Reviews tagging 'Addiction'

Normal People by Sally Rooney

45 reviews

annoyedhumanoid's review against another edition

dark emotional reflective sad medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

2.75

(adjusted from 2.375 [rounded down to 2.25] to 2.75)

ugghhh. i went into this really wanting to like it, but it was just not for me. that's partly my fault. i had decided to take a hiatus from reading The Song of Achilles because i knew it had a tragic ending and i'm not in the best mental state rn and wanted something uplifting, when i discovered both the ebook and audiobook of Normal People immediately available to borrow on Libby. don't know what i was thinking to not check the moods and content warnings if i wanted something lighthearted—that's literally what storygraph is for, totally on me.

in a word, this book was upsetting. i've heard someone (specifically, booktuber emmie) describe reading The Goldfinch (haven't read it myself) as having a kind of second-hand depression effect, and i understand it now because Normal People had this very effect on me. three particularly disturbing scenes come to mind:

Connell's former economics teacher attempting to sexually assault him

,

Marianne's entire relationship with Lukas

, and

the otherwise-nondescript scene ~88% through when Connell and Marianne have sex for the first time since their first year in college

. this latter scene was the worst of the bunch for me because both characters felt so hollow—not in their characterization (Sally Rooney could never), but in their mental states. it's like they're both desperately grasping at something to give them a sense of fulfillment, but their desperation is so painfully undisguised that i found it genuinely depressing. from the very beginning there's a vague sense that the two will end up together in the end, so for it to amount to (at the time) this bleak scene makes their love seem more like inevitability, futility, rather than meant-to-be. the ending doesn't do much to dispel this pervasive hopelessness. of course, this isn't an inherent downfall of the book, Sally Rooney is allowed to write a modern tragedy, it just very much wasn't for me, unfortunately.

with that main point out of the way, it was objectively well-written with lovely prose. i really liked its pacing, jumping forward in time but catching readers up with flashbacks. its general concept reminded me of The Namesake, following a character or characters across years of their life and focusing mainly on romantic relationships, and i prefer Normal People's execution over The Namesake's. 2⅜ stars

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Bullying, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Mental illness, Physical abuse, Sexual content, Toxic relationship, Blood, Gaslighting, Sexual harassment, Injury/Injury detail, and Classism

Moderate: Adult/minor relationship, Body horror, Body shaming, Cursing, Death, Infidelity, Panic attacks/disorders, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Violence, Abortion, and Alcohol

Minor: Addiction, Drug abuse, Drug use, Eating disorder, Homophobia, Racism, Self harm, Sexism, Vomit, Death of parent, Pregnancy, Toxic friendship, and War

kathrinellis's review against another edition

challenging emotional reflective sad medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

I honestly can’t decide whether this is a genius story or just mediocre. The characters are so detestable and toxic yet I feel like this depiction of growing up is (sadly) an accurate portrayal of the experience many young adults make, which makes this indeed “normal”. It’s a captivating story although not much is going on. I’m very excited to read more by Sally Rooney. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Bullying, Death, Drug abuse, Eating disorder, Emotional abuse, Mental illness, Physical abuse, Sexual content, Suicide, Toxic relationship, Violence, Blood, Toxic friendship, Abandonment, Alcohol, and Injury/Injury detail

birkenstonk's review against another edition

emotional inspiring reflective sad fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? N/A
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Eating disorder, Panic attacks/disorders, Physical abuse, Self harm, Sexual violence, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Toxic relationship, and Toxic friendship

foxtrot_'s review against another edition

emotional reflective slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

Such an intresting writing style, its been a long while since I read a book with such morally grey characters which I really did enjoy because it was so clearly meant to be that way and it was pulled of well. I can see this being a book I recommend to people whilst I continue to have a love/hate relationship with the story itself

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Addiction, Bullying, Death, Eating disorder, Emotional abuse, Mental illness, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Toxic relationship, and Violence

ke_wi's review against another edition

challenging dark reflective sad tense slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

2.25

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Emotional abuse, Physical abuse, and Suicidal thoughts

Minor: Addiction

alissq301's review against another edition

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.25

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Bullying, Panic attacks/disorders, Physical abuse, Sexual violence, Suicidal thoughts, and Toxic relationship

Moderate: Addiction, Body shaming, and Alcohol

Minor: Eating disorder, Abortion, and Death of parent

misuki015's review against another edition

dark emotional inspiring reflective sad tense slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

absolutely amazing, truly reflective on life as we see it and somehow put words to feelings i couldn’t label myself

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Alcoholism, Body shaming, Bullying, Cursing, Drug use, Eating disorder, Emotional abuse, Mental illness, Physical abuse, Self harm, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Suicidal thoughts, Toxic relationship, Toxic friendship, and Alcohol

natz785's review against another edition

emotional funny hopeful lighthearted reflective fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

3.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Sexual violence and Violence

Moderate: Suicidal thoughts

Minor: Addiction

andrearosevear's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional reflective sad medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.25

I hated this book. Everyone needs to read it. The characters are so deeply flawed yet have these redeemable qualities. I love how realistic everything felt. I also appreciated that the author included social issues in such an authentic manner. Typically, authors include social issues that feel cheap, inauthentic, and like a ploy to seem relatable. However, Rooney included a diverse range of issues that felt so real and so authentic to the story. They were not glossed over, but were also not so speculated on that it felt cheap. I really appreciate how this entire story was essentially an idiot plot. As in, if the characters actually communicated in a healthy manner, everything would be fine. But that is so true to real life. I cannot rave about this book enough. I hated it because of how ridiculous the characters are, but it is definitely a must-read.
However, I will say that the main female character's insecurities became less relatable and more irritating and in the way of the plot development as time went on. While I understand that choice, it put me off of the story quite a bit. I still read to the end, though, because I needed to know what they would do next.

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Addiction, Body shaming, Domestic abuse, Mental illness, Physical abuse, Self harm, Sexual assault, Suicidal thoughts, Toxic relationship, and Toxic friendship

Minor: Bullying and Eating disorder

tangylad's review against another edition

emotional reflective medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Cursing, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Mental illness, and Sexual content

Moderate: Alcoholism, Bullying, Physical abuse, Suicidal thoughts, Gaslighting, and Sexual harassment

Minor: Addiction, Child abuse, Domestic abuse, Panic attacks/disorders, Suicide, Toxic friendship, and Abandonment