Reviews tagging 'Abandonment'

Normal People by Sally Rooney

94 reviews

jameserinoreads's review against another edition

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

4.75

Sometimes painfully relatable. As the author is Irish, so are her values and global political views, prepare to be triggered if you don't believe in human rights and socio-economic equality. I all seriousness, lovely read.

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q17's review against another edition

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

4.75


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nicnatreads's review against another edition

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challenging dark emotional hopeful informative reflective relaxing sad tense slow-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? N/A
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.5


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sailorpisces's review against another edition

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emotional hopeful reflective sad tense fast-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? It's complicated
  • Diverse cast of characters? No
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0


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jordan_noel's review against another edition

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challenging emotional sad fast-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? It's complicated
  • Diverse cast of characters? No
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

I didn’t necessarily love this book. I didn’t really love the characters, and I don’t know if I really expected anything to happen. But I don’t think the book is trying to say there’s destiny. In fact, I think it’s the opposite. Sometimes people end up together and help each other and try to be loved by each other. They aren’t going to be perfect. And they aren’t necessarily meant to be. Sometimes it can work out for a bit and sometimes it doesn’t, but hopefully life helps you have a person to stick with anyway.

I don’t think Connell and Marianne are good people and they’re not always good friends. Luckily, they still care about each other and help each other right before saving might not be possible anymore. Maybe we can’t ask for more than that in normal people. That’s just who we are, and that’s the best we’re going to get.

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lilias's review against another edition

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dark emotional reflective sad tense medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? It's complicated
  • Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

2.75

In the beginning I kept thinking: When Harry Met Sally but make it shoe-gazing. Overall, I found this book to be both captivating and frustrating. I really loved certain aspects of Sally Rooney’s writing. Her moments that were here and now regarding Connell and Marianne were fantastic, and I reread some passages in awe of how well she showed the subtleties of human interaction. But I never really knew how we got here and there, especially when it came to Marianne. 

We mainly see things from Connell’s point of view. His mom, Lorraine, is a wonderful person and raised him on her own. He has a passion for reading, literature, especially. He is a poor kid who is constantly surrounded by rich kids, and the reminder of his background never goes away. It’s exasperated by Marianne, through no fault of her own, because she’s a girl who comes from an exceptionally rich family. His conventional views keep him from allowing Marianne to live at her full potential around him. He won’t reveal certain weaknesses around her, making their relationship full of potential but always unbalanced. Marianne feels that potential but blames herself for them never reaching it. Her leap to self-blame is probably familiar to a lot of women readers, and it’s furthered by her family, which is abusive. 

For some reason, Marianne, as a character, is not as fully formed as Connell. At times, it was as though Marianne was losing both as a character within the story and a character on the page. Towards the end of the book, I started to dread reading more. I usually read dark books, but the constant cruelty Marianne kept having to endure just wore me out. I wish Rooney had left it out because distracted from the central character studies.

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tbrumale's review against another edition

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dark emotional sad 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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readsbykels's review against another edition

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challenging dark emotional sad tense fast-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? No
  • Loveable characters? No
  • Diverse cast of characters? No
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

2.0


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umetnina's review against another edition

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challenging emotional mysterious reflective tense fast-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Strong character development? It's complicated
  • Loveable characters? It's complicated
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.75

what the fuck is wrong with them T-T, like why cant they just say 'i want you in my pofe forever and ever and thats that.' this book triggered a lot of shit in me. like im properly shaken up.



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tsymonevisuals's review against another edition

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challenging dark emotional mysterious reflective sad tense fast-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Strong character development? It's complicated
  • Loveable characters? No
  • Diverse cast of characters? No
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.25


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