Normal People: A Book Review

Normal People, by Sally Rooney, was suggested by my library. One seeing it, I have heart the title before and I also am curious in nature and wanted to know what was ‘normal’. I found that I was constantly drawn the the title, and questioned the behaviours and situations as I read through this book. In hindsight, I do believe this is the first book I had read that felt closer to reality than others.

This review will have a lot of spoilers.

Synopsis

In Normal People, we follow two main characters. Marianne, who is clever and comes from a rich family who abuse her. Connell, who is also clever and comes from a modest family where his mother works for Marianne’s as a cleaner, and he is close to his mother. They meet and have a secret relationship out of the public eye, as Connell is both popular and a star in the football team, whereas Marianne is bullied and isolated.

Over the years, their situation switches when they go to college. Marianne becomes popular and celebrated, and Connell withdraws and feel uncertain. During these years, they both have relationships with other people, yet find themselves together and apart again. During a particularly abusive time, Marianne finds herself in difficult times and both Connell and Marianne need to find out what their future brings.

Review

From a psychological and social point of view, I find this book interesting. At first, I didn’t enjoy it. I didn’t want to read about a secret relationship due to social status. I instantly felt concerned for Marianne, and if it wasn’t for Rooney characterising her as resilient, I would have melted to tears on the spot. Marianne’s characterisation is developed, but then pulled back as she endures trauma after years of freedom and acceptance. It made me think about her situation, whereby she is from wealth but treated with distain. She almost has to desensitise herself to stay strong, and her behaviour with Connell at the start is uncomfortable. Connelly too.

Rooney created a toxic family for Marianne, which will probably be studied by therapists, as she shields herself from the lack of love. Her brother is abusive towards her, and her mother is cold. It sparked a sense of deep empathy and I cannot quite place it. The fact she grew self-assured and was appreciated for her kindness and personality is when she left home. That freedom away from her family, and the fact she did not visit them, helped her grow. It is sad to see her then lose herself again, allowing her partner to dominate her, as she loses her self worth and seeks validation through submission.

However, this was almost different for Connell, who became a shell of himself when he left home. Which, I thought was an interesting switch of roles as he is taken away from love (his kind mother) and needs to work and study. I didn’t like Connell the first time he was introduced, but over time he became a lovable character as he develops into a man who openly shows his compassionate side. I began to feel sympathetic towards him as he watches a woman he cares deeply about be emotionally abused by not only her partner, but her family and brother.

Overall, the writing style was compelling and I found myself rapt in the storyline. Yet, at the same time, I went through an array of emotions not fully comprehending how this is a normal lifestyle. I thought, how dark it must be that this is potentially a norm. Do we all go through this secret level of abuse and trauma? Is it normal to love another, care deeply for someone, yet not be with them? I think this is potentially quite normal and this could be very chilling for some people to read. It was quite dark, I think.

How did yd you feel if you read it? Would you read Normal People?

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