Sally Rooney

OVER ONE MILLION COPIES SOLD THE NUMBER ONE SUNDAY TIMES AND TOP FIVE NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER THE BBC THREE ADAPTATION OF NORMAL PEOPLE WILL PREMIERE ON APRIL 26 WINNER OF THE COSTA NOVEL AWARD 2018 WINNER OF THE AN POST IRISH BOOK AWARDS NOVEL OF THE YEAR WINNER OF NOVEL OF THE YEAR AND BOOK OF THE YEAR AT THE BRITISH BOOK AWARDS WINNER OF THE SPECSAVERS NATIONAL BOOK AWARDS INTERNATIONAL AUTHOR OF THE YEAR LONGLISTED FOR THE MAN BOOKER PRIZE 2018 LONGLISTED FOR THE WOMEN'S PRIZE FOR FICTION 2019 Connell and Marianne grow up in the same small town in the west of Ireland, but the similarities end there. In 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. Normal People is a 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 they can't. 'The literary phenomenon of the decade.' - Guardian SHORTLISTED FOR THE IRISH NOVEL OF THE YEAR AWARD 2019 SHORTLISTED FOR THE RSL ENCORE PRIZE 2019 LONGLISTED FOR THE RATHBONES FOLIO PRIZE 2019

Normal People

NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER * From the celebrated author of Conversations with Friends comes "a stunning novel about the transformative power of relationships" (People), hailed as "a masterpiece, pure and simple" (Minneapolis Star Tribune). "Among the vast cohort of new millennial novelists, none are connecting with readers as intimately, or generating as much excitement, as Sally Rooney."--Entertainment Weekly WINNER OF THE AN POST IRISH BOOK AWARD * WINNER OF THE COSTA NOVEL AWARD * LONGLISTED FOR: THE MAN BOOKER PRIZE * THE DYLAN THOMAS PRIZE * THE WOMEN'S PRIZE FOR FICTION * THE RATHBONES FOLIO PRIZE * THE KERRY GROUP IRISH NOVEL OF THE YEAR AWARD At school Connell and Marianne pretend not to know each other. He's popular and well-adjusted, star of the school football team, while she is lonely, proud, and intensely private. But when Connell comes to pick his mother up from her 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 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. 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. Praise for Normal People "[Rooney] has been hailed as the first great millennial novelist for her stories of love and late capitalism . . . [she writes] some of the best dialogue I've read."--The New Yorker "Arguably the buzziest novel of the season, Sally Rooney's elegant sophomore effort . . . is a worthy successor to Conversations With Friends. Here, again, she unflinchingly explores class dynamics and young love with wit and nuance."--The Wall Street Journal, "12 Best Books of Spring" "Keenly observed, deeply perceptive, and psychologically acute, Normal People brims with disarming insights into how men and women wrestle with sex, class, popularity, and young love."--Esquire, "Best Books to Read This Spring"

A Novel

kimmy

life offers up these moments of joy despite everything. 

i’m not a religious person, but i do sometimes think God made you for me.

Connell and Marianne grow up in the same small town in the west of Ireland, but the similarities end there. In 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. Normal People is a 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 they can't.

aldy

Are they agreeing not to find each other attractive anymore? When were they supposed to have stopped?

Ruby Long

If anything, his personality seemed like something external to himself, managed by the opinions of others, rather than anything he individually did or produced.

Then he turns a new page in the notebook so he doesn't have to look at what he's done.

Teenagers Connell and Marianne pretend not to know each other. He's popular and well-adjusted, star of the school football team, while she is lonely, proud and intensely private. But when Connell comes to pick his mother up from her 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 on the sidelines, shy and uncertain. Throughout their time at university, Marianne and Connell circle one another, straying toward other people and possibilities. 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...

neya

Marianne, he said, I'm not a religious person but I do sometimes think God made you for me.

Lucía RG

“I' m not a religious person but I do sometimes think God made you for me.”

Chloe Heisserer

She would have lain on the ground and let him walk over her body if he wanted, he knew that.

I bet you'd pretend you didnt know me if we bumped into each other. 

Then she says: I would never pretend not to know you, Connell.

She had to laugh then, and he laughed because she did. They couldn't look at each other when they were laughing, they had to look into corners of the room, or at their feet.

J. V. Balant

She has never believed herself fit to be loved by any person. But now she has a new life, of which this is the first moment, and even after many years have passed she will still think: Yes, that was it, the beginning of my life.

With only a little subterfuge he can live two entirely separate existences, never confronting the ultimate question of what to do with himself or what kind of person he is.

nahomi

Marianne, he said, I’m not a religious person but I do sometimes think God made you for me.

Ernest Riera i Arbussà

Gent normal

Eva Marquant

'I never feel lonely when I’m with you.'

'We can’t change your circumstances, but we can change how you respond to your circumstances. '

'Marianne, he said, I’m not a religious person but I do sometimes think God made you for me.'

Abigail Mills

She would have lain on the ground and let him walk over her body if he wanted, he knew that. 

She felt she would do anything to make him like her, to make him say out loud that he liked her. 

Giulia Pascoli 

Her gaze unsettles him  like it used to, like looking into a mirror, seeing something that has no secrets from you.

jude

Somehow he was expressing more emotion than at any time in his life before, while simultaneously felling less, feeling nothing.

Could he really do the gruesome things he does to her and believe at the same time that he's acting out of love? Is the world such an evil place, that love should be indistinguishable from the basest and most abusive forms of violence?

I supposed I didn't want you to think I was damaged or something. I was probably afraid you wouldn't want me anymore.

alex 

Arash

This book is definitely way above my age group, and <spoiler>I was taken aback by the several sexually explicit scenes littered around the book</spoiler>. Even so, the book shares the relationship between the two individuals — Connell and Marianne — and how they keep revolving around each other. The way the Sally writes these characters and their relationship is definitely realistic; there's definitely a lot of romantic tension that, on the reader's end, can be pretty frustrating to read.

With that said, though, I think this was written really well. I might revisit this when I'm a little of age to read this — just to see if there's anything else I'll pick up — but I enjoyed reading this. I was particularly fond at how Sally manages to insert additional snippets of interaction effortlessly, and definitely helped to make the characters' foundation more solid. In the end, even though these characters have their own obvious flaws, they're still pretty likeable on the readers' perspective.

Abdullah

ok, so. I've seen a lot of praise and criticism regarding this book and I'd like to share my thoughts of this book. I've seen a lot of people say it's just two people hooking up with each other. while that is true, normal people isn't just that. it's about two people and their feeling of understanding to each other while not truly understanding each other. it's a story of two people who would seem "normal people" if we saw them in real life, but in reality, they aren't. 

everything in normal people feels very real.
that is one of my favorite things from this book. it seems like Sally Rooney picked two normal people and then showed us in a very natural way, how not normal they are. the family dynamics, the societal impact on our thinking, the class system, trauma, and depression are described in a way that feels real and natural. it doesn't feel over the top. it just feels right. 

it's a saga of two people, Connel and Marrianne, and their life through different stages. both have their own struggles with the world and each other. I don't want to say much more about the book but I will say that just read this book. it may connect with you or it might not, but it's still worth a chance.

“you should go, she says. i’ll always be here. you know that.” and, in between those words, i see pieces of my being, stuck and unable to stop clinging. i just know that this book will never leave me (i wanna scream so badly and question everything). 

joanna.

Robin Collura

I started to read this book but the syntax and strange tenses kind of took me out of it at first, so I decided to listen to the audiobook instead and that was so much better. It’s so rare to see characters like these, who feel so realistic and defined. Rooney does an amazing job of making you understand the unique people and dynamics she’s created, and root for them through it all. This book has stayed with me since I finished it

Emily Morgan 

Sofia Nunes

“Her eyes fill up with tears again and she closes them. Even in memory she will find this moment unbearably intense, and she's aware of this now, while it's happening. She has never believed herself fit to be loved by any person. But now she has a new life, of which this is the first moment, and even after many years have passed she will still think: Yes, that was it, the beginning of my life.”



Normal People is one of a kind. It's a love story, yes, but a depressing, long, intricate and real one, following two people from teenagers to adulthood, among different decisions, circumstances, and obstacles.

And I couldn't stop thinking about it a week after I finished it. 

It does an AMAZING job of depicting normal situations, depression, abuse and insecurities, marking them as NORMAL THINGS which happen with NORMAL PEOPLE. Marianne and Connell are so relatable that me stop to think when was the last time I connected so much with characters. 

A must read.


(Can´t wait for the tv show!!!)

mercy

therapist: is this about one of sally rooney’s books again? 
me: yes
therapist: we will have a virtual session in 15

Jamieson

brain 1: CONNELL AND MARIANNECONNELL AND MARIANNECONNELL AND MARIANNE

brain 2: interesting discussion of social capital and power within relationships. liked how it engaged with romance and love under capitalism. definitely that ~millenial~ book vibe but I liked that. the books connell references were a little too on the nose but it was funny

proper review to come

sahra gagow

Wtf was that ending... I do not feel fulfilled with this book at all. It was so frustrating. I loved the beginning but it gradually got me mad and hated the ending. It was very realistic though, and I loved the character's chemistry. I felt like the book was very unfinished and just abruptly ended.

Beatriz Aguiar

it's impossible for me to sum up my experience reading this book and just how great it is.
6 starts.

victoria

This book got me sobbing. Normal People is a deep book, I had to start reading again because at first I had the feeling that the book was always at the beginning and I thought I didn't understand, but then I found out that it was like this lol. Maybe it's not a read for everyone, but it's a very raw and true work, it's the kind of reading that you finish and lie all night thinking about. I saw myself in Marianne and Connell so many times that I almost finished my post-its from bookmarking the pages, and it touched me even more because I think a lot like Marianne, we even do the same course in college. Both are very realistic characters, with very valid pain and trauma. This book is totally different from the others I've given five stars, although I didn't cry but it touched me in a very different way.

grace richards

3.5, don’t really understand the hype around this book. i’m glad to say i’ve read it and i love marianne and connell but good lord they need to some lessons in communication

Midori Kobayashi

The typical coming of age, rich girl poor boy trope, no. Just no. Overall the story was just such a drag, I wanted to dnf it at so many points but didn't wanna start my year off bad. Oh God, hasn't this trope been done enough already? 
It tried to patch things up with throwing in depression and a possible suicide (i believe, or was it a murder?) I mean don't know didn't care doesn't matter. But again if you're one who enjoys a long drawn will-they or will-they-not kinda romance, go ahead give it a try.

Cristina Iglesias

** spoiler alert **
           I have many things to say about this book, mostly bad, but I'll start by saying that I do not get the hype at all. 
This book made me feel absolutely nothing and I don't really care how good the plot can be, or the characters, or the way its written, if I don't feel nothing it'll be automatically a no for me. 

Worst thing is that this didn't even have a good plot or good characters, but let's go by parts. 

First, the main characters were written constantly about how different and special they were, doesn't matter if they believed it or not, the author wrote constantly about it when they're actually the most plain characters ever. The amount of times it was written "I don't know", or similar, bored me to death. There's barely any dialogue that is worth reading, except maybe a few sentences that you say oh that's a good quote I'll highlight it, but that's it. It was probably supposed to be with a millennial teenager sort of vibe but my god, Marianne was supposed to be super smart and strong opinionated and yet she'd barely talk or do anything interesting that could catch my attention. Connell was simple as well, quite realistic, but still, I couldn't connect to him at all at any moment. And I don't even have anything to say about the side characters because they were only there to add "drama" and a bit of "plot" but other than that, completely useless to the story and completely forgettable. 

Now, the plot. Basically their odd relationship throughout the years, pretty teenage vibe as well, which I understand and it is quite common, but honestly? Too many break ups, it ended up being repetitive because it was constantly about the same thing. I understand that some people cannot communicate for shit, but lord jesus, that was another point of not communicating, they were plain enough to not even get mad at each other, or sad, or any single emotion that could lead to something interesting. They'd be like oh, he hasn't invited me to the party? Okay I will simply ignore every single thing he ever says until next year. And back again with something equally stupid that could've been avoided but they will react the same way: doing nothing, at all. I would've been happy with 1 fight, just once with either of them telling the other to fuck off.

The way it was written was a no for me either, it was detailed but not in a beautiful way, in a boring way. Like I couldn't care less that Niall is opening wine or Peggy is taking the dirty dishes to the kitchen. Most paragraphs gave me the impression that they were there to fill the pages. And the way it explained the story wasn't for me either. It reminded me of a bad try of "One day", in this book you get to see the main characters lives in the same day throughout many years, always the same day and it explained their changes in a way that would make sense, you'd understand and get where they are, why they're there, or what are they doing, or who they're with. And in this book, it'd be a few months difference and yet you'd be lost until it gets explained -a bit- afterwards. For example that time when Marianne was studying outside Ireland and meeting up with Luke. I did get the main thing, I think. But overall was really summarised and I tend to like books that give me the explanation as to why they're there and doing what they're doing, and this one failed at that. 

Other thing that I didn't like was the poor and lack of commitment from the author when it came to mention in depth the mental health problems and problematic topics. Like I said, I couldn't connect at all with this book, I didn't feel like there actual feelings inside it. Also, the cheating wasn't my cup of tea either, or the almost cheating that happened at some points.

I'll give the show a try, maybe seeing it will make me feel something, but I will definitely not be reading this book again.

came to the book because i couldn't fucking stand the series adaptation; daisy edgar-jones is gorgeous, sure, her visual helps me to read the book. 

well, it's not really my cup of tea — i don't really like reading some book with highschool and early year college background, but i must say that the writer did a good job on building the situation through writing. i understand the awkwardness and urge to do something that you shouldn't do during certain moments, change of personality and image after being away from home, and.. people like connell. the people pleaser. i usually despise his kind. well, he's also not really my favourite. 

i think the story is pretty familiar, you can easily spot each characters in reality and i think that's why there are people who finds comfort in this book. 

came to the book because i couldn't fucking stand the series adaptation; daisy edgar-jones is gorgeous, sure, her visual helps me to read the book. 

well, it's not really my cup of tea — i don't really like reading some book with highschool and early year college background, but i must say that the writer did a good job on building the situation through writing. i understand the awkwardness and urge to do something that you shouldn't do during certain moments, change of personality and image after being away from home, and.. people like connell. the people pleaser. i usually despise his kind. well, he's also not really my favourite. 

i think the story is pretty familiar, you can easily spot each characters in reality and i think that's why there are people who finds comfort in this book. 

LONGLISTED FOR THE MAN BOOKER PRIZE 2018 Connell and Marianne grow up in the same small town in rural Ireland. The similarities end there; they are from very different worlds. When they both earn places at Trinity College in Dublin, a connection that has grown between them lasts long into the following years. This is an exquisite love story about how a person can change another person's life - a simple yet profound realisation that unfolds beautifully over the course of the novel. It tells us how difficult it is to talk about how we feel and it tells us - blazingly - about cycles of domination, legitimacy and privilege. Alternating menace with overwhelming tenderness, Sally Rooney's second novel breathes fiction with new life.

Shona Tiger

** spoiler alert **
           4.5. Rounding up. Loved it! Stunning! Also ugh, really, really wanted a different ending; but why should it have been?

Rachel Kanyid

I have been on a kick of downloading audiobooks simply because of the cover, without knowing what they are about, and so far I have enjoyed every single one of them. I have read SO FEW books set in Ireland so I really enjoyed this, even though it was a bit rougher of a story, I found it very easy to read.

violet clare

I love the story, the concept and Connell and Marianne so much, I’m just not always sure on the writing style of the book.

Rachel Barber

Carah Gedeon

Never has a book left me feeling like a part of me was ripped out. Going to go cry now for all of eternity.

I think a lot of people say they were let down at the end but I think this book is beautifully written. It’s bitter sweet. Right when you think everything is perfect it slips again. In the end they’re both happy people and that’s what matters the most. The relationship they built together helped them grow and transform into who they’ve become and although in the end they part, everything along the way made them who they have become. I loved the end because it didn’t leave me satisfied, but instead continually thinking “what if?” and “what are they doing now.” Perfect. 

Josie 

Jeannette Ordas

Really loved this book, but felt a little let down near the end - I wanted more, more details and things fleshed out. 4.5 stars.

Normal People

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