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A review by notesbynnenna
Normal People by Sally Rooney

4.0

I finally, finally read NORMAL PEOPLE! After reading CONVERSATIONS WITH FRIENDS, and feeling somewhat lukewarm about it, I was really curious to see how I would feel about her newest novel. And in particular, I really wanted to read it before the TV adaptation premiered on Hulu.

This is about two people who understand each other on a deep level, but at the same time, they constantly misunderstand on a surface level. When I finished the book, I was initially quite frustrated, not by the writing or anything like that, but because of the characters. They cannot communicate properly and it drove me crazy at times!

Rooney is quite insightful about human nature and she writes about these somewhat mundane human interactions with such nuance. I think her writing is still wonderful and I'm happy to report that I had a better experience reading NORMAL PEOPLE. Maybe it's because I knew what to expect with her writing, but probably also because I found Marianne and Connell to be more believable characters.

I really appreciate the way she writes about people, even when her characters are frustrating the hell out of me. I'm really looking forward to watching the Hulu adaptation. It will be interesting to see how they bring these characters to life and if they do the book justice.