Normal People
by Sally Rooney
Hogarth, 2018
Adult Contemporary Literary Fiction
8 cups of tea out of 11
Summary: Marianne and Connell grow up in the same small town. His mom cleans her mom’s house. Connell is popular while Marianne is a social outcast. Then they go to college together and the popularity is flipped. They struggle to define their relationship. They also struggle with communication and mental health issues.
Likes: The writing style is like Hemingway or Octavia Butler where it doesn’t feel like there is a wasted word. Their individual psychology and their sometimes very dysfunctional relationship is very interesting to watch. Especially when comparing their lives from adolescence to adulthood.
Dislikes: This is the deep point of view, experimental style where there aren’t quotation marks. Sometimes it is hard to tell where the divide between the spoken out loud portion and the thought portion is and it can be confusing.
Overall I do recommend this one, especially if you are looking for a character-driven story set in Ireland. I’m also curious to read Conversations with Friends by the same author.
The Green Tea Librarian 