Reviews with content warning for Racism - Normal People

I see why this book is so polarizing.

I can understand how people would see Normal People as super deep and think the main characters are relatable. They are messy, anxiety-ridden, bad at communication, struggling with low self esteem and making bad decisions because they feel intrinsically unworthy. The story is slice-of-life bits that attempt to capture very human and millennial struggles.

On the other hand, I can also understand if people find the characters too self-involved, co-dependent, and frustrating to be redeemable, relatable, or rootable (is that a word?) There's an interesting dichotomy: on one hand, this book could be interpreted as romanticizing pain, but it could also be interpreted as unflinchingly realistic and refreshing.

My take is that the story and characters are indeed relatable in the way that most humans want to think that they're significant and individualistic and interesting, but in reality they...aren't. Marianne and Connell want to think themselves as deep, the story wants us to see it as deep...but it doesn't do it for me. Some other cons for me: the side characters were cartoonish caricatures, the Marxist leanings (which I am a fan of) aren't the most subtle, and the scene with the casual racism just grated on my nerves. I get that it is possible, likely even, to have closeted racists in your social circle, but the point of tolerance made the character in question more unlikable.

Personally, I found that Rooney's writing is plainspoken, not complex or nuanced in any way, but it was still incredibly engrossing and compulsively readable. It's strange because I was not bored once, despite finding the characters to be stale (possibly a result of a lot of passive voice). The writing style and occasional quietly emotionally-charged moments were enough for me to give this book 4 stars.

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jellyf8r's review against another edition

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lighthearted reflective medium-paced

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

5.0

normal people = miscommunication.. and i love it. everything they were going through was just so realistic.

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itilbury'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? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

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martu_pm's review against another edition

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dark emotional hopeful reflective 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

4.25

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kenzareadsbadshat's review against another edition

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dark emotional reflective sad medium-paced

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

5.0

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daisyb33's review against another edition

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emotional 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

2.5

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nickoliver's review against another edition

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emotional reflective sad medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? No
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.75

This book was ... not what I expected. I mean, I didn't really go into it with any kind of expectations anyways; it was just some library book that I had lying around at home that I picked up spontaneously a few days ago because I was in the mood for an adult book that might possibly be on the more serious side. But it still made me feel things I really, really didn't anticipate?

I mostly really loved this book. I can't even explain why, but I just admired so many things about it? Like, the writing just somehow hit me in the feels, even if I don't think it was the most beautiful or most poetic writing I've ever read. And while the characters were frustrating and made me want to repeatedly run headfirst into the wall, I still really loved them? Both Marianne and Connell said certain things that I felt so deeply that it made me want to cry. There were also some really heavy topics that were discussed and dissected in a way that I was left feeling fragile and vulnerable, but in a good way?

I did find their relationship really frustrating, though. They were horrendous at communicating with each other, which just caused so much unnecessary hurt on both of their parts. I also didn't like the ending; it was very open, and while I don't always hate open endings, it was just frustrating here. Just when I thought that there might be a happy ending, Rooney was like, 'Lol you thought,' and delivered that. It caught me a bit off-guard, and I closed the book a lot more frustrated than I had hoped.

But still, overall, this book was excellent. It has left me feeling many things I hadn't felt in a while, and also made me want to read more of Rooney's work.

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shannonxvx's review against another edition

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emotional reflective 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

3.25

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