Sally Rooney

Normale Menschen

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

Normal People

Keira Ostrosser

No one can be independent of other people completely, so why not give up the attempt, she thought, go running in the other direction, depend on people for everything, allow them to depend on you, why not.

nidsy

Marianne sometimes sees herself at the very bottom of the ladder, but at other times she pictures herself off the ladder completely, not affected by its mechanics, since she does not actually desire popularity or do anything to make it belong to her. 

Marianne had the sense that her real life was happening somewhere very far away, happening without her, and she didn't know if she would ever find out where it was and become part of it.

Marianne has never been with anyone in school, no one has ever seen her undressed, no one even knows if she likes boys or girls, she won't tell anyone. People resent that about her, and Connell thinks that's why they tell the story, as a way of gawking at something they're not allowed to see.

Now, you see, you think I’m a bad girlfriend. I’m being disloyal. Who wouldn’t want to beat me up?

She covers her eyes with her hand. She’s smiling, a tired and self- hating smile. 

It’s not that I get off on being degraded as such, she says. I just like to know that I would degrade myself for someone if they wanted me to.

 He was sad for Marianne after that, sad that nothing in her life had ever truly seemed healthy, and sad that he’d had to turn away from her. He knew that it had caused her pain.

Anlo Dumalaog

“Marianne had the sense that her real life was happening somewhere very far away, happening without her, and she didn’t know if she would ever find out where it was or become part of it.”

juana de arco si estuviera cronicamente online

"How strange to feel herself so completely under the control of another person, but also how ordinary. No one can be independent of other people completely, so why not give up the attempt, she thought, go running in the other direction, depend on people for everything, allow them to depend on you, why not."

Amelia

And you don't think you should have asked her? She says. Seeing as how you fuck her every day after school.

Rachel, he says, would you ever fuck off?

iya 

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

 Well, I don't feel lovable. I think I have an unlovable sort of ... I have a coldness about me, I'm dificult to like.

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.

He stares at the webpage again. Lately he's consumed by a sense that he is in fact two separate people, and soon he will have to choose which person to be on a full-time basis, and leave the other person behind. 

“he has a terrible sense all of a sudden that he could hit her face, very hard even, and she would just sit there and let him”

Ariane

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

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...

Rebecca Moraglia

How strange to feel herself so completely under the control of another person, but also how ordinary. No one can be independent of other people completely, so why not give up the attempt, she thought, go running in the other direction, depend on people for everything, allow them to depend on you, why not.

jo ｡✩

nica

Things that happened to her then are buried in the earth of her body. She tries to be a good person. But deep down she knows she is a bad person, corrupted, wrong, and all her efforts to be right, to have the right opinions, to say the right things, these efforts only disguise what is buried inside her, the evil part of herself.

I’m just nervous, he says. I feel like it’s pretty obvious I don’t want you to leave.

In a tiny voice she says: I don’t find it obvious what you want.

I’m used to it, she says. I’ve been lonely my whole life, really.

It was culture as class performance, literature fetishised for its ability to take educated people on false emotional journeys, so that they might afterwards feel superior to the uneducated people whose emotional journeys they liked to read about.

kait

this was the worst book i read all year, i hated every single word! the characters were so dumb and they made stupid choices and there was ZERO chemistry. i don’t ever even want to look at this book again.

Do I regret dnfing this book? No. Did the show change me forever in ways I can't describe and leave a hole in my heart? Yes

Manda

never been this happy and satisfied with a book ending before

renata hernandez

Amei, Marianne most relatable character ever HOWEVER it got very dull by the end but still cried still loved

Alice Argentino

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.

Bella Baxter

I almost screamed in the gym because what in the absolute hell was that nothing ending LMFAO. This is like the Fyre Fest of books, like, imagine the thrill of anticipation and then when you get there, it's the parking lot of an abandoned mall. This story is about as interesting as a blank page!

I'd love for someone who liked it to tell me what they got out of it because I got absolutely nothing and felt nothing. Not for myself, and definitely not for any of these characters. Except Lorraine, because she told that boy exactly what he needed to hear. The worst part of it is like, there's no reasoning behind why they are the way they are. If it is a slice of life read, there's gotta be SOMETHING intriguing about them apart from being self-absorbed or broken. I can empathize with even the worst, most flawed characters in the world IF I understand why they are the way that they are.

Some throwaway thoughts:
-Connell's narration is strange. Idk. Incoherent, almost. And maybe that's a character voice thing?
-There's SO much telling. Every single action and detail is described and it's meaningless. But I guess the book would have been half the length if that was cut out. What I will say is that there are some moments were her writing really sparkles and I wish she'd leant more into the purple, lol. Otherwise, it's a bit mundane.
-I find it interesting that Sally Rooney pretty much ignored every writing "rule" out there, and honestly, I applaud her for that. If she can be this successful by writing whatever she wants, that encourages me to ignore it all tbh.
-Does Connell think of Marianne (or any woman) as anything other than something to put his dick in?
-Connell writes like a Boomer learning how to text. But he's supposed to be a successful writer. Ok!
-Fuck a warning, Connell should have beat Alan's ass. And speaking of Alan, goes back to my earlier point of understanding WHY he is the way that he is. His behavior doesn't make any sense otherwise. Unless that is the point?

I'm not gonna judge anyone's preferences, but for me, if this is how "millennial writing" is, or if S.R. is somehow supposed to be the example of literary greatness in our time...literature is doomed, I fear, lol. I kid, I kid. That's what I love about art in general, SOMEONE will connect with the things you create, and all of our ideas are special. It's a space for us to put whatever you want on the page, canvas, etc., and it's open to us all.

Overall, it's a good thing I did not spend any money on it lol, boy would I judge myself forever for it.

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

Udit

** spoiler alert **
           since i already knew from the show what was going to happen it didn't hit much but i felt more connected to the characters. plus i didn't knew there was such time skips in the show, they should've mentioned it tbh. 

great book and as always i love sally's no-quotation marks thing which actually increases the flow of reading. yeah it is confusing at start but once u get the hang of it, it comes naturally to you.

idk why people are saying that they are codependent. i mean yeah they are at times but the last chapter is literally them accepting that they've grown from each other so much: connell taking english in trinity because of marianne and marianne feeling loved, feeling worthy, feeling like a normal person because of connell.

Mariana

At first, I didn't quite like Rooney's writing style, but by the end, I grew to enjoy it. 

I initially enjoyed this book a lot and had high hopes for it (that may have been my fault). However, by the middle of the story, it began to disappoint me and even gave me some anxiety at moments. I still liked it despite that, but it's definitely not between my favorite readings.

Teresa Bonifácio

To me “Normal People” is about a couple that’s so perfect for each other that screw up everything all the time! I fell in love with both of them but I also wanted to yell at both of them at the same time. 
To me this book is even better than “Conversations With Friends”. It hooked me from the first chapter.

aleksandra

3/5

I wouldn't even wish my worst enemy to end up with someone like them.

Hope they discover in the future that there is such a thing as couples therapy. Already praying for their shrink.

dian

i had already seen some of the tv show, so the first half was a bit boring. i felt like the writing was a bit clinical and detached at times, but overall it’s a good story.

amari

#1 INTERNATIONAL BESTSELLER; LONGLISTED FOR THE MAN BOOKER PRIZE: A wondrously wise, genuinely unputdownable novel from Sally Rooney, winner of the 2017 Sunday Times Young Writer of the Year Award (at 26, tied with Zadie Smith for the youngest-ever recipient)--the quintessential coming-of-age love story for our time. Connell Waldron is one of the most popular boys in his small-town high school--he is a star of the football team, an excellent student, and never wanting for attention from girls. The one thing he doesn't have is money. Marianne Sheridan, a classmate of Connell's, has the opposite problem. Marianne is plain-looking, odd, and stubborn, and while her family is well-off, she has no friends to speak of. There is, however, a deep and undeniable connection between the two teenagers, one that develops into a secret relationship. Everything changes when both Connell and Marianne are accepted to Trinity College. Suddenly Marianne is well-liked and elegant, holding court with her intellectual friends while Connell hangs at the sidelines, not quite as fluent in language of the elite. Throughout their years at university, Marianne and Connell circle each other, falling in and out of romance but never straying far from where they started. And as Marianne experiments with an increasingly dangerous string of boyfriends, Connell must decide how far he is willing to go to save his oldest friend. Sally Rooney brings her brilliant psychological acuity and perfectly spare prose to a novel that explores the subtleties of class, the electricity of first love, and the inescapable challenges of family and friendships. Normal People is a book that you will read in one sitting, and then immediately share with your friends.

pauline 

Hannah Yoon

Initial thoughts: I was SO close to giving up with this one.
Other than Rooney’s writing style and beautiful way of adding commentary to what is happening, I did not enjoy this story.
I didn’t care for either of the characters… does that make me a judgmental person? Maybe.
I didn’t know where this was all going and frankly, would never use the word “love” to describe Connell and Marianne’s relationship.
I want to enjoy a story as much as I do the writing.
And I’m not looking to read about perfect people. People are flawed. However, there also wasn’t anything compelling about these two or any character that had me invested and want to root for them.

gülsu

a pain in the ass, my god. they’re incredibly unlikeable people. and what was the point of all this? the author writes like she has something to say and then says nothing. pure pretentious tragedy porn

Krisha Lei

quite literally changed the trajectory of my life

Stella

trezaa

CONNELL WALDRON THEY DONT GET U LIKE I DO. im still thinking ab the book more than a year later love it

Normale Menschen

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