pamela
Written on Jul 19, 2020
Normal People is familiar and relatable in a way that very few books are. It takes annoying literary crutches that I usually hate (like a lack of communication between characters driving the plot) and contextualised them, making them understandable. I felt a kinship with aspects of both Connell and Marianne's personalities, and it also really subtly brought the psychological effect of abuse onto relationships into the mix in a way that was neither preachy nor exploitative.
One of the things I also really loved about it is that Sally Rooney obviously feels very similar to me about literary fiction, but has managed to subvert that by writing a book that I think all literary fiction should attempt to emulate. Normal People is intelligent, subtle, and well thought out. It fits clearly within a framework of higher education and literary achievement, without pandering to any of the pretensions that come with that. But where it really shines is that every reader will come away from this book with a different message. No character is good or bad, black or white - they're just normal people struggling to get by in a confusing world.
More than anything, Normal People feels like truth. The truth is always intimate and never easy to confront.