the unexplainable tension that outside forces create， causing rift after rift in their relationship。 Yet， I think this is by far one of the more nuanced， and beautiful， depictions of formative love I’ve read。 It’s subtle and so meticulous that I could clearly see their inner worlds-they felt as real， or more real， than people I know in life。 All I know is I left the end feeling an ache that is hard to shake。 。。。more
Charlotte Humphrey
，
this one’s been on the shelf for a while because I just couldn’t get into it after I bought it a few years ago。 thankfully I waited to read it until right now。 a beautiful “normal” yet completely un-normal love story！
Giorgia Danesin
，
This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers。 To view it， click here。 Ho sentito molto parlare del romanzo， da dopo l'uscita della serie TV。 Non conoscevo la storia ma ero comunque incuriosita， dato il forte impatto mediatico。Non sapevo cosa aspettarmi！ Il libro è piacevole， affronta tematiche importanti， come la malattia mentale， la violenza domestica e la solitudine。Sento di aver vissuto alcuni buchi di trama， che si riferiscono quasi sempre alla storia di Marianne， meno per Connel！ In generale è stata una bella lettura， ma non so se leggerai altro dell'autrice！ Ho sentito molto parlare del romanzo， da dopo l'uscita della serie TV。 Non conoscevo la storia ma ero comunque incuriosita， dato il forte impatto mediatico。Non sapevo cosa aspettarmi！ Il libro è piacevole， affronta tematiche importanti， come la malattia mentale， la violenza domestica e la solitudine。Sento di aver vissuto alcuni buchi di trama， che si riferiscono quasi sempre alla storia di Marianne， meno per Connel！ In generale è stata una bella lettura， ma non so se leggerai altro dell'autrice！ 。。。more
carly
，
yeah i liked it but now i feel weird
last hope
，
Po obejrzeniu serialu wylałam na Normalnych ludzi masę hejtu。Po przeczytaniu książki zdania nie zmieniam。Dla mnie ta książka jest kolejnym przykładem romantyzowania toksycznych relacji， zachowań。Trudna miłość？ Nie wiem co trudnego jest w rozmawianiu ze sobą， a ci bohaterowie tego nie potrafili。Narcystyczny bohater i jego ofiara， która daje się manipulować w każdy sposób。Normalni ludzie z całą pewnością nie są dla mnie normalni。
Courtney
，
Sad。 Abusive。 Incredibly frustrating book。 The characters had good chemistry but it never seemed to come together correctly。 For some this book willBe incredibly triggering。
Shanan
，
This book came alive for me when Connell began dating Helen and she was so “nice” and he found himself “happy” and everything was “normal。” This small but significant plot point happened just over halfway through the book but， truly， it was worth the wait。 It was this moment in the novel that I felt like I understood both Connell and Marianne just as they were also learning to understand （and fight for） themselves and each other—how cool is that？ When I read “People can really change one another This book came alive for me when Connell began dating Helen and she was so “nice” and he found himself “happy” and everything was “normal。” This small but significant plot point happened just over halfway through the book but， truly， it was worth the wait。 It was this moment in the novel that I felt like I understood both Connell and Marianne just as they were also learning to understand （and fight for） themselves and each other—how cool is that？ When I read “People can really change one another” at the end I was so grateful to have been in this story。 Random moment that I loved that also captures Sally Rooney’s voice， with regards to why people attend book readings or other literary events:“They were attended only by people who wanted to be the kind of people who attended them。” 。。。more
Maria Milet
，
“Among Rooney's abiding concerns are the fluctuating power dynamics in relationships。 Issues of class， privilege， passivity， submission， emotional and physical pain， kindness， and depression all come into play。“ nada que eu ame mais que personagens problematicos， instaveis e depressivos💞💞💞💞💞💞💞💞💞 “Among Rooney's abiding concerns are the fluctuating power dynamics in relationships。 Issues of class， privilege， passivity， submission， emotional and physical pain， kindness， and depression all come into play。“ nada que eu ame mais que personagens problematicos， instaveis e depressivos💞💞💞💞💞💞💞💞💞 。。。more
Sidney
，
Great writing just wasn’t my favorite。 Weird relationship dynamic between the characters， read it a while ago though。 （Read sometime in the month of January）
Jesse
，
This book was ok。 It definitely is not my cup of tea， but I can see why other people enjoyed it。 In my opinion there was no end， and there was barely even a middle。 This book is definitely a book an English literature student would read， like you can just tell。 However， I don't feel changed after reading and I don't think I would recommend it。 I do kind of want to watch the tv show to see a different portrayal of the story。 This book was ok。 It definitely is not my cup of tea， but I can see why other people enjoyed it。 In my opinion there was no end， and there was barely even a middle。 This book is definitely a book an English literature student would read， like you can just tell。 However， I don't feel changed after reading and I don't think I would recommend it。 I do kind of want to watch the tv show to see a different portrayal of the story。 。。。more
Sarah
，
I strongly disliked this。 The writing level felt like a preteen book。 Not for me。
Laura Mancano
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Normal People is a literary fiction novel written by Irish author Sally Rooney。 It was published in London in 2018 and in the United States in 2019， and this is Rooney’s second novel （preceded by Conversations with Friends）。 The book explores the relationship between Connell Waldron and Marianne Sheridan， two adolescents who grew up in the same small town， over a series of years。 Originally having nothing in common， from economic standing to popularity in school， an inexplicable bond begins to f Normal People is a literary fiction novel written by Irish author Sally Rooney。 It was published in London in 2018 and in the United States in 2019， and this is Rooney’s second novel （preceded by Conversations with Friends）。 The book explores the relationship between Connell Waldron and Marianne Sheridan， two adolescents who grew up in the same small town， over a series of years。 Originally having nothing in common， from economic standing to popularity in school， an inexplicable bond begins to form between the two after an unexpected conversation。 tFor me personally， one of the best things about this novel is that I couldn’t pick a favorite character。 My loyalty was constantly wavering back and forth between Marianne and Connell， but in the end I came to love them both equally， despite their flaws。 I never questioned the believability of their thoughts， choices， and motives， and， no pun intended， they were fully just “normal people” trying to get by in this world， despite their self-deprecating thoughts that insisted they weren’t normal。 tI can see how this writing style might prove challenging for some people - there are a lot of time jumps and a significant amount of grammar is left out。 However， as someone who’s read Invisible Monsters by Chuck Palahniuk and Trainspotting by Irvine Welsh， neither of those elements bothered me， and I found it easy to adjust to Rooney’s writing methods。 In addition， I felt like the lack of definitive grammar spoke to the communication level between Connell and Marianne - the two of them can be so blunt and transparent with each other， but there are also moments of severe communication difficulties and misunderstandings between the two of them。 Grammar serves as a major indicator in regard to a character’s verbal intentions， and I think the lack of this structure was a brilliant way of conveying the dynamic between the two main characters。tI loved how this book was purely character driven。 Books with elaborate worlds and settings are wonderful， but there’s something to be said for a beautifully written work that really delves into its characters。 Despite already living through my adolescence， this book definitely changed how I look at life， especially my communication with those around me。 Also， as strange as it sounds， this book left me yearning for a connection like the one Marianne and Connell have。 Not in the sexual way or the sometimes hurtful way they speak to each other， in the way that they just seem to always be their authentic selves when together （“Being alone with her is like opening a door away from normal life and then closing it behind him。”）。 They just know how to orbit around each other， and can generally easily pick up on what the other one is feeling。 A lot of the time it seems like Connell knows what Marianne needs， and I’m envious of that connection with another human。 They may not have conventional love， but there is still something so pure about the love they do share。 I think the quote， “All these years， they’ve been like two little plants sharing the same plot of soil， growing around one another， contorting to make room， taking certain unlikely positions，” is a beautiful way of describing their dynamic。tI found the plot of the book to be consistently unpredictable， even though this sometimes left me heartbroken or dissatisfied。 However， I do not mean dissatisfied in a negative way。 I mean that not everything wrapped up with a perfect little bow all the time， and honestly that’s how life works。 While I didn’t necessarily get the concrete conclusion I wanted， that doesn’t mean that the ending was not appropriate for the novel。 It was realistic， and reality is a complex creature。tI have already been recommending this book to essentially everyone I know。 This is a book that has secured a place on my top ten， and I will forever keep it in my collection because I feel like I’ll never get tired of discussing it。 I find it absolutely engaging。 I cried several times while reading it: from the beauty of it and the touching moments to the difficult life events the characters had to endure。 But the crying felt like an appropriate release - there was no crying in a bad way。 It made me feel something， and at the end of the day， isn’t that what we all want from literature？“It suggests to Connell that the same imagination he used as a reader is necessary to understand real people also， and to be intimate with them。” 。。。more
Susan Legnini
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Loved til his book and did not want it to end！！！
Reference
google book https://www.google.com/search?tbm=bks&q=Normal People
hathitrust digital library https://babel.hathitrust.org/cgi/ls?q1=Normal People&field1=ocr&a=srchls&ft=ft&lmt=ft
The British Library https://bll01.primo.exlibrisgroup.com/discovery/search?query=any,contains,Normal People&tab=LibraryCatalog&search_scope=Not_BL_Suppress&vid=44BL_INST:BLL01&lang=en&offset=0