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A review by whatjamieread
Normal People by Sally Rooney
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
3.5
I originally believed this to be a contemporary romance story based on what I read and saw of the trailers for the Hulu adaptation. However, I was surprised to find this to be an incredibly unconventional, clever, and emotional character study about two imperfect people figuring out what it means to do life while navigating love, loss, and everything in between. I ended up loving this book (with the exception of one serious issue which I will discuss later), and I feel that this story is very deserving of the praise it receives, if you’re the type of person who enjoys the particular type of storytelling that Rooney used to tell this story.
The main characters, Connell and Marianne, hooked me immediately. I realize that so many people who read this book thought they were entirely unlikeable but I think I saw them and appreciated them for exactly what they were: immature, inexperienced, clueless, and frustratingly stubborn which is exactly what I was when I was the same age as they were in the story. What began as a relatively cliche high school relationship between the attractive popular boy and the unpopular girl who hasn’t yet discovered how beautiful she eventually morphed into a really fascinating story of two broken people who, despite their deep and intense feelings for one another, have yet to learn how to love themselves, let alone another person, and communicate with one another in a way conducive to a healthy and prosperous longterm relationship.
I vehemently despised how this story ended. Don’t get me wrong, I love when a standalone story ends in a way that feels like the characters will keep on living beyond the words on the pages but this ending felt totally incomplete and unsatisfying. In fact, I hated it so much that my initial opinion after finishing the book was that the book as a whole was TERRIBLE because I hated the ending that much. It felt like Rooney’s laptop died and she was like “welp, that’s good enough” and just decided not to return to it and sent it to her editor as is.
Overall, this is a solid 3.5⭐️ read. I don’t think I’ll come back to this particular book but I will read more from Rooney.
Full Review on my blog -> https://tinyurl.com/yntrlw4l
The main characters, Connell and Marianne, hooked me immediately. I realize that so many people who read this book thought they were entirely unlikeable but I think I saw them and appreciated them for exactly what they were: immature, inexperienced, clueless, and frustratingly stubborn which is exactly what I was when I was the same age as they were in the story. What began as a relatively cliche high school relationship between the attractive popular boy and the unpopular girl who hasn’t yet discovered how beautiful she eventually morphed into a really fascinating story of two broken people who, despite their deep and intense feelings for one another, have yet to learn how to love themselves, let alone another person, and communicate with one another in a way conducive to a healthy and prosperous longterm relationship.
I vehemently despised how this story ended. Don’t get me wrong, I love when a standalone story ends in a way that feels like the characters will keep on living beyond the words on the pages but this ending felt totally incomplete and unsatisfying. In fact, I hated it so much that my initial opinion after finishing the book was that the book as a whole was TERRIBLE because I hated the ending that much. It felt like Rooney’s laptop died and she was like “welp, that’s good enough” and just decided not to return to it and sent it to her editor as is.
Overall, this is a solid 3.5⭐️ read. I don’t think I’ll come back to this particular book but I will read more from Rooney.
Full Review on my blog -> https://tinyurl.com/yntrlw4l
Content Warnings
Moderate: Suicide, Suicidal thoughts, Sexual assault, and Sexual content