Normal People - Sally Rooney

The novel follows the complex friendship and relationship between two teenagers, Connell and Marianne, who both attend the same secondary school in County Sligo, Ireland, and, later, Trinity College Dublin (TCD). It is set during the post-2008 Irish economic downturn, from 2011 through 2015. (link)

Review: 4/5

Once I had a talk with my roommate about the meaning, I was devastated by this book. However, before that discussion, I was slightly confused and not super into it. I liked this book, but I think it is slightly overhyped. I had a really hard time empathizing with the characters because I personally don’t feel like it was a relatable situation for me... I'm gonna be honest, I wasn’t having a friends with benefits situation in high school - BUT I know me saying that isn’t relatable for a lot of people.

The reason that I liked this book was because the characters were relatable in a way that they adapted and evolved, but then also retracted within their own character arcs. Something that I couldn’t tell if I liked in this book was Marianne’s whole character arc. I think she was relatable in an insecure girl way when she was thinking she had everything figured out, but it was really hard for me to appreciate her in a way that wasn’t anti-woman. The parts where she was getting abused and Connell had to stand up for her… and it kept happening over and over again, was confusing for my heartstrings. This felt like a typical play into unrequited love where the male character stands up for the female character and saves the day. She’s helpless! Oh noooooo! What would happen if he weren’t there?! It was a very heavy play on a white knight scenario.

Also, as a 21-year-old woman it feels AWFUL to read about highschoolers having sex. I know that the sex scenes weren’t heavily described, but knowing that’s the basis of their whole relationship was so incredibly awkward and honestly made me feel icky. The fact that their entire relationship is based off of this idea of them being friends with benefits at a young age, and that basis also providing so much depth to their relationship through them treating each other like shit? It was hard to read.

I feel like this book is a different alternate universe version of Alone With You In The Ether, which I was a really big fan of. However, I feel that the characters in this book lost a lot of relatability through their ups and downs due to the fact that it didn’t seem that the characters learned from their mistakes at all. When I am personally reading a story about “relatable” and “normal people” I want to see them grow like normal people should! But again, is it just so aggravating to me because I am currently surrounded by people who seem like they don’t want to grow from their own mistakes? Hold on… I need to reflect internally for a moment.

Alright, reflecting done! I think when I read this book, I fell into the hype of why everyone else loved it. I also fell into the fact that Paul Masco is really really f****** hot. So do I blame myself for falling into that trance? No. Would: I marry Paul mescal if given the chance? Yes.

This book was very nostalgic for me, so there are some high-school hits in there for me. Might not be relatable for you but… boohoo!

Spotify: LINK