It has been a long time since I read this book, and in the intervening months, an odd thing has happened. When I read this book, I loved it and thought it was wonderfully written. I still think this, but the down time has put some distance between me and the reading experience has left less of an impression than I thought it would. So this review is not the same one I would have written had I gotten around to doing so right away, and I’m not sure if that makes it more or less valid.
This is the story of two young people who are, in many way, completely opposite. Connell is poor but popular. Marianne is rich but an outsider. Both are exceedingly smart. Connell’s mom is a cleaner who works for Marianne’s family, so the two cross paths when Connell meets his mom at work after school. At first they share only awkward pleasantries. But over time, their relationship develops into something more. Afraid of losing his social status, Connell doesn’t tell any of his friends about their relationship. For reasons that are not quite clear – partly a lack of social concern, partly a lack of confidence and self worth – Marianne goes along with the secrecy. Of course there comes a breaking point, and the two part ways.
Their lives converge once again, however, when both are accepted to the same university in Dublin. But by this time there has been a role reversal – Connell is now outside of his small-town social group and no longer has the social status his popularity afforded him. He’s also a scholarship student in a school full of entitled rich kids. His confidence has suffered, and he is forced to face himself without the favourable reflection of his social circle. Meanwhile Marianne has blossomed. She is popular, well-liked and wealthy. She excels in both her schoolwork and social pursuits and her wealth allows her to fit in.
It would be easy to think Marianne would look down on and hold a grudge against Connell for his poor treatment of her in school – and for a while she does. But they have an inexplicable connection, and no matter what happens between them, they are drawn to one another. Their relationship fluctuates between a deep friendship, a desire to protect one another and something approaching love.
The strength of this book lies in its ability to inhabit undefined spaces. As Connell and Marianne’s relationship changes and they grow separately, we are forced to question why we expect what we do from books about relationships, and what their relationship means – both to them, and to our own perceptions of what our social interactions can be. This is not a romance book, but it is a love story. There are no easy answers, nor are there tidy bows tied in the plot. But the journey will give you much food for thought, and the spare and concise prose allows the reader to truly work with the characters to create the story.
This is an excellent book. When I read it I thought it stood a very good chance of winning the Man Booker Prize. It didn’t – Anna Burns’ Milkman won in the end. I was very disappointed at the time, but with a bit of distance the decision makes a bit more sense to me. Though I would still be happy had it won, I do see that it doesn’t have as much lasting power as some other books I read last year, and while I was very engaged during my reading of it, it hasn’t stood out as my top read of the year. The book was recently announced as a contender on the Women’s Prize for Fiction longlist, and I fully expect it to also make the shortlist. Sally Rooney is a young author (I think she’s only in her twenties) and this is her second book, which is remarkable and speaks to unlimited potential. She has an uncanny ability to reach into the very heart of a character, and isn’t shy about making her readers inhabit uncomfortable spaces in service of portraying the complexities of human nature. I’m looking forward to seeing what she does next, and I’d definitely recommend picking this book up!
Connell and Marianne both grow up in the same town in rural Ireland. The similarities end there; they are from very different worlds. But they both get places to study at university in Dublin, and a connection that has grown between them despite the social tangle of school lasts long into the following years.
Sally Rooney’s second novel is a deeply political novel, just as it’s also a novel about love. It’s about how difficult it is to speak to what you feel and how difficult it is to change. It’s wry and seductive; perceptive and bold. It will make you cry and you will know yourself through it. – Goodreads
Book Title: Normal People
Author: Sally Rooney
Series: No
Edition: Hardback
Published By: Faber & Faber
Released: August 28, 2018
Genre: Fiction, Relationships, Coming-of-Age
Pages: 266
Date Read: September 14-20, 2018
Rating: 8/10
Average Goodreads Rating: 4.20/5 (16,144 ratings)