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A review by breandthebooks
Normal People by Sally Rooney
4.0
“I wish you didn’t have to go, he says when she’s leaving or: I wish you could stay the night. If he really wished for any of those things, Marianne knows, then they would happen.
This book was very raw and had a lot of points that hit home with me. Normal people is one of the first books I picked up by Sally Rooney and it did not disappoint, It, in my opinion, it is a look into how the abuse people suffer rather at home or in school affects them for life.
I do wanna emphasize this book contain(s) a trigger warning for Abuse, Mental Illness, Suicide, sexual abuse, and unhealthy eating habits.
~Let Downs of the book~
✧I would have like to have seen Marianne’s and Connell’s relationship develop a little more I understand it’s supposed to be following them in times of where they are “on and off” but they had these intensely deep and personal conversations and confessions at times, and I just wish through all that we got a chance to see growth of a deeper connection mentally and emotionally.
✧I wanted more of Marianne’s on her own journey to getting help like Connell sorta did Marianne experienced so much trauma in the past and as she moved through life and to see her just kinda live with numbing the pain wasn’t ideal in my opinion.
✧My last sorta (but not really “let down”) of this book is NO ONE DEFENDS THIS GIRL!!! Marianne’s own brother was a constant abuser throughout this book and no one defended her (until the very end) her mother even took the side of the brother when he would instigate fights with Marianne for seemingly no reason at all or if she got a better grade than him.
Marianne tends to not defend herself a whole lot or speak up for in fear of causing trouble, and that could be a result of her past abuse at the hands of her father and now with her brother. She has so much unresolved trauma that when something is done to her it's almost “normal”. Seemingly every boyfriend Marianne has had (minus Connell if you can even consider him a true “boyfriend”) has abused her in some way rather that be emotionally or sexually they have all not been very great people. When we see Marianne at points in her life where the men she is dating are taking advantage of her vulnerability by basically forcing her to engage in “BDSM” like relationships. As this book progressed I was hoping Marianne found her voice (which she did in a small portion) and stand up for herself and took time to get better.
~Positives~
✦I enjoyed the fact that Marianne felt safe enough to confide in Connell about the abuse she has gone through and he listened and didn’t shame her.
✦When Connell went to therapy and talked through what he was feeling and was coming to terms slowly about his Anxiety and depression.
✦When Lorraine tells Connell he was not a regret or a mistake I loved the dynamic of the mother-son moment, because even if it wasn’t explicitly mentioned Connell must have felt Lorraine wanted more out of life than cleaning houses and because she had him she could not do that. In that moment when she told him that she did not regret or feel ashamed of having him, it was really heartfelt.
✦In Connell’s therapy session when he mentions that Marianne is a friend he can turn to it was another touching moment, You can really see how Marianne is such a good friend to him and can confide in her with a lot of aspects in his life as she did for him.
I was hoping for a little more development with both characters dealing with their past and present trauma's and how to continue through life and I wanted a bit more out of the way this book ended but overall this was a really great read and dealt with a lot of heavy issues.
I do wanna emphasize again this book contain(s) a trigger warning for Abuse, Mental Illness, Suicide, sexual abuse, and unhealthy eating habits.
This book was very raw and had a lot of points that hit home with me. Normal people is one of the first books I picked up by Sally Rooney and it did not disappoint, It, in my opinion, it is a look into how the abuse people suffer rather at home or in school affects them for life.
I do wanna emphasize this book contain(s) a trigger warning for Abuse, Mental Illness, Suicide, sexual abuse, and unhealthy eating habits.
~Let Downs of the book~
✧I would have like to have seen Marianne’s and Connell’s relationship develop a little more I understand it’s supposed to be following them in times of where they are “on and off” but they had these intensely deep and personal conversations and confessions at times, and I just wish through all that we got a chance to see growth of a deeper connection mentally and emotionally.
✧I wanted more of Marianne’s on her own journey to getting help like Connell sorta did Marianne experienced so much trauma in the past and as she moved through life and to see her just kinda live with numbing the pain wasn’t ideal in my opinion.
✧My last sorta (but not really “let down”) of this book is NO ONE DEFENDS THIS GIRL!!! Marianne’s own brother was a constant abuser throughout this book and no one defended her (until the very end) her mother even took the side of the brother when he would instigate fights with Marianne for seemingly no reason at all or if she got a better grade than him.
Marianne tends to not defend herself a whole lot or speak up for in fear of causing trouble, and that could be a result of her past abuse at the hands of her father and now with her brother. She has so much unresolved trauma that when something is done to her it's almost “normal”. Seemingly every boyfriend Marianne has had (minus Connell if you can even consider him a true “boyfriend”) has abused her in some way rather that be emotionally or sexually they have all not been very great people. When we see Marianne at points in her life where the men she is dating are taking advantage of her vulnerability by basically forcing her to engage in “BDSM” like relationships. As this book progressed I was hoping Marianne found her voice (which she did in a small portion) and stand up for herself and took time to get better.
~Positives~
✦I enjoyed the fact that Marianne felt safe enough to confide in Connell about the abuse she has gone through and he listened and didn’t shame her.
✦When Connell went to therapy and talked through what he was feeling and was coming to terms slowly about his Anxiety and depression.
✦When Lorraine tells Connell he was not a regret or a mistake I loved the dynamic of the mother-son moment, because even if it wasn’t explicitly mentioned Connell must have felt Lorraine wanted more out of life than cleaning houses and because she had him she could not do that. In that moment when she told him that she did not regret or feel ashamed of having him, it was really heartfelt.
✦In Connell’s therapy session when he mentions that Marianne is a friend he can turn to it was another touching moment, You can really see how Marianne is such a good friend to him and can confide in her with a lot of aspects in his life as she did for him.
I was hoping for a little more development with both characters dealing with their past and present trauma's and how to continue through life and I wanted a bit more out of the way this book ended but overall this was a really great read and dealt with a lot of heavy issues.
I do wanna emphasize again this book contain(s) a trigger warning for Abuse, Mental Illness, Suicide, sexual abuse, and unhealthy eating habits.