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A review by bhnmt61
Normal People by Sally Rooney
3.0
I have mixed feelings about Normal People. It starts out well, with two awkward teenagers who become deeply involved with each other, then break up under awkward circumstances, then continue to be involved with each other off and on for the next ten years. Sometimes you sympathize with one, sometimes the other, sometimes both or neither.
The writing is good, occasionally great, and more than adequately conveys the existentialist despair / boredom / dread the characters experience. But after three hundred pages of this spare, flat writing, there is an ending that would be brilliant if it was more thoroughly explored, but feels tacked on since the book ends immediately after. Even a few more paragraphs would have helped if you ask me. I’m glad I read it, not sure I’d recommend it. I did admire her writing enough to be interested in reading more of it (this is the first book of hers I’ve read).
The writing is good, occasionally great, and more than adequately conveys the existentialist despair / boredom / dread the characters experience. But after three hundred pages of this spare, flat writing, there is an ending that would be brilliant if it was more thoroughly explored, but feels tacked on since the book ends immediately after. Even a few more paragraphs would have helped if you ask me. I’m glad I read it, not sure I’d recommend it. I did admire her writing enough to be interested in reading more of it (this is the first book of hers I’ve read).