Normal People
Ratings1,025
Average rating3.6
“This isn't a slow burn, it's just burn.” -my friends interpretation of me ranting about this book.
I was so infuriated while reading it. Not that it's a bad book at all, but I enjoyed it in a masochistic way, you know? Like I was tweaking throughout it, like I just wanted them to be happy and then they were constantly miserable and then the constant miscommunication just AAAAAAAA
I first read Normal People in the summer of 2021. I absolutely loved Rooney's writing, her dialogue and her social commentary. The situationship between the two main characters kept me reeling until the end- I was STRESSED. So when I originally finished it, I wasn't stoked, but I continue to think about this book all the time. One day I'll be brave enough for a re-read. <3
Frustrating and sad, but in a very real way. I enjoyed the jumpiness in the structure/timeline. I think Rooney captures the liminal space between misunderstanding remarkably well, and her characters are complex and unpolished much like real life.
DEVORÉ💅🏻
Completamente enganchada, quieres saber de ellos más y más. Marianne y Connell son tan complicados por dentro que te enganchan y su relación tienen tantas capas que parece tan real. El final ?? Bitch WTF dame algo más.
I spent the majority of this book internally screaming “JUST TALK TO EACH OTHER!!” The only reason I didn’t do that aloud was so I didn’t disturb my husband who consistently expresses he’ll never understand why I choose to read these books. 🫠
I kind of enjoyed this book. While the passive voice felt a bit awkward at first, I adjusted quickly and picked up the pace.
After that it's an easy read. I didn't mind the ambiguous ending befure but over time I see why people don't like it.
One of the major gripe I had was an unnecessary character arc that could have been avoided. Another issue is the less fleshed-out, forgettable side characters.
Overall, though, it’s an alright book. It has some flaws and I have heard rooney gets repetitive. But as my first sally rooney read it was entertaining.
The novel wouldn't be there if people in it communicated better. But that aspect didn't frustrate me that much as others since I have seen conflicts due to miscommunication. So the premise didn't feel unbelievable.
I did a lot of crying while reading this book. The window into the loneliness of damaged souls.
“Even in memory she will find this moment unbearably intense, and she's aware of this now, while it's happening. She has never believed herself fit to be loved by any person. But now she has a new life, of which this is the first moment, and even after many years have passed she will still think: Yes, that was it, the beginning of my life.”
miscommunication tropes/slowburn can sometime frustrate the fuck out of me but i wasn’t that frustrated reading this. i actually liked the characters and felt like i understood why they were miscommunicating
I appreciate the story telling on this book. When this came out, there were a lot of mixed reviews so I thought I'd let it pass. It was a good book though, for me, everything that was happening was so normal, I felt relaxed. I thought for a moment that people were so focused with their opinion with Marianne and some of them forgot Connell was in the room.
I have one massive issue though, the brother-what's-his-name, I was so mad at him, I wanted to beat him up and I was waiting for maybe a redemption or something tragic to happen to him. I was so riled up and agitated I had to stop and curse for a full minute and then I thought how normal it is for some people to act like him.
Sparse in its prose, unrelenting in its personal depth. No quotation marks was initially frustrating but quickly lent itself to a smooth reading process. Years pass as each chapter announces a shift in weeks and months, and readers are carried through the thoughts of our two leads and many of the romance-related events in their lives.
I found myself deeply moved by passages, with lines and moments touching my own personal experiences, even though a large portion of the novel remains faded and toneless. The settings, background people and even the way the characters themselves look aren't Rooney's concern. Instead, she covers facets of being in a deep relationship - social signals, the intermingling and sometimes indistinguishableness between submission and vulnerability, growth, change, worthiness, darkness, care, obliviousness and confusion.
I was taken aback by the starkness in the depiction of more adult subjects, but it was fitting for the book's visually unvaried language. The inner dialogue reveals potent ties to mental health from broken homes and single mothers, depression, anxiety, and self-worth. This is all intermingled with discussions on class, 2010s youth social media and typical European university student experiences such as dinners, parties and exchanges.
A personally profound read and one where I became rapidly attached to these two characters circling each other throughout their changing adolescent lives.
This was a library book so I'm fine dnfing. Had I bought it I probably would try to carry on but the lack of speech marks just confused me it felt all like one string of consciousness which after 10% still hasn't hooked me in to care
Não estava em um bom momento para ler esse livro, então precisei parar, mas pretendo retomar a leitura em algum momento.
Es la historia de dos personas que no pueden dejar de encontrarse, que a pesar de los desencuentros y malos entendidos encuentran la manera de volver a estar juntxs.
Lo que no se dice ocupa tanto o más lugar que lo que está escrito, es una novela llena de silencios y de pausas que dicen un montón.
La mayoría de las veces Connell y Marianne no saben qué decir, o cómo expresarse, no entienden sus propios pensamientos y sentimientos, lo que a la vez lxs aleja y lxs lleva otra vez a encontrarse.
La conocí por la serie, que empecé el año pasado y dejé a la mitad porque no quería que terminara, y lo mismo me pasó al leer, sentí a los personajes muy muy cerca, termino la novela casi preocupada por lo que les espera
I loved it. It’s beautifully written. Read a few pages everyday while eating a croissant and sipping on an espresso.
I got to say I never experienced relationship portrayal as intimate as this. This is was just fantastic and relatable, the way I am able to relate to this characters and understand what they are feeling is probably the closest I feel like knowing a person. I understood where they misunderstood each other feelings and yet they grow up together and they make each other better by going through various points of their life and that was simply beautiful. Someday I feel like someone will help me get better like they did. I honestly gotta say this is like my fourth book I have ever read so I don't know how my opinion will change if I chose to reread this. For now Normal People is "the book" for me.
3,5⭐️
I love this vibey existential reflection on life and that's precisely why I enjoyed the book. While acknowledging all the flaws and finding ending be underwhelming and a bit disappointing, I still think the book is a solid read if you also love those gloomy and philosophical moods. The genre I'd say closer to literary fiction excluding the ending which didn't make much sense for me.
Another part why I enjoyed the book it's cause I related to characters more than I'd like to admit
My first Rooney. I intentionally avoided her back in the day - hyped, relationship-focused, often described as Austen for millennials - eeeh, maybe I'm not the target audience, tv series passed me by as well
I dont know how to describe this book im actually devestated by the ending but also in love because that was actually perfect.
নাহ, সব মিলিয়ে ভালো লাগলো না। ইয়াং-অ্যাডাল্ট ঘরানার সাহিত্যের সঙ্গে আমি খুব বেশি পরিচিত নই। স্যালি রুনি�� নাম শুনতে পাই অনেক, তাই নেহাত কৌতূহলের বশে বইটা পড়া শুরু করেছিলাম। লেখিকার গদ্যশৈলী মন্দ নয়, গল্পটাও মোটামুটি চলনসই, কিন্তু তবু... শেষ পর্যন্ত underwhelming মনে হলো।
সংস্কৃতির (এবং হয়তো জেনারেশনেরও) ভিন্নতার কারণে কিনা জানি না, এই কাহিনির চরিত্রদের সঙ্গে আমি একাত্মবোধ করতে পারিনি। বড্ডো নকল লেগেছে পুরো ব্যাপারটা। ইশকুল-কলেজের ছেলেমেয়েদের জীবনযাপন, কথাবার্তা, হাবভাব, যেমনটা দেখানো হয়েছে, আয়ারল্যান্ডে কি মাত্র ১৮/১৯/২০-বছর বয়সেই সবাই এরকম বুড়োমার্কা হয়ে যায়? আর যদ্দুর বুঝলাম, সেই দেশে কোনো কুসুমেরই মন নাই, শুধু শরীর, শরীর।
গল্পের কিছু বিষয় কিন্তু সামাজিকভাবে ভীষণ গুরুত্বপূর্ণ। অল্পবয়েসি সিঙ্গল-মাদার, টক্সিক/অ্যাবিউজিভ/ম্যানিপুলেটিভ সম্পর্ক (রোমান্টিক কিংবা ডোমেস্টিক— দু রকমই), কিশোর বয়সের যৌনতা, একাকীত্ব, alienation, সেলফ-ডাউট, এরকম বেশ কিছু দরকারি জিনিস উঠে এসেছে। কিন্তু খিচুড়িতে কিছু-কিছু সবজি ভালো করে সেদ্ধ হয়নি। আবার কিছু-কিছু সবজি বেশি সেদ্ধ হয়ে গেছে।
el diálogo y la forma de escribir deja mucho que desear, no se me acabó de hacer cómodo, aún así, la historia es increíble, que dos connell y marianne que hacen lo que quieren conmigo