Reviews

How would I describe this book? I guess I would begin with the title. It's a book about Normal People, a Normal Book one could say, and the only thing that at first teenage blush marks this as a Different Book is the level of detail of micro interactions between characters. This is where the writing shines: The analysis of small, normally invisible gestures that, when fully reported on, gain an outsized significance, and even become mildly addicting in their ability to capture the alertness of people in a relationship. One realizes this will be the case within the first page or so, with a line like: "He puts his hands in his pockets and suppresses an irritable sigh, but suppresses it with an audible intake of breath, so that it still sounds like a sigh." It's a simple description that opens up a portal to the character's interiority, the way he tries to present himself, and it even tell us that he's an anxious being, someone who *suppresses* his emotional displays.

I was very engrossed in this book. Even as it told a very basic story, I was hungry for those moments. between characters.

soupy_tom's review against another edition

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challenging dark emotional reflective sad tense 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

3.5

gracelizabeth44's review against another edition

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fast-paced

2.0

bianm's review against another edition

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emotional reflective fast-paced

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

4.75

WOW??? WTH… OMG!!

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