Name: Vojtech's review of Gent normal by Sally Rooney
Item: Gent normal
Rating: 4.5
Author: Vojtech

Sally Rooney

Ernest Riera i Arbussà

Gent normal

Normal Insanlar

Beliz Kaya

Şu dünya, sevgi denen şeyi kimsenin şiddetin en adi ve aşağılık biçimlerinden ayırt edemediği kadar kötü bir yer olabilir mi?   

Seni seviyorum. Öylesine söylemiyorum, gerçekten, Gözleri doluyor Marianne'in, yumuyor gözlerini. Daha sonra hatırladığında dahi dayanamadığı kadar etkileyecek bu an onu, şu an yaşıyorken bile farkında bunun. Kimsenin sevgisine değer olduğunu düşünmemişti Marianne. Ama şimdi yeni bir hayatı var, ilk ânı da bu. Marianne üzerinden yıllar geçtikten sonra bile aynı şeyi düşünecek. Evet, o anda işte, hayatıman başladığı an o andı.  

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...

Normal People

larissa campos 

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.

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

All these years, they've been like two little plants sharing the same plot of soil, growing around one another, contorting to make room, taking certain unlikely positions.

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

She really is the mom we wished every boy we dated had

Cecilie Spangsberg

the moment where Lorraine is like: no i can take the bus, i am disgusted by you...

Normale Menschen

anne

Ihre Gefühle wurde im Alltag so sorgfältig unterdrückt und in immer engere Ecken gedrängt, bis scheinbar unwichtige Anlässe eine wahnsinnige und beängstigende Bedeutung annahmen

sofia mae

If she was different with Connell, the difference was not happening inside herself, in her personhood, but in between them, in the dynamic.

kayla 

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. She had that feeling in school often, but it wasn’t accompanied by any specific images of what the real life might look or feel like. All she knew was that when it started, she wouldn’t need to imagine it anymore.

She has no friends and spends her lunchtimes alone reading novels. A lot of people really hate her.

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.

Marta

Connell always gets what he wants, and then feels sorry for himself when what he wants doesn't make him happy.

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

llikaditoo 

From a young age her life has been abnormal, she knows that. But so much is covered over in time now, the way leaves fall and cover a piece of earth, and eventually mingle with the soil. Things that happened to her then are buried in the earth of her body.

You learn nothing very profound about yourself simply by being bullied; but by bullying someone else you learn something you can never forget.

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.

Life is the thing you bring with you inside your own head.

It feels powerful to him to put an experience down in words, like he's trapping it in a jar and it can never fully leave him.

So why should you waste time on something you don't like?

Time consists of physics, money is just a social construct.

In just a few weeks' time Marianne will live with different people, and life will be different. But she herself will not be different. She'll be the same person, trapped inside her own body. There's nowhere she can go that would free her from this.

Connel wished he knew how other people conducted their private lives, so that he could copy from example. 

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

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

Keira

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.

Vojtech

Normal people

anna 

I'm not sure of I enjoyed it because it's good or because it hits a bit too close to home.

LIMEKI 

oh sally rooneys writing is so good??? i literally finished this book and was sad for like an hour. not because it was particularly sad? but mainly because i resonated with the characters and felt how they felt in my early 20s. was also really interesting to see her talk about class and show how that can impact relationships. 

ngl i was so confused when i read the first page when their was no quotations LOL. had to do a double take. but i didnt mind it. it made it feel like someone was just sitting down and telling me a story about this couple and i loved it. that being said can see how that would make this hard to read and probably not a book everyone would enjoy. 

alice l

oh sally rooneys writing is so good??? i literally finished this book and was sad for like an hour. not because it was particularly sad? but mainly because i resonated with the characters and felt how they felt in my early 20s. was also really interesting to see her talk about class and show how that can impact relationships. 

ngl i was so confused when i read the first page when their was no quotations LOL. had to do a double take. but i didnt mind it. it made it feel like someone was just sitting down and telling me a story about this couple and i loved it. that being said can see how that would make this hard to read and probably not a book everyone would enjoy. 

minha cabeça doía em algumas partes, de tanto que eu me via nela, de tanto que eu me via nele, de tanto que eu me via em situações que eu julgaria se não fossem situações que eu estaria tão presente. choro preso na garganta, pra variar. muitos pensamentos, muita analise pessoal e muita dor de cabeça.

a falta de comunicação direta deles me deixou um pouco doida, e mais uma vez, faz sentido por serem apenas pessoas normais vivendo suas vidas normais, mas é de quebrar o coração a quantidade de encontros e desencontros.

me senti cutucando uma ferida, durante toda a leitura. muita dor de cabeça.

minha cabeça doía em algumas partes, de tanto que eu me via nela, de tanto que eu me via nele, de tanto que eu me via em situações que eu julgaria se não fossem situações que eu estaria tão presente. choro preso na garganta, pra variar. muitos pensamentos, muita analise pessoal e muita dor de cabeça.

a falta de comunicação direta deles me deixou um pouco doida, e mais uma vez, faz sentido por serem apenas pessoas normais vivendo suas vidas normais, mas é de quebrar o coração a quantidade de encontros e desencontros.

me senti cutucando uma ferida, durante toda a leitura. muita dor de cabeça.

Me gustaron un montón los personajes y el final, hay un montón de cosas que no se dicen, pero que ahí están definiendo todo

Jazmín Mejía

Chase Leitner

Cici Pearson

Nur das Ende war ein bisschen unspektakulär. Aber so ist das Leben von normalen Menschen nunmal 

Ich lieeebe den Schreibstil!

Nur das Ende war ein bisschen unspektakulär. Aber so ist das Leben von normalen Menschen nunmal 

I couldn’t put it down, even though I knew what was going to happen from watching the show. It was intoxicating, almost too much! Fascinating study of a relationship. 

Laura Gill

closed the book and stared at the wall for a few seconds bcos wtf was that? that’s how it ends? idk u guys i did not resinate a lot with this book i did not really feel it’s entirety. i was expecting so much lol. there were moments i loved and i got frustrated with how they keep pushing each other away which is kind of the point of everything, but then it just felt repetitive and bland. idk. maybe i’d like the series more if i start watching.

so overrated rly did not enjoy at least it was short tho

Libby W

this book took me to such amazing emotional rollercoaster! how connell and marianne behave is just so.. raw, it's the truest feeling of living in your 20s, how sally wrote the depression chapter of connell is spot on. i never knew that i will relate much more to him than i am to marianne. 

rasya

Wirklich schwer dieses Buch zu bewerten. 

Wenn man wirklich denkt dass die Charaktere immer nur „Ich weiß nicht“ und unsicher sind als realistisch sieht, dann ist dieses Buch was für dich.

Marrienne ist in einer reichen abusive Family aufgewachsen und wird so dargestellt dass sie sich auf die Meinung anderer nicht schert und sich immer schlechte Partner aussucht. Connel dagegen ist mit seiner Mutter aufgewachsen und er leidet unter Depressionen und Angstzustände. 

Die nebenfiguren zb die Familie wurde so schlecht beschrieben. Ihr Bruder lächerlich grausam, hatten irgend wie garkeinen Zweck im Buch nur um Drama zu sorgen.

Schreibstil hat mich auch nicht angesprochen.habs zwar in 3 Tagen fertig weil ich unbedingt wissen wollte wie es endet. 

Fatima

Wirklich schwer dieses Buch zu bewerten. 

Wenn man wirklich denkt dass die Charaktere immer nur „Ich weiß nicht“ und unsicher sind als realistisch sieht, dann ist dieses Buch was für dich.

Marrienne ist in einer reichen abusive Family aufgewachsen und wird so dargestellt dass sie sich auf die Meinung anderer nicht schert und sich immer schlechte Partner aussucht. Connel dagegen ist mit seiner Mutter aufgewachsen und er leidet unter Depressionen und Angstzustände. 

Die nebenfiguren zb die Familie wurde so schlecht beschrieben. Ihr Bruder lächerlich grausam, hatten irgend wie garkeinen Zweck im Buch nur um Drama zu sorgen.

Schreibstil hat mich auch nicht angesprochen.habs zwar in 3 Tagen fertig weil ich unbedingt wissen wollte wie es endet. 

Peace out 

This books is a roller coaster of emotions. I loved the main characters and hated them at the same time. Their actions and lack of communication drove me crazy but it was so painfully realistic. There is a larger look into Connell’s life than Marianne’s until later in the novel when it somewhat switches but I think that is based on when each character is more comfortable in their settings. Connell and Marianne are the poster for complex characters. I see why everyone talks about this book.

Summerlyn Grainger

Sally Rooney describes the brief sound of music from a passing car twice in N

 and both times it epitomises the deftness of her perception. Same with when Connell switches radio stations until a Van Morrison song comes on and then stops, or the multiple times men are described carrying the shopping or luggage; all of the circumstances of normal life that stick out fondly or annoyingly or in an entirely banal fashion: "he needs the WiFi Code for this house". 

Dialogue is treated with the same seeing poise; the initially jarring exclusion of quotations, and occasionally indentation, melds observation and dialogue into a concise and almost persuasive manuscript of how people live with each other. How these two people live with each other. We jump forward from one decisive moment to the next and Rooney then describes all the intervening moments we've missed like justifying references for her upcoming conclusion. It's exceptionally convincing, and 

 is exceedingly easy to keep reading, but it is almost detached in its insightfulness; even when posed as questions Marianne and Connell's self-consciousnesses can be so concise it is almost undue. 

Sally Rooney turns this clarity upon themes of class and trauma, explicitly sometimes, though most rewardingly in the implicit moments when Marianne notices Connell's adidas sneakers again, or an image of Marianne's unwelcoming house is shared, but in a sparing way that may be truthful but does not leave me with a lasting impression of the impact on their dynamic. 

 is vivid and unflinching in a way I thought would have been profound. But although the actions of Marianne and Connell are microscopically dissected, I was prepared for anything to happen in their relationship. Maybe that is it's profundity? Being able to read someone's mind won't explain them to you, but it is gripping. 

Geese Fish

Sally Rooney describes the brief sound of music from a passing car twice in Normal People and both times it epitomises the deftness of her perception. Same with when Connell switches radio stations until a Van Morrison song comes on and then stops, or the multiple times men are described carrying the shopping or luggage; all of the circumstances of normal life that stick out fondly or annoyingly or in an entirely banal fashion: "he needs the WiFi Code for this house". 
 

Dialogue is treated with the same seeing poise; the initially jarring exclusion of quotations, and occasionally indentation, melds observation and dialogue into a concise and almost persuasive manuscript of how people live with each other. How these two people live with each other. We jump forward from one decisive moment to the next and Rooney then describes all the intervening moments we've missed like justifying references for her upcoming conclusion. It's exceptionally convincing, and Normal People is exceedingly easy to keep reading, but it is almost detached in its insightfulness; even when posed as questions Marianne and Connell's self-consciousnesses can be so concise it is almost undue. 

 

Sally Rooney turns this clarity upon themes of class and trauma, explicitly sometimes, though most rewardingly in the implicit moments when Marianne notices Connell's adidas sneakers again, or an image of Marianne's unwelcoming house is shared, but in a sparing way that may be truthful but does not leave me with a lasting impression of the impact on their dynamic. Normal People is vivid and unflinching in a way I thought would have been profound. But although the actions of Marianne and Connell are microscopically dissected, I was prepared for anything to happen in their relationship. Maybe that is it's profundity? Being able to read someone's mind won't explain them to you, but it is gripping. 

Beautiful book. Favourite book of all time

Iben engeseth

probably the best book i’ve ever read. Explored something so universal and made it seem so strange. Found it so astonishing the perspective it gave on normal things like anxiety, overthinking, relationship problems. It comes with vivid details used to make a normal situation look so alien. Book made me realize that we are normal, precisely because we all live equally as strange lives. 

angel abad cesa 

I don't really know how to rate this book. It's certainly a very well written book, and I realized halfway that the reason why there are no quotation marks is probably because there's not a straight line dividing what's said from what remains unsaid. The characters both understand each other really well without having to actually express what they're thinking or feeling, but sometimes they don't, and that's just how it works. Sometimes we just misunderstand each other for various reasons, and I realized that speaking doesn't always make things right. Sometimes we just say the wrongs things. Sometimes we misinterpret what people are saying because of our past. And that’s just how relationships are. 

This is a very well written book that made me realize I understand nothing (and probably never will) of human relationships. It’s not that I don’t understand, it’s the fact that it has to be this way that just doesn’t make sense to me. This book made me more cynical than I already am. Emotions just don’t make real sense to me. And that’s probably why I’m studying psychology. There HAS to be a reason why we act and think and feel in some kind of way, and sometimes there is, but sometimes there’s not. And that’s what confuses me the most. 

Does it always has to be this complicated? What do we have to do to make things easier? Do people realize that relationships like this are not healthy? What was the reason for the author to entitle this book “normal people”? 

I don’t think I’ll ever understand how this book affected all the readers around the world, but it’s certainly a book that makes you think. 

mirta <3

I don't really know how to rate this book. It's certainly a very well written book, and I realized halfway that the reason why there are no quotation marks is probably because there's not a straight line dividing what's said from what remains unsaid. The characters both understand each other really well without having to actually express what they're thinking or feeling, but sometimes they don't, and that's just how it works. Sometimes we just misunderstand each other for various reasons, and I realized that speaking doesn't always make things right. Sometimes we just say the wrongs things. Sometimes we misinterpret what people are saying because of our past. And that’s just how relationships are. 

This is a very well written book that made me realize I understand nothing (and probably never will) of human relationships. It’s not that I don’t understand, it’s the fact that it has to be this way that just doesn’t make sense to me. This book made me more cynical than I already am. Emotions just don’t make real sense to me. And that’s probably why I’m studying psychology. There HAS to be a reason why we act and think and feel in some kind of way, and sometimes there is, but sometimes there’s not. And that’s what confuses me the most. 

Does it always has to be this complicated? What do we have to do to make things easier? Do people realize that relationships like this are not healthy? What was the reason for the author to entitle this book “normal people”? 

I don’t think I’ll ever understand how this book affected all the readers around the world, but it’s certainly a book that makes you think. 

tbh i don’t remember much of the book just that i wanted to curb stomp both of them at different points and also maybe sing them a lullaby

felicity hu

Normalni ludzie

Maja

Sama nie wiem co powiedzieć. 
Serial był zdecydowanie lepszy, bez niego chyba nie dałabym rady przebrnąć przez tę książkę.

ang 

this book take your soul out of your body, it reads it, it analyses it, and it will never back to you as it was before.

This book is definitely better than 'Beautiful World, Where Are You' but still slightly less fun than the Normal People TV show. As usual, the prose style is bit odd and characters greatly awkward. Which is part of the charm. All in all it is fun to read.

Vojtech &
Gent normal by Sally Rooney

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