Introduction
Normal People by Sally Rooney subverts expectation, and makes you think about the messiness of love in ways that may be uncomfortable - yet oddly fulfilling. This book tells a tale of two friends, weaving in and out of each other’s lives, and no matter how much they may want to remain friends, they are drawn to each other like moths to a flame.
A Summary
Normal People follows Marianne Sheridan and Connell Waldron - two Irish teenagers whose lives become entangled in ways neither fully understands. In school, Connell is popular and well liked whereas Marianne is isolated, bullied and considered a nuisance in her own home. Their secret relationship begins as something unspoken, formed out of secrecy, safety and their own insecurities. As they move to university, their power dynamic shifts. Marianne blossoms socially while Connell struggles to find his grip on his new environment. Their connection remains, however, and morphs into a complicated, endearing, painful and relatable mess. The novel traces their relationship over several years, exploring how love can be both a refuge and a mirror that forces you to confront who you are. This novel discusses themes of class differences, and how your class changes your perception of the world around you, while also tackling deep mental health struggles that many of us go through.
Writing Style
As someone who had never read a Sally Rooney book before, but has heard *a lot *about the way she uses punctuation, and the style she writes in, I was pleasantly surprised at how easy it was to read. I typically avoid reading books without quotation marks as it is often hard for me to get into and finish but with this book, I was hooked from the first chapter. The characters feel layered, nuanced and simultaneously relatable. Rooney captured the awkwardness and intensity of young adulthood so perfectly in this book, especially in the dialogue. The dialogue is snappy, her prose is rhythmic and her descriptions minimalistic.
What I Loved
Well I am not sure where to start because there was so much that I adored about this book! The first thing that comes to mind is the realism of the characters. They aren’t angels; they’re human. They make mistakes, run away from their problems, deal with loneliness and do things they’ll regret. I also love the exploration of class within this novel. It isn’t something that is a central point to the book but it does shape parts of how the story unfolds, which feels very realistic to how society functions. When reading it over, I found myself focusing heavily on how the differences of class shaped each character - especially Connell. Rooney also handles mental health in a similar way, with mental health issues like depression, anxiety, trauma and self-hatred weaving its way throughout the novel, without ever being at the forefront of the story. It influences everything while not being the focus. Also, I just adore the plot itself. The format in which it is written fits the type of story that Rooney wanted to tell. I felt that the format of the chapters acted as a binding glue to keep everything tightly held together.
What I Didn’t Love
Overall, I did love the story as a whole but a few things knocked it down from a 5/5 in my eyes. First of all, Marianne’s suffering seems to go nowhere. Throughout the book, she is shown to have plenty of trauma, and this manifests in multiple ways, but none of them ever seem to get cleared up in any way. It is stated at the end that she hasn’t gone home for awhile, nor spoken to Debbie, but I think that is the most closure we get. I feel like if the book was longer, there could have been more growth. However, I do understand that when the story ends, she is still in her twenties, figuring out life and who she is, so I get that it wasn’t resolved. Again, it feels realistic rather than an idyllic ending. The only other problem I had was more of a reader’s preference - some of the chapters were 30 or so pages and, in my opinion, it can make the book feel like it is dragging, when in reality the chapters are just ginormous for a book of this size.
Does Normal People contain spicy scenes?
Yes - Normal People definitely has intimate scenes, but calling them “spicy” feels a bit like calling a cup of lemon tea a triple espresso. The scenes are there, and they matter, but Rooney isn’t writing them to make you blush so much as to make you wince. They’re emotionally charged, deeply character-driven, and sometimes tender in that awkward, vulnerable way that feels painfully true to being young and crippingly unsure of yourself. Other times they’re uncomfortable, because the book is really more interested in power, communication, and the messy ways people try (and fail) to understand each other. Think less like butterflies in your stomach and more like a therapy session with bad lighting. Rooney treats intimacy like a psychological case study, not a spectacle. It’s all about what Connell and Marianne reveal, run from, or completely misinterpret when they’re closest to each other.
Recommendation
I would definitely read this book. It is relatively short for a romance book, but it may be triggering to those who have suffered familial abuse in their lives. Overall, this is an astoundingly realistic tale that says more off of the page than on it. Also, supporting Sally Rooney as an author is something I will always stand by! Read the book!
Songs
Songs that I find reminiscent of the book:
A Pearl by Mitski
I Am the Antichrist To You by Kishi Bashi
Love Me More by Mitski
Cardigan by Taylor Swift
Two Slow Dancers by Mitski
Say Yes To Heaven by Lana Del Ray
(P.S. We made them links so feel free to click on them and get teleported straight into the vibes.)
