A review by mpetrera
Normal People by Sally Rooney

dark emotional reflective sad medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? It's complicated
  • Diverse cast of characters? No
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.5

I really enjoyed this book despite a lot of prominent negative reviews leading me to think I wouldn’t. I think being from an areas similar to where Connell and Marianne grew up (albeit different country) lends itself to helping that, however, I thought their character development was quite satisfying. I feel as though many reviewers are expecting more character development and find the story ‘boring,’ when the title is literally called ‘Normal People.’ This is meant to be a story about normal people from a normal, small town who are afflicted with all the normal shitty things that can happen to you in life. Throw a bit of depression, poor communication, and inward emotional lability/instability in and you have the depressingly beautiful but unremarkable story of Marianne and Connell. Excellent work in my opinion. 
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