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A review by bookishbrenbren
Normal People by Sally Rooney
emotional
hopeful
sad
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.0
This review is going to sound silly but here goes
I don't think I've read such a captivating book in a long while. I was completely immersed in the inner workings of this tiny little polarized world. It was engrossing, I couldn't put it down and when I did, I kept thinking about it. I feel invested in these characters and I think the author did an incredible job of bringing them to life and capturing what life is like when you're a teen/new adult. Especially the internal life we live inside our own heads.
on the other hand I fully agree with almost all criticisms of it that I've read 😂 the book is pretentious bordering on delivering a campy teenage movie (he's 17, a soccer star but he's top of his class but he's incredibly shy but he also recommends The Communist Manifesto to peers) and the not-like-other-girls girl even gets a makeover but not before she's read Swann's Way by herself at lunch. 👀 ok. Then also the treatment of disordered eating, classism, abuse and masochism and some light racism-makes-the-bad-guy-bad could also have been better handled. and honestly like on a very literal level, I feel silly caring who Connell Waldron asks to high school prom. But isn't it a sign of a strong writer that she can make me care about something like that? Ugh idk I am so torn. The characters are slightly cliche but nobody can write internal thought like this. I just don't know, send help 🏳️ I can't deny the pull that this book had on me and the fact that it made me feel things. I am a Marianne loyalist and I feel like I genuinely know her. She came to life for me.
But idk I guess I also expected something more serious (but less self-serious?) than this 🫣 for all the hype and marketing it got
I don't think I've read such a captivating book in a long while. I was completely immersed in the inner workings of this tiny little polarized world. It was engrossing, I couldn't put it down and when I did, I kept thinking about it. I feel invested in these characters and I think the author did an incredible job of bringing them to life and capturing what life is like when you're a teen/new adult. Especially the internal life we live inside our own heads.
on the other hand I fully agree with almost all criticisms of it that I've read 😂 the book is pretentious bordering on delivering a campy teenage movie (he's 17, a soccer star but he's top of his class but he's incredibly shy but he also recommends The Communist Manifesto to peers) and the not-like-other-girls girl even gets a makeover but not before she's read Swann's Way by herself at lunch. 👀 ok. Then also the treatment of disordered eating, classism, abuse and masochism and some light racism-makes-the-bad-guy-bad could also have been better handled. and honestly like on a very literal level, I feel silly caring who Connell Waldron asks to high school prom. But isn't it a sign of a strong writer that she can make me care about something like that? Ugh idk I am so torn. The characters are slightly cliche but nobody can write internal thought like this. I just don't know, send help 🏳️ I can't deny the pull that this book had on me and the fact that it made me feel things. I am a Marianne loyalist and I feel like I genuinely know her. She came to life for me.
But idk I guess I also expected something more serious (but less self-serious?) than this 🫣 for all the hype and marketing it got
Content Warnings
Graphic: Alcohol, Eating disorder, Gaslighting, Bullying, Emotional abuse, Drug use, Grief, Mental illness, Violence, Toxic friendship, Toxic relationship, Suicide, Suicidal thoughts, Sexual violence, Sexual content, and Adult/minor relationship
Moderate: Sexual harassment, Racism, Pregnancy, Panic attacks/disorders, Injury/Injury detail, and Classism