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A review by livvylivvybowbivvy
Normal People by Sally Rooney
2.0
Okay, here’s the thing….I really enjoyed the first third maybe? The characters seemed a little flat at first, but I thought that would wake as time progress in the story. I actually found this a harder and harder read as time went on. I’m sure different people could get more out of this book, but in general I just found in quite depressing (and not in the enjoyable book way). It just seemed to be getting worse and worse. I’m a firm believer in books not needing to have happy endings or characters learn things and change to be good, but this just feels like misery for the sake of misery.
BIGGEST THING: this book talks a lot of politics, very millennial political undertone. When the main characters were teenagers, I found that very relatable and accurate as teenagers being depicted as radical for the Time is pretty common. As these adults got older though, they slipped further and further away from being radical or liberal and into this really depressing misogynistic mode??? Especially depressing when Connell (main guy) started doing that to Marianne. Of course there’s something to be said about the real world in that, but it just didn’t work the way it could’ve. I thought a lot of the points this novel made fell flat for me.
Also, HUGE TW for abuse, verbal abuse towards women, sexual assault, just all the bad stuff. I have thankfully experienced minor or no amounts of those things, but even for me who has read those things in other books it made me extremely uneasy, just an fyi. Overall I started this book with high hopes and it just was downwardly mobile the rest of the way. Me personally, I found it DID say things about humanity, men, women, and our young adult generation, but not in the profound or new way that I think is comforting or as provoking as everyone says this novel is. 1.5-2 stars, and if you’ve read this at all, I’m very appreciative
BIGGEST THING: this book talks a lot of politics, very millennial political undertone. When the main characters were teenagers, I found that very relatable and accurate as teenagers being depicted as radical for the Time is pretty common. As these adults got older though, they slipped further and further away from being radical or liberal and into this really depressing misogynistic mode??? Especially depressing when Connell (main guy) started doing that to Marianne. Of course there’s something to be said about the real world in that, but it just didn’t work the way it could’ve. I thought a lot of the points this novel made fell flat for me.
Also, HUGE TW for abuse, verbal abuse towards women, sexual assault, just all the bad stuff. I have thankfully experienced minor or no amounts of those things, but even for me who has read those things in other books it made me extremely uneasy, just an fyi. Overall I started this book with high hopes and it just was downwardly mobile the rest of the way. Me personally, I found it DID say things about humanity, men, women, and our young adult generation, but not in the profound or new way that I think is comforting or as provoking as everyone says this novel is. 1.5-2 stars, and if you’ve read this at all, I’m very appreciative