Reviews tagging 'Toxic friendship'

Normal People by Sally Rooney

333 reviews

raconteur's review against another edition

challenging emotional hopeful reflective sad tense 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

The book is engaging, the characters are complicated and have many issues: personal and interpersonal (The health issues, the anxiety, and the eating disorder were so evident and made me sad).
Their relationship is TOXIC,

and I hope and believe they didn't get back together after that one year

, showing what many people live.
Connel made my blood boil in many situations. He is absolutely problematic, in my pov, but he was well written. Marianne is complex, too, and it's quite interesting to read more about their journey and toxic emotional attachment to each other.

What annoyed me at first was the lack of quotation marks, but I got used to it.
Also, it includes some Marxist, political, and historical references. The author, herself, is known for her Marxist takes, too.

A couple of books Marianne and Connell read (in the book and the show): 

• The Communist Manifesto by Karl Marx and Friedrich Engels
• The Fire Next Time by James Baldwin
• In Seach of Time by Marcel Proust
• The Golden Notebook by Doris Lessing
• Emma by Jane Austen
• Le Morte d’Arthur by Sir Thomas Malory
• A Sport and a Pastime by James Salter
• Selected Poems by Frank O’Hara
• Never Let Me Go by Kazuo Ishiguro 
• In the Waiting Room by Elizabeth Bishop
• Moll Flanders by Daniel Defoe
• Ulysses, by James Joyce
• Candide, or Optimism by Voltaire Connell
• The Adventures of Tom Sawyer by Mark Twain
• All My Sons  by Arthur Miller
• Temples of Delight by Barbara Trapido (in the background in the show)
• A novel by James Salter

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Toxic relationship, Emotional abuse, and Toxic friendship

Moderate: Domestic abuse, Physical abuse, and Mental illness

Minor: Suicidal thoughts and Suicide

whitne_ey's review against another edition

emotional reflective sad 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

2.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Gaslighting, Misogyny, Domestic abuse, Toxic friendship, Suicidal thoughts, Physical abuse, Toxic relationship, Eating disorder, Emotional abuse, Mental illness, Sexism, and Sexual content

Moderate: Panic attacks/disorders, Bullying, Death, and Suicide

Minor: Abortion, Adult/minor relationship, Body shaming, Alcohol, and Blood

weirdf1shy's review against another edition

emotional mysterious reflective tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

This book will stay with me. As soon as I started it I was wrapped into the story. The synopsis sounded to me like the average story of two young people and their drama but it is so much more than that. This story is beautiful and Sally Rooney told it in such a descriptive and raw way. I look forward to reading more from her.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Sexual violence, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Gaslighting, Physical abuse, and Toxic relationship

Moderate: Panic attacks/disorders, Sexual assault, Suicide, Sexual content, Suicidal thoughts, Toxic friendship, Grief, Pedophilia, Bullying, Cursing, and Mental illness

Minor: Death of parent, Injury/Injury detail, Alcohol, Body shaming, Pregnancy, Sexual harassment, and Infidelity

mainon_'s review against another edition

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

4.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Grief, Bullying, Physical abuse, and Violence

Moderate: Eating disorder, Death, Toxic relationship, Suicide, Suicide attempt, Alcohol, and Toxic friendship

lindseylosers's review against another edition

dark emotional reflective sad fast-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

4.25

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, and Physical abuse

Moderate: Sexual harassment, Blood, Sexual violence, Suicidal thoughts, Violence, Toxic relationship, Toxic friendship, Suicide, Abandonment, Sexual content, and Panic attacks/disorders

Minor: Death, Bullying, Drug use, Infidelity, Injury/Injury detail, Mental illness, Adult/minor relationship, Classism, Eating disorder, Death of parent, and Abortion

microbemom's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional 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

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Injury/Injury detail, Toxic friendship, Toxic relationship, Mental illness, Panic attacks/disorders, Bullying, Sexual content, Alcohol, Physical abuse, Blood, Emotional abuse, and Misogyny

Moderate: Classism and Suicidal thoughts

Minor: Child abuse, Drug use, and Death of parent

euphvrian's review against another edition

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

i don’t really know how to rate this book, i think i went in with extremely high expectations of me coming out of this experience a changed person. at first i was struggling to really understand what the hype was about but then i did start to find it loveable. sally rooney is great at characterization and has some really standout quotes, several of them i wish i had never seen before.

i found myself really relating to connell so much, definitely might even be the fictional character out of everything i’ve ever read that is actually a representation of how i think and feel. i think thats my greatest takeaway from this book.

Still, he would lie down and die for her at any minute, which is the only thing he knows about himself that makes him feel like a worthwhile person.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Panic attacks/disorders, Bullying, Classism, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, and Suicidal thoughts

Moderate: Abandonment, Sexual violence, and Toxic friendship

reemoony's review against another edition

emotional hopeful reflective relaxing sad tense 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

I think the main thing that drew me in from the beginning is the characters. I didn’t understand why it was called normal people until i actually read it. It’s because they are, genuinely, normal people. They have their flaws and their strengths and they suffer. Connell and Marianne aren’t written like characters, they are written like people. They go through their lives, drifting to and from each other. The love lasts throughout, which is such a human concept. When you fall apart from someone, the feelings and things you had and experienced don't just go away, they stay with you.

I also like how flawed they were. Connell was not a good person and neither was Marianne, and I refuse to believe otherwise. They had good characteristics and did good things, but overall they were not good, but in reality, no one is.

Also, one last thing. The lack of quotation marks is what made this such a good read for me. It felt more natural. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Sexism, Sexual assault, Toxic friendship, Violence, Panic attacks/disorders, Physical abuse, Misogyny, Sexual content, Classism, Alcohol, Bullying, Domestic abuse, Grief, Injury/Injury detail, Mental illness, Sexual harassment, Sexual violence, Suicidal thoughts, and Toxic relationship

Moderate: Eating disorder, Emotional abuse, Pregnancy, and Suicide

kitty_reads_'s review against another edition

dark emotional reflective 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

I feel like I need to sit on this a while to make a final rating, but for now it’s 4 stars. I see this book as a window into people’s lives and relationships. It’s messy, but it feels like that was intentional since real life is messy. I feel neither character is written to make you feel a certain way about them. It’s a raw look into their lives and thoughts, allowing you to make your own conclusions. There’s also moments that made me uncomfortable, but life has it’s uncomfortable moments. I still don’t have a solid opinion on this book so I would love to listen to other people’s opinions on this!

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Sexual harassment, Suicidal thoughts, Bullying, Mental illness, Panic attacks/disorders, Sexual assault, Toxic relationship, Sexual content, and Violence

Minor: Toxic friendship, Eating disorder, Injury/Injury detail, Racism, and Sexism

growplantsreadbooks's review against another edition

emotional sad tense

• 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

4.0

Oouf. I see why this is divisive. The writing is phenomenal. I was mesmerized by the dialogue... It was just painful to read about people making the same mistakes again and again and again. That's definitely the point. And it definitely has to do with the larger themes of class and communication. But God it was hard to want to pick up this book at certain points. Maybe it would have been easier if I didn't relate to both characters so much lol

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Physical abuse and Domestic abuse

Moderate: Suicide, Alcohol, Toxic friendship, and Suicidal thoughts