Review by startjpw23 - Normal People

startjpw23 's review for:

Normal People by Sally Rooney

3.5

challenging dark emotional sad medium-paced

Plot or Character Driven: Character

Strong character development: Yes

Loveable characters: No

Diverse cast of characters: No

Flaws of characters a main focus: Yes

The 2 main characters in this book are Connell and Marianne. When the book starts, they are high school students in Ireland. They start a relationship where they are sort of friends and sort of lovers, but not fully. They go to the same college. Their relationship continues the same way early on in their time in college. They are in and out of each other's lives. They are in relationships with other people at times. The story goes from there. Although this book isn't presented as a romance, a lot of people consider the relationship of Connell and Marianne a great romance. I consider it a pretty toxic romance. They both have issues, and I do sympathize, but I didn't really like them. I liked Marianne a little better than Connell, but I wasn't crazy about either of them. The writing style has some quirks. Ronney does not use quotation marks. It took me some effort to know where the story was set and when it was set. These things didn't really bother me. There is some sexual harassment. There is some abuse including a type of abuse I did not realize existed. There are some fairly graphic sex scenes. There are depictions of mental illness. The book is really well written, but overall, it wasn't really for me. I did complete it though. There was never a thought of not finishing it. I recommend this book for someone who wants to read a well written book with 2 damaged characters who navigate a difficult relationship in high school and college. Just make sure the issues I mention aren't things that concern you.

Content Warnings