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A review by sebby_reads
Normal People by Sally Rooney
4.0
A poignant love story of two young people through their adolescent years was told amiably. The story opens in a small town in Ireland where two teenagers go to school. Marianne, despite being rich and smart, is a social outcast for being weird at school. Her family is cold and distant. Connell, a footballer and also a smart on, is popular among friends. His mother cleans the house of Marianne’s family. They hook up secretly and occasionally hang out together, have long and meaningful conversations, and fall asleep together. They break up abruptly right before the end of high school. When they meet again at the college, the tables have turned. Marianne becomes a popular friend everybody knows and Connell always feels like a misfit in the crowd.
Throughout the time, their feelings for each others grow and their friendship becomes stronger. However, unbeknownst to them, there’s always something breaking them apart—their own personal demons. They dated other people but they always look out for each other. The on again off again “relationship” or “whatevership” we would label between these two main protagonists was perplexing yet I find it so real. The struggles they have to fight for their demons and the inferiority for class differences are the main things secretly decaying their whatevership.
It’s clear that they love each other exceedingly but there are other things in adult life. It seemed at first that the characters “get” each other but as the pages unfold, ‘do they really?’ I questioned. Like we sometimes think we understand certain people in our life but in fact, we only know the fraction of their life. Rooney weaved the issues of class and privilege, physical and emotional pain, depression into her story immaculately. I find it an enjoyable read, 3.5 out of 5 stars.
Throughout the time, their feelings for each others grow and their friendship becomes stronger. However, unbeknownst to them, there’s always something breaking them apart—their own personal demons. They dated other people but they always look out for each other. The on again off again “relationship” or “whatevership” we would label between these two main protagonists was perplexing yet I find it so real. The struggles they have to fight for their demons and the inferiority for class differences are the main things secretly decaying their whatevership.
It’s clear that they love each other exceedingly but there are other things in adult life. It seemed at first that the characters “get” each other but as the pages unfold, ‘do they really?’ I questioned. Like we sometimes think we understand certain people in our life but in fact, we only know the fraction of their life. Rooney weaved the issues of class and privilege, physical and emotional pain, depression into her story immaculately. I find it an enjoyable read, 3.5 out of 5 stars.