NOW AN EMMY-NOMINATED HULU ORIGINAL SERIES • NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER • LONGLISTED FOR THE BOOKER PRIZE • “A stunning novel about the transformative power of relationships” (People) from the author of Conversations with Friends, “a master of the literary page-turner” (J. Courtney Sullivan).
“[A] novel that demands to be read compulsively, in one sitting.”—The Washington Post
ONE OF ENTERTAINMENT WEEKLY’S TEN BEST NOVELS OF THE DECADE
TEN BEST BOOKS OF THE YEAR: People, Slate, The New York Public Library, Harvard Crimson
Connell and Marianne grew up in the same small town, but the similarities end there. At school, Connell is popular and well liked, while Marianne is a loner. But when the two strike up a conversation—awkward but electrifying—something life changing begins.
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 at university, Marianne and Connell circle one another, straying toward other people and possibilities but always magnetically, irresistibly drawn back together. And 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.
Normal People is the story of mutual fascination, friendship, and love. It takes us from that first conversation to the years beyond, in the company of two people who try to stay apart but find that they can’t.
WINNER: The British Book Award, The Costa Book Award, The An Post Irish Novel of the Year, Sunday Times Young Writer of the Year Award
BEST BOOKS OF THE YEAR: The New York Times, The New York Times Book Review, Oprah Daily, Time, NPR, The Washington Post, Vogue, Esquire, Glamour, Elle, Marie Claire, Vox, The Paris Review, Good Housekeeping, Town & Country
I love Rooney's simple writing style, and I think she creates complex characters very well. She has a way of getting across existential despair clearly. While I enjoyed this novel and blew through it quickly, I do feel that it's a bit of a more lightweight version of Conversations With Friends. It has so many of the same themes - failure to communicate, dysfunctional relationships with sex, weirdly antagonistic friendships, the pretentiousness of bourgeoisie who believe themselves to be woke. I just think it's a bit less potent in its dealing with these themes, although it also has the added benefit of characters who are much easier to like and sympathize with. I'm also always sucker for a narrative in which two people switch social positions - it's a dynamic that, when written delicately, I find fascinating. I'd recommend this book overall, and I think it'll be less polarizing than Conversations With Friends, but I think the reason I liked Conversations With Friends more is because it gave me so many reasons to hate it yet made me enjoy it despite everything. There was just more to sink my teeth into.
