Reviews tagging 'Self harm'

Normal People by Sally Rooney

119 reviews

shavaunmac's review against another edition

dark hopeful reflective medium-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

3.75

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Emotional abuse, Mental illness, Physical abuse, Self harm, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Toxic relationship, and Toxic friendship

Minor: Adult/minor relationship, Bullying, Child abuse, Eating disorder, Panic attacks/disorders, Pedophilia, Racism, Sexism, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Grief, Death of parent, Alcohol, Sexual harassment, and Classism

librarymouse's review against another edition

adventurous emotional reflective medium-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

4.5

I'm writing my review of Normal People before I decide on a rating, in the hopes that it'll help me sort out my thoughts on the book. The progressions of Marianne and Connell's emotional wellbeing in relation to years at university was uncannily accurate to my own experiences and that of what I saw in my friends and classmates. The quality of the writing in the large middle section of the book that describes the social contentment and complete security in herself that Marianne feels her first year of university, only for the group to crumble and the bubble to burst completely, leaving her stranded and struggling to understand her place in the world felt raw, tangible, and familiar. Marianne and Connell's internal lives playing such a strong role in the story telling made it a unique and enjoyable readings experience. It allows the reader to get inside their heads and try to under how the miscommunications that tore them apart came to be. That change took what is usually a comedy trope and inverted it towards tragedy.

Connell's confession that he was trying to ask Marianne to let him stay the summer was heart wrenching. I didn't like to see the complete degradation of Marianne's character and inner life, but with the way she was struggling, it is realistic. Her supposed need to be hurt being revealed to be a warped perception of her need to feel special, loved, and protected was heart breaking. The meticulous control she expresses over her food intake and her hitting her breaking point in the photography studio show her shattering, but not having any idea how to pick up the pieces. I did enjoy that there was a gradual shift towards and then away from suicidal ideation and meticulously controlled disordered eating for Connell and Marianne. There wasn't a quick fix for either issue offered up in the book, but they were there for each other and their gradual growth in their respective mental health was really well written. I am frustrated by the ending of this book, not for the possibility of their romance being doomed, but because in the last few pages there was another moment of the acknowledged toxic perspective that men just want sex and aren't capable of higher thinking/needs in Marianne's accusing Connell of loving Darcy. It also frustrated me how closely Marianne resembles the manic pixie dream girl trope at the end of the novel, when she was such a robust character at the beginning. With Marianne's sexual promiscuity, Peggy's focus on both Marianne and non monogamy, and Peggy and Jamie's shared terrible character traits, I was convinced that Peggy and Jamie were going to try to both date Marianne and/or sexually take advantage of her. In a way they did.

The casual way sex is discussed between character is distinctly foreign to American readers, and the freedom afforded by it that isn't really a part of American purity culture made the novel an interesting read as it shifted from familiar to foreign and back again.

Normal People is going to be a book I cherish in the future, but in the way a classic is cherished. The writing was magnificent and I was enthralled by the plot.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Bullying, Child abuse, Domestic abuse, Eating disorder, Infidelity, Panic attacks/disorders, Pedophilia, Physical abuse, Rape, Self harm, Sexism, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Suicidal thoughts, Toxic relationship, Blood, Grief, Toxic friendship, and Alcohol

Moderate: Classism

Minor: War

marisa_n's review against another edition

dark emotional reflective sad fast-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

3.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Bullying, Domestic abuse, Eating disorder, Emotional abuse, Physical abuse, Self harm, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Toxic relationship, Grief, Alcohol, and Classism

Minor: Gore, Misogyny, Racism, Blood, Death of parent, and Injury/Injury detail

maia_cat's review against another edition

dark emotional funny sad tense fast-paced

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

4.0

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Adult/minor relationship, Body shaming, Bullying, Child abuse, Cursing, Domestic abuse, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Fatphobia, Mental illness, Physical abuse, Rape, Self harm, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Suicidal thoughts, Toxic relationship, Grief, Alcohol, Sexual harassment, and Classism

busybookaholic's review against another edition

dark emotional sad slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character

3.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Domestic abuse, Mental illness, and Self harm

hayleyw's review against another edition

dark 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

3.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child abuse, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Physical abuse, Suicidal thoughts, and Suicide

Moderate: Body shaming, Bullying, Cursing, Death, Eating disorder, Emotional abuse, Mental illness, Panic attacks/disorders, Self harm, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Violence, Blood, Grief, Gaslighting, Alcohol, Sexual harassment, Injury/Injury detail, and Classism

queenrivanni's review against another edition

emotional reflective sad medium-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

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Eating disorder, Emotional abuse, Mental illness, Panic attacks/disorders, and Gaslighting

Moderate: Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Physical abuse, Sexual content, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, and Death of parent

Minor: Bullying and Self harm

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

sophafie's review against another edition

challenging emotional reflective sad tense medium-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

3.5

I would have appreciated the book more if I read it while I was in a better place mentally. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Bullying

Moderate: Body shaming, Child abuse, Domestic abuse, Eating disorder, Emotional abuse, Mental illness, Physical abuse, Self harm, Sexual violence, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Toxic relationship, Grief, Toxic friendship, Injury/Injury detail, and Classism

ameliahunterwilkinson's review against another edition

emotional sad medium-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

2.5

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Mental illness and Self harm