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madi_miss's review against another edition
- 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
5.0
Moderate: Eating disorder, Emotional abuse, and Self harm
talialamborne's review against another edition
2.25
Moderate: Eating disorder
paulinskaja's review against another edition
- 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
5.0
Graphic: Domestic abuse, Mental illness, Physical abuse, and Emotional abuse
Moderate: Eating disorder, Grief, Blood, Sexual violence, Suicidal thoughts, Drug use, Sexual assault, Toxic relationship, Alcohol, Drug abuse, and Suicide
Minor: Bullying and Panic attacks/disorders
nora13hf's review against another edition
4.0
re-read rating: 4 stars
ooof. i think this was my third time re reading normal people and i think i'm finally at a point where i can review this properly.
so i love love love the first 3/4 of this! i really do, it's such a soothing read for when i feel super overwhelmed (which is why i picked this up again this time) and connell and marianne are both very special and important characters to me and i always feel very seen reading this. personally, i don't see this as a love story per se, and i stand by that, but rather as a very layered exploration of these two characters and what problems different class statuses (and miscommunication lol) can bring to relationships.
i knocked this down from five stars (to my surprise!) because the unraveling, so everything that happens after marianne goes to sweden, felt quite fast and hectic and just a bit too sudden? and then it got resolved rather quickly as well. i find it especially unrealistic (not that it needs to be realistic but ya know) that marianne is able to seemingly move past all her issues with food, her body and her trauma without any professional help whatsoever and is just okay, is fine at the end.
so, long story short, i still love this book, i still love sally rooney, i love seeing myself in fictional anxious english students, and i will definitely revisit this in the future, it's just not a perfect 100% read for me anymore (and that's okay)!
Graphic: Eating disorder, Emotional abuse, Panic attacks/disorders, and Physical abuse
haleydeanna's review against another edition
- 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
4.75
Graphic: Sexual content
Moderate: Domestic abuse
Minor: Eating disorder
phantomeyer's review against another edition
- 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
Perhaps easiest to first discuss is the writing style. While you could argue that the lack of punctuated dialogue contributed to the impression that each scene wasn’t so much a distinct event as a one of many moments in time, it seemed a lazy method to achieve this goal. Punctuate the sentences properly, and it would have been more obvious just how mundane some of the descriptions were. Not that mundane is necessarily bad, but it doesn’t sit well with me that this stylistic choice could be sufficient to turn mediocre writing into “good” writing. I will admit, however, Rooney does make good word choices, which at times lead to rather evocative passages.
Next, the characters. I’ve seen complaints that the secondary characters aren’t fleshed out, but honestly I couldn’t care less. This book is about two people, and it makes sense to me that others seem unimportant in comparison. But let’s talk about these two characters. I don’t think they are unrealistic, but their arc felt rushed or disjointed at various points. Marianne all of a sudden fits in at college despite an incredibly isolating youth? Connell is intensely discomforted at the idea of dominating through violence, but gives away his former misgivings about psychological dominance without any reflection shared with the reader? It felt like Rooney was missing opportunities to explore interesting themes that would have added more depth to the book. Furthermore, skips such as these meant I was unable to maintain empathy consistently throughout the novel, and Marianne and Connell are not easy people to read about to begin with. You can’t afford to lose a reader’s empathy when your main characters’ struggles (to communicate, to make good decisions for themselves) become irritating without it.
This leads me to my thoughts about the plot. As a general rule, I enjoy character-driven plot, but I was tired of the constant back and forth by the end. A correction: I was tired of it a quarter of the way in. Their relationship felt largely repetitive, and the change in dynamic in the final act was not explored enough. If I had cared more about the characters, the ending might have been poignant, but as it was, I was just happy to be free of joyless characters and a book that had not quite reached its potential.
Graphic: Sexual assault, Emotional abuse, Toxic relationship, and Sexual harassment
Moderate: Alcohol, Sexual content, Toxic friendship, Classism, Suicidal thoughts, Bullying, Suicide, Sexual violence, Domestic abuse, Eating disorder, and Misogyny
Minor: Infidelity, Panic attacks/disorders, Grief, and Self harm
lookinabook's review against another edition
- 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
Graphic: Mental illness
Moderate: Bullying, Domestic abuse, Eating disorder, Emotional abuse, Misogyny, and Suicidal thoughts
Minor: Suicide, Gaslighting, and Sexual harassment
azilisssss's review against another edition
- 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
4.5
Graphic: Cursing, Sexual harassment, Sexual content, and Bullying
Moderate: Eating disorder
Minor: Adult/minor relationship
hufwulf's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? N/A
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Graphic: Eating disorder and Mental illness
Moderate: Sexual violence, Sexual content, and Alcohol
mirandalikesbooks'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
5.0
But
Honestly I did struggle with the dialogue not being in quotation marks...but I did adjust!!!
Graphic: Sexual harassment, Suicidal thoughts, Toxic friendship, Toxic relationship, Sexual violence, Sexism, Grief, Alcoholism, Alcohol, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Misogyny, Physical abuse, and Drug use
Moderate: Adult/minor relationship, Mental illness, Panic attacks/disorders, Bullying, Eating disorder, and Classism
Minor: Injury/Injury detail