A review by bludgeoned_by_hail
Normal People by Sally Rooney

dark emotional hopeful inspiring 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

4.5

This style of over-simplified prose is hard to get right but this book absolutely nails it. The skeletal writing  feels clear and deliberate instead of lazy, and offers a clean backdrop for a moving and devastating coming of age story and its millions of moving parts (popularity, class, education, sex, mental illness, relationships with friends, family and partners).
And still most of all it's a love story. A very beautiful one.

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Sexual content, Bullying, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, and Mental illness

Moderate: Eating disorder, Grief, Physical abuse, Toxic relationship, Classism, Death of parent, Sexual violence, Suicidal thoughts, and Toxic friendship

Minor: Alcohol, Body shaming, Infidelity, Suicide, Vomit, Racism, and Pregnancy