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jsfjs's review against another edition
emotional
hopeful
reflective
fast-paced
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? N/A
4.0
ri_ri's review against another edition
1.0
Normal People had everything except Normal People.
If this is one of the best romance books and Connell and Marianne are the definition of soulmates, then maybe I don't need any romance or soulmate in my life. I'm fine with staying single than have what they had.
This book was so boring and nonsense and left me feeling miserable, irritable and angry. I'm left astonished to see that this book is viewed as a real, heartfelt and deeply moving love story instead of a problematic and toxic one. How can one ignore the humiliation, abuse and ambivalence and think of it as something romantic. And please don't tell me that they are flawed and unlikeable characters who makes mistakes over and over again because they are humans and blah blah blah. I know how flawed Connell and Marianne were and I would've been okay with them had they atleast tried to redeem some of their negative traits. But they didn't and made everything and everyone around them miserable with their insufferable personalities. Character development what? Sally only knows how to write her characters as Normal People.
I knew I would never like this book because I watched the show months ago and it took me weeks to finish it, even though I was watching it at 2x speed lol. And surprisingly I listened to the audiobook of this book at 1.60x speed. I just wanted to be done with this book. It's not that I don't love reading books like this with flawed, real and imperfect characters. I do love reading about characters with those personality traits. But Marianne and Connell were not just flawed and imperfect. They were both stupid, toxic, boring, immature, childish, pathetic, infuriating, insufferable and annoying. I wanted to like this book but I just couldn't. And the disturbing and trashy things Connell thought and said in this book were enough for me tokill punch him in the face. The way he thought about fucking some girl who looks weird because she might be a bisexual was such a disturbing and homophobic shit I've ever read.
“He could fuck some weird-looking girls who turn out to be bisexual.”
I can't believe Sally actually wrote this in her book.
Both the characters were highly intelligent yet they both were incapable of communication. They just can't talk about their issues or their feelings and I was tired of hearing them say, "No one else feels like you do", "I wanted you to kiss me", "I love you", "Can we have sex". Can they just shut the fuck up and actually talk about how they feel. And don't get me started with how Connell treated Marianne in school because he was embarrassed by her. She was a weird loner girl in school so yeah nobody talked to her and then suddenly Connell and Marianne started sleeping together and he told her to never talk to him in school and don't tell about their so called arrangement in school.
CONNELL IS THE BIGGEST RED FLAG OF THE CENTURY. He is the worst character in this book and HE IS A HOMOPHOBIC BITCH. When his friends talked shit about Marianne he never took her side. He never stopped them he was just like "hey don't talk about her like that". And when one time one of his friend physically abused her and groped her, he just stood there. He didn't tried to do anything. Well actually none of Marianne's friend did anything about it and the whole scene happened in public. Neither did Marianne tried to stand up for herself. I'm so sick of FMCs like her that does nothing for themselves. I get you felt abused and you didn't knew what to do at that moment but not saying anything and just fleeing won't do you any good lady. You know when Connell tried to take her side? When she exited the party and he was like "hey are you okay", "let me take you home" and then he asked her who was just physically abused by some guy minutes ago that does she wants to come to his house for a while because his mother might not be home. Are you actually kidding me? She was abused and instead of just being there for her he was trying to invite her to his house to have sex. Is this how things work in real life because I sure as hell never heard and saw anything like that. And they call this book a real and relatable story. Yeah, sure.
The nonstop back and forth and nonstop sorrys and regrets and I know but I love yous were so annoying and irritable. Marianne trying to degrade herself because she felt unworthy was just the most nonsensical thing I've ever read about. There is thing called THERAPY girl. Maybe you should try it sometime. I might have some sympathy for Marianne for what she had to go through and how her family treated her but she never tried to actually do something for herself. Not even in the end. Who's gonna take your side when you don't even want to take your own side? All the characters in this book need therapy.
Their relationship felt purely physical and insta loving. No chemistry. No emotional connection. Nothing. I don't even understand why they loved each other? It would be so much better if they never reconnected again in college. Marianne was the biggest delulu ever because she thought Connell wanted her for something more other than his pathetic experiment of using her for sex. He pitied her and thought it was love. How did Marianne never saw this? Take out the sex scenes and you've got no plot. They never tried dating because they believed hookup culture will solve all their problems.
“I'm not a religious person but I do sometimes think God made you for me.”
No he didn't Connell, you just deluded yourself into believing this like you did when you told Marianne you loved her.
The characters weren't the only thing I hated in this book. The writing was mediocre and monotonous. I don't understand why there were so many time jumps and it was hard for me to stay concentrated because one time they were in present and the next they were talking about something that happened months ago but in present timeline. I know this book was supposed to be a complelling and intimate exploration of the intricacies of human relationships and friendships and the way some external forces like class, upbringing and social norms can shape individual choices and self-perception. But this book ended up being the biggest disappointment. I understand the message Sally was trying to convey with this book but the execution of the plot mafe everything about this book nonsensical.
The ending was surprisingly the best part of this book. But honestly is it even worth it? I mean surely they can date other people when they are apart and they will, but they will always try to come back to each other which would only destroy more lives in future. And I don't understand why everyone is crying over that ending. Yeah, they didn't ended up together but there is a short story in which they are 23 years old and single and you know what's gonna happen now? They will want to have a miserable only sex relationship and will never communicate their feelings with each other.
And that's how my friend "They fucked, lived and diedmiserable happily ever after".
I have so many things to say but I think that's enough of my ramblings. If you ever see me pick up another book similar to this, for the love of god stop me because I don't think I can survive Normal People 2.0.
—————————————————————————
Romance? This book is straight up horror.
I don't know how but somehow I survived this.
Reviewrant soon
If this is one of the best romance books and Connell and Marianne are the definition of soulmates, then maybe I don't need any romance or soulmate in my life. I'm fine with staying single than have what they had.
This book was so boring and nonsense and left me feeling miserable, irritable and angry. I'm left astonished to see that this book is viewed as a real, heartfelt and deeply moving love story instead of a problematic and toxic one. How can one ignore the humiliation, abuse and ambivalence and think of it as something romantic. And please don't tell me that they are flawed and unlikeable characters who makes mistakes over and over again because they are humans and blah blah blah. I know how flawed Connell and Marianne were and I would've been okay with them had they atleast tried to redeem some of their negative traits. But they didn't and made everything and everyone around them miserable with their insufferable personalities. Character development what? Sally only knows how to write her characters as Normal People.
I knew I would never like this book because I watched the show months ago and it took me weeks to finish it, even though I was watching it at 2x speed lol. And surprisingly I listened to the audiobook of this book at 1.60x speed. I just wanted to be done with this book. It's not that I don't love reading books like this with flawed, real and imperfect characters. I do love reading about characters with those personality traits. But Marianne and Connell were not just flawed and imperfect. They were both stupid, toxic, boring, immature, childish, pathetic, infuriating, insufferable and annoying. I wanted to like this book but I just couldn't. And the disturbing and trashy things Connell thought and said in this book were enough for me to
“He could fuck some weird-looking girls who turn out to be bisexual.”
I can't believe Sally actually wrote this in her book.
Both the characters were highly intelligent yet they both were incapable of communication. They just can't talk about their issues or their feelings and I was tired of hearing them say, "No one else feels like you do", "I wanted you to kiss me", "I love you", "Can we have sex". Can they just shut the fuck up and actually talk about how they feel. And don't get me started with how Connell treated Marianne in school because he was embarrassed by her. She was a weird loner girl in school so yeah nobody talked to her and then suddenly Connell and Marianne started sleeping together and he told her to never talk to him in school and don't tell about their so called arrangement in school.
CONNELL IS THE BIGGEST RED FLAG OF THE CENTURY. He is the worst character in this book and HE IS A HOMOPHOBIC BITCH. When his friends talked shit about Marianne he never took her side. He never stopped them he was just like "hey don't talk about her like that". And when one time one of his friend physically abused her and groped her, he just stood there. He didn't tried to do anything. Well actually none of Marianne's friend did anything about it and the whole scene happened in public. Neither did Marianne tried to stand up for herself. I'm so sick of FMCs like her that does nothing for themselves. I get you felt abused and you didn't knew what to do at that moment but not saying anything and just fleeing won't do you any good lady. You know when Connell tried to take her side? When she exited the party and he was like "hey are you okay", "let me take you home" and then he asked her who was just physically abused by some guy minutes ago that does she wants to come to his house for a while because his mother might not be home. Are you actually kidding me? She was abused and instead of just being there for her he was trying to invite her to his house to have sex. Is this how things work in real life because I sure as hell never heard and saw anything like that. And they call this book a real and relatable story. Yeah, sure.
The nonstop back and forth and nonstop sorrys and regrets and I know but I love yous were so annoying and irritable. Marianne trying to degrade herself because she felt unworthy was just the most nonsensical thing I've ever read about. There is thing called THERAPY girl. Maybe you should try it sometime. I might have some sympathy for Marianne for what she had to go through and how her family treated her but she never tried to actually do something for herself. Not even in the end. Who's gonna take your side when you don't even want to take your own side? All the characters in this book need therapy.
Their relationship felt purely physical and insta loving. No chemistry. No emotional connection. Nothing. I don't even understand why they loved each other? It would be so much better if they never reconnected again in college. Marianne was the biggest delulu ever because she thought Connell wanted her for something more other than his pathetic experiment of using her for sex. He pitied her and thought it was love. How did Marianne never saw this? Take out the sex scenes and you've got no plot. They never tried dating because they believed hookup culture will solve all their problems.
“I'm not a religious person but I do sometimes think God made you for me.”
No he didn't Connell, you just deluded yourself into believing this like you did when you told Marianne you loved her.
The characters weren't the only thing I hated in this book. The writing was mediocre and monotonous. I don't understand why there were so many time jumps and it was hard for me to stay concentrated because one time they were in present and the next they were talking about something that happened months ago but in present timeline. I know this book was supposed to be a complelling and intimate exploration of the intricacies of human relationships and friendships and the way some external forces like class, upbringing and social norms can shape individual choices and self-perception. But this book ended up being the biggest disappointment. I understand the message Sally was trying to convey with this book but the execution of the plot mafe everything about this book nonsensical.
The ending was surprisingly the best part of this book. But honestly is it even worth it? I mean surely they can date other people when they are apart and they will, but they will always try to come back to each other which would only destroy more lives in future. And I don't understand why everyone is crying over that ending. Yeah, they didn't ended up together but there is a short story in which they are 23 years old and single and you know what's gonna happen now? They will want to have a miserable only sex relationship and will never communicate their feelings with each other.
And that's how my friend "They fucked, lived and died
I have so many things to say but I think that's enough of my ramblings. If you ever see me pick up another book similar to this, for the love of god stop me because I don't think I can survive Normal People 2.0.
—————————————————————————
Romance? This book is straight up horror.
I don't know how but somehow I survived this.
Review
christina_cullen's review against another edition
emotional
reflective
sad
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
3.5
susanna352's review against another edition
emotional
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? N/A
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
tabarkk's review against another edition
4.0
I genuinely don’t know how to rate this book because even I don’t understand if I loved or hated it, or both at the same time? I read it for the first time in 2022 it was frustrating and really hard to get into and I didn’t enjoy it. I decided to reread and give it a second chance and i still didn’t enjoy it, but this time I got it. You’re not supposed to enjoy this. It's much deeper than just a fun read. It’s imperfect and messy, and that is the whole point. I get that it’s realistic and raw, but ugh they were soulmates if only they knew how to COMMUNICATE. The ending will never not hurt, but they always found their way back to each other, so I believe they’ll be okay this time too. I see why some people love this book but I also see why others hate it. I can’t decide on a rating, but I think I'll just go with 4 stars because I do know I'm never getting over this book. And I do think it’s beautifully written even tho i hated the writing style my first time reading it. The author is also pro Palestine and mentioned the Palestinian liberation throughout the book, so Im definitely reading her other books too.
stephaniesteen73's review against another edition
3.0
I know that so many people love this book (and the TV series) but I just didn't connect with the characters. Beautiful writing and a good portrayal of the lasting power of your first love.
pamela_batista's review against another edition
emotional
reflective
sad
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0