Reviews tagging 'Suicide'

Normalūs žmonės by Sally Rooney

1054 reviews

eliya's review against another edition

challenging dark 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

5.0

This is written so beautifully. The narration is so heartbreakingly aware of minute details that make interactions meaningful. There were so many times listening to this book that I thought “yes!! that!!” at something that i’ve experienced interpersonally and wasn’t able to verbalize myself before. 

The chapters are written not like a story, but like a painful memory that the author is recounting for us as we try to understand what went wrong, where. This felt so real to me. 

Listening to the audiobook was a treat, the vocal performance was as stunning and empathetic. I plan on obtaining a copy of this book for myself and rereading it in a few years, just long enough so that I can forget enough of it to love it a second time. I loved this book. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Domestic abuse and Violence

Moderate: Abandonment, Death of parent, Bullying, Emotional abuse, Sexual content, Gore, Physical abuse, Suicidal thoughts, and Panic attacks/disorders

Minor: Suicide, War, and Fatphobia

elizabethww's review against another edition

dark emotional mysterious reflective tense fast-paced

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

3.0

Not an awful book, but weak and lazy ending. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Bullying, Classism, Cursing, Mental illness, Misogyny, Sexual assault, Suicidal thoughts, Body shaming, Adult/minor relationship, Alcohol, Blood, Domestic abuse, Physical abuse, Sexism, Sexual violence, Toxic friendship, Gaslighting, Emotional abuse, Injury/Injury detail, Panic attacks/disorders, Sexual content, Suicide, and Toxic relationship

heresyourletter's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional reflective sad fast-paced

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

2.5

I liked the pacing of the book and had a hard time putting it down. That being said, the writing style wasn’t my favourite. There were also a lot of political views that were thrown in for no reason (not related to plot or character development), in a holier-than-thou, preaching sort of way (which even as a progressive, can be annoying).

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Emotional abuse, Toxic relationship, Mental illness, Injury/Injury detail, and Classism

Moderate: Sexual content, Physical abuse, Suicidal thoughts, Sexual violence, Gaslighting, Addiction, and Bullying

Minor: Vomit, Abortion, Infidelity, and Suicide

Characters smoke cigarettes throughout the book. The two main characters have sex frequently (but the descriptions aren’t super graphic). Throughout the book, the main characters hurt each other emotionally by making big decisions that affect their relationship, without communicating with the other person. Both main character experience bullying at different points in the book. Class conflict throughout the book, as one main character is wealthy and the other is working class. One character argues that a woman (who doesn’t actually appear in the story) should have an abortion because she doesn’t have a job and isn’t in a relationship with the father. One character drinks until they vomit.

When the two main characters first get together, one is embarrassed to be seen in public with the other, so they keep their relationship a secret. One main character is verbally (and occasionally physically) abused by their family, then gaslighted by their family members whenever the abuse happens. This culminates in the main character’s nose being broken after trying to escape from a family member. The scene is intense and the injury is rather graphic. One main character experiences rural discrimination upon moving from a small town in Sligo to Dublin for university. The female main character is a masochist, getting into relationships with men who physically and emotionally abuse her. One main character is diagnosed with depression and put on medication. One main character is mugged. There is a brief description of the injury. Two characters share a bed and almost have sex, despite being in relationships with other people. One minor character dies by suicide.

taylorswiftobsessed's review against another edition

emotional reflective 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

3.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Emotional abuse, Domestic abuse, and Physical abuse

Moderate: Mental illness, Suicidal thoughts, and Suicide

saramassoudi's review against another edition

emotional 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

2.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Bullying, Body shaming, Alcohol, Emotional abuse, Mental illness, Sexual content, Classism, and Toxic relationship

Minor: Death of parent, Suicide, Sexual harassment, Vomit, and Suicidal thoughts

chapterfern's review against another edition

emotional 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

5.0

Sad, frustrating, gut-wrenching.


Normal People is a novel about Marianne and Connell; who they are, what that makes of them, how they cope, their familiarity with each other, and ultimately, how they grow – alone, apart, and together.

Everyone wants to be a normal person. But a normal person is flawed, imperfect, and makes mistakes. In that sense, Marianne and Connell — even though they consider themselves faulty human beings, — are normal people. 

I found the dialogue in this book realistic. In their conversations, sometimes messages to and from one another are conveyed or interpreted poorly, and others the characters leave unsaid. And yes, it is frustrated to be the third-party as a reader and know what's wrong, and you want to go through the page so bad and help them, but we are left to sit there and watch them figure it out on their own. Many a time while reading this book I physically wanted to scream from their stupidity, but I am guilty all the same.

The book not only lends us conversations between the two leads, but also has one with the reader; about class, about connection, about imposter syndrome, about abuse, about mental health, and about loss.

Even without or maybe as a result of not having quotation marks, the feeling of being inside the character's head shines throughout the book. I would read passages and get snapped back into the conversation ongoing, which really made me feel like I was with the character in that exact moment, thinking the same things and living the same experiences.


Overall, this book crushed me. I think I need to lie down.

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Suicide, Domestic abuse, Physical abuse, and Suicidal thoughts

sammyemma's review against another edition

dark emotional reflective sad medium-paced

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

4.5

This book cleverly tells the story of two complex, frustrating, yet loveable characters as they navigate life from their late teens to early adulthood. The writing style is concise but beautifully crafted to give an in depth understanding how the focal characters develop through the book. I would recommend to anyone navigating a similar stage of life or who enjoys a story focusing on the interactions and development of particularly flawed characters.

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Emotional abuse, Suicide, and Physical abuse

blackaliss's review against another edition

challenging emotional reflective sad tense 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? Yes

3.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Mental illness, Emotional abuse, and Suicide

Moderate: Bullying, Sexual harassment, and Sexual content

c_rh's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional reflective tense slow-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

3.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Suicidal thoughts and Mental illness

Moderate: Suicide and Eating disorder

bilkins's review against another edition

emotional hopeful 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

4.0

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Suicide, Sexual content, and Domestic abuse