A review by nightfell
Normal People by Sally Rooney

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

4.25

I really did not like this book for the first 50-100 pages, and it took me a month to get through. Then I read the rest in 3 days and the book has really stuck with me.
Normal People perfectly captured that bittersweet feeling of wanting to be with someone (platonic or romantic) but not knowing how to initiate it, and the fear of emotional intimacy so perfectly. This feeling is shared by so many people that I'm not surpr this book is so popular, and I would recommend to anyone who likes romance/literary fiction.

To all the people who struggled to read this because there were no question marks: stick with it, I swear it gets easier and you don't even notice it after a bit. It's just about intuitively identifying what sounds like speech and what is thought, which is simple.
Expand filter menu Content Warnings