A review by whatpageareyouon
Normal People by Sally Rooney

4.0

Rooney seems to abandon a lot of what I didn’t like about Conversations With Friends. Now focusing on just two main characters and shifting from a “should we be in a relationship” to a “what does it mean to be in a relationship” story makes much of the prose more intentional, I think. Not even a lot happens in Normal People, and I can readily agree with anyone that reads this and feels like it wasn’t a productive time. But there’s something about how Marianne and Connell both narrate their sides of the relationship over the years that provides a balanced portrayal of self-affirming clarity on both of their parts despite each of them having recurring shortcomings and frustrating miscommunication. It amazes me that Rooney was able to pull off this type of narrative style while not favoring either Connell or Marianne over another. I even felt that each of them had their own pensive and passive moments about life outside their relationship and constantly deconstructing sex as the most literal intimacy one can attain. This is a story about nothing and everything. Wayyy better than Conversations With Friends.