A review by ccrtb
Normal People by Sally Rooney

emotional reflective sad tense medium-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

3.5

tmi but it just so happened that i was hit with a depressive episode while reading this novel and it aggravated my depression lmao.

i adore the writing style. it isn't too embellished nor too plain. the characters are flawed and very real. the miscommunications that jeopardize their relationship make sense. my heart hurts about how mundane and banal these relationships are because people are out there having these exact problems.

my rating is a bit low despite enjoying the book--though enjoying is such a strange word to use since it really stressed me out emotionally--because of the ending. i had hoped that marianne would've healed a bit and not have acted so distrusting of connell.
i had hoped they wouldn't have to go through yet another huge bump in their relationship, but then again, marianne probably doesn't have any money to support herself in new york. i don't know. the fickleness of their relationship makes me so unbearably sad. but i suppose that's the point. their relationship is brittle because sometimes that's just how it is between people even when they're each other's persons.
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