BOOK 210: NORMAL PEOPLE: SALLY ROONEY

At school Connell and Marianne pretend not to know each other. He’s popular and well-adjusted, star of the school soccer team while she is lonely, proud, and intensely private. But when Connell comes to pick his mother up from her housekeeping job at Marianne’s house, a strange and indelible connection grows between the two teenagers - one they are determined to conceal.

A year later, they’re both studying at Trinity College in Dublin. Marianne has found her feet in a new social world while Connell hangs at the sidelines, shy and uncertain. Throughout their years in college, Marianne and Connell circle one another, straying toward other people and possibilities but always magnetically, irresistibly drawn back together. Then, as she veers into self-destruction and he begins to search for meaning elsewhere, each must confront how far they are willing to go to save the other.

Sally Rooney brings her brilliant psychological acuity and perfectly spare prose to a story that explores the subtleties of class, the electricity of first love, and the complex entanglements of family and friendship.

(From Goodreads)

MY VERDICT: I was surprised when I started reading this as to how it was written. It wasn’t written well in my opinion, it is not a literary book, however it was interesting to read. It had me hooked, I wanted to read more and find out about the characters. And even though you don’t get deep into characterization and you don’t find out too much about them or what they’re really thinking you do feel that you know them, like real people you know but not closely. The relationship between Connell and Marianne is both realistic and frustrating. I don’t want to give too much away so I won’t comment on plot. I can see why some people didn’t like this book, if you’re not interested in the story the writing isn’t good enough to keep you reading but I did enjoy reading it.