I heartily agree with this. I didn’t like Normal People when I initially got it, but then started seeing the adaptation on BBC iplayer and loved it, bought it again, and just finished it tonight. What did you think of the televised adaptation if you’ve seen it?
this book hits really close to home. i was a popular boy in high school; smart and liked by many. everyone thought i would do wonderfully in college. when i got to college i met the woman i thought i was going to marry. she just so happened to someone who wasn't very social and flourished in college socially and academically. and in college my life fell apart and i eventually got professional psychiatric help. I see myself in Connel. Too unsure of myself to be able to give my heart to someone else because of insecurities.
Entertainment and the world entire has always pandered to people like you, you have representation everywhere and you humble brag and benefit incredibly from your unearned privileges while still complaining and stealing the sympathy right out from under those who are truly suffering and actually deserve it. I don’t feel sorry for you in the slightest, disappointed to read that this fed your ego.
YAVIS vs HOUND, look it up. Even psych practices are made just for people like you to benefit from. So stop complaining. You wouldn’t last a day in most other people’s shoes.
I LOVED this book. Couldn’t agree more with your review. It’s a brilliant, real, complex love story with sex, social-class, mental health, and teenage angst running through 😍
I saved this video when it came up for once I’d read the book and I’m so glad I came back to it! I just read the book and completely fell in love with it. One of the best books I’ve read in a long time. I wish more books like this existed for precisely the reasons you compared it to the romance genre. I find that whilst I’m very cynical and unromantic I love an honest romance. I’ll speed through a book to find out what will happen between two people yet all the other layers to this book gave me reason to slow down and think about what I’d just read. I particularly enjoyed the passages about what sort of person you perceive yourself to be and how any representation of yourself to others is always somewhat of a show. Like when Marianne pauses to consider how to word something to think about how she wants to come across to others. I usually feel like I know myself entirely but this book made me realise that I’ll never be able to honestly describe myself to others - I’ll always be too aware of the audience and relay myself differently because of it. I don’t know if that makes sense but it felt like a scary thing to accept - that I could never be truly knowable, even to myself. So certainly a romance but one with so much depth to it ☺️
I'm also quite cynical in real life but love a good romance in literature-especially if, as you said, it's an honest portrayal and has extra layers and depth to it beyond just the love story. And I loved how Sally Rooney explored how people's perceptions play into one's sense of identity-I totally agree with you, that your idea of yourself can often be so different from how people perceive you (or at the very least, those two things never quite line up)...so then what does that say about who you actually are? I also thought Marianne's ideas toward the end of the book about how people are fundamentally unknowable were really interesting-she really believes that under all the social performance, there is a real self that no one else can ever truly know...but then Connell says that he doesn't think people are actually that complicated. I'm still sorting out my thoughts on that exchange but found it really interesting...definitely a book that I'm still thinking about!
Thanks for this excellent video and analysis. Just by chance, I have somehow gone down a rabbit hole of great love stories this past fortnight and this was a wonderful video for providing a lens to think about these texts. It started with ‘Emma’ which is obviously a wonderful and traditional romance novel with all of the tropes that you mention here. (I’m also half way through ‘Far From the Maddening Crowd’ which also conforms to these too). More interestingly, I have subsequently read Hemingway’s ‘The Sun Also Rises’, Murakami’s ‘Norweigan Wood’ and now Rooney’s ‘Normal People’ and all of these novels essentially recontextualise the love story in interesting ways dependant upon their epoch (modernism, postmodernism, metamodernism). None of these narratives have endings that conform to what we may see in Austen but illuminate some really interesting developments about how we view love, and thus ourselves, over the last 100 years. Lonely and disenfranchised protagonists dealing with mental illness in prose that is pushing boundaries in their context (direct unadorned prose, ethereal symbolism and lack of punctuation). It’s a compliment to add Rooney’s name to these well known authors and it makes me wonder how this novel will be viewed in decades to come. Thanks again for this video and the mental diversion it took me down.
I'm so glad you enjoyed this novel and it was really interesting hearing all your thoughts about it and breakdown of why it's a romance novel. I absolutely agree it's more developed than her first novel. Love all the references to classic romances you make. It also felt like she was making a self-conscious romance novel in the way Connell discovers Jane Austen at university and remarks how it's a shame people feel jaded about enjoying the pleasures of simple romance stories. I can't think of many other novels that play upon tropes of the romance genre - there's Joyce Carol Oates' novel A Bloodsmoor Romance, but that's actually one of her novels I haven't read because I've heard it's not her best.
Yes! I really enjoyed those tidbits about the novels Connell was reading and his relationship with fiction...some of that self-conscious commentary on Rooney's part reminded me of the commentary in Northanger Abbey, where Jane Austen lampoons certain characters' criticism of novels and the frivolity of fiction...I think there were shades of that here and could also be extended to how people view romance as frivolous (even though so many great classics, like Austen's books, were romances!).
Ah, I wasn't aware that was present in Austen's books. I've got to be honest, I've never been a fan of reading Austen's novels but reading Rooney's novel has made me curious to go back and try her again.
Since this doesn't come out in Canada until the Spring (with a cover I absolutely hate) I ordered this off Book Depository today. No shipping! What a website! So excited :D
I love Book Depository!! I'm sure ordering from them is bad for the environment or something, but the free international shipping gets me every time. And I actually read Normal People on NetGalley (the US edition is out next spring, too) but have been thinking about getting a physical copy off Book Depository just because I liked it so much... Can't wait to hear what you think!
I want to thank you for a superb review. Probably like a lot of people who've just watched the TV adaptation, I'm now going through a lot of videos on here about it and stumbled across yours. I think you expressed precisely my own thoughts on the story, particularly the interesting relationship Rooney has with romantic tropes. Despite some of the discourse around the novel subverting these things, for me, at its core this is still actually a very familiar story in a lot of ways, and as you say, if anything it reinforces the idea of soulmates and "forever love", rather than trying to move away from those ideas. I would be really interested in your take on the adaptation, particularly the ending, which of course differs from the novel in subtle but interesting ways. Thanks again.
Great review as always. You gave me a lot to think about. Like you, I really liked this one and was a bit underwhelmed by CWF. I agree with your romance novel angle, although adding to your point of Rooney transcending the genre, there is a darker tone here than any average contemporary romance, which I appreciated. I was surprised by how complicated and dark the plot went, especially Marianne's sections. There were a lot of shades of grey in this novel concerning characterizations and motivations. Characters were never strictly good or bad and the main characters even managed to make some really awful decisions. And SPOILER: I was totally shook at the disorienting scene when Connell realized that he could do whatever he wanted to Marianne (physically) and she would be submissive. I had to pause at that moment. That scene actually got under my skin. Normal People was a really good one.
You're so right, part of this novel's depth involves the dark places it's willing to go, especially as it pertains to Marianne's storyline. And I agree, I appreciated that the characters weren't wholly good or wholly bad (and that their characters, in general, were kind of in flux as they tried to figure out who they were in this new adult world and university setting). But YES the whole subject of Marianne's submissiveness is something I'm still trying to parse through (I didn't want to get into it too much in the review because I wasn't sure if it qualified as a "spoiler," but also because I'm still working through my thoughts on it)...the power dynamic between Connell and Marianne was something that I found quite unsettling at times (especially because Connell recognizes it and finds it a little unsettling, too)...I think her submission can be read as a response to the rejection and mistreatment she's faced throughout her life, especially from men, and it's scary to think that if Connell were a different kind of person, he could also mistreat her...but he's not, and so her submitting to him is a different kind of submission, something that can fill can emptiness in her rather than deepen it (maybe?)...but I do think it's interesting how, even by the end of the book, she experiences that submission on what she suspects is an entirely different level than Connell does...even though they're meant for each other in so many ways, they're still different, distinct people (I also found her belief that people are fundamentally unknowable vs. Connell's belief that people aren't actually that mysterious really interesting)...so yeah, sorry for rambling, but lots to chew on still! That's one of the reasons I liked this book a lot more than CWF-I'm still thinking about it!
I'm not sure that I am much interested in reading this book, but I love this review and was so taken with your thoughts and descriptions of themes. Well done, as always.
Loved your video/review. Subscribed. I would like to say though that I think Normal People still has a sort of fantasy ending. Realistically, love changes. It tempers and adapts to time, age and circumstance. A happily ever after can kind of be a 'secure, reliable, predictable, somewhat boring' after, while a never after can be filled with contempt, anger, avoidance and loss. Yet Normal People keeps the love forever alive with perpetual yearning, the kind of romantic yearning that's really a core of romance lore.
I loved this book. I just loved their characters. In some parts it was so relatable to me, I'm glad I didn't waste my time and read a book after so many days, and to me, when I read a book, something changes in me. And I loved that feeling after so long. Thanks for your review! I would also like to know, what happens to Gareth? He's only mentioned like once as Marianne's bf, but they don't mention what happened with them afterwards.
omg yes! They never broke up, I assume they did, but we just never officially find out. I guess he was just unimportant, the real douche was Jamie so that's why he gets more attention lol
I don’t see that at all...either power or control. Marianne was happy to let men walk all over her...Connell had no such wishes or intentions..for him, it was love, and after this was resolved after Alan broke her nose, Marianne saw the light.
Ohhh I need to try some Sally Rooney. I missed the Conversations With Friends phase, but when I saw this on the Booker list I really wanted to get to it. It wasn’t one of my first Booker reads this year, and now, of course, it hasn’t made the shortlist. I think I shall read it anyway? It’s been getting consistently good reviews (unlike other books on even the shortlist😂). And tbh the romance tropes you’re highlighting are a selling point for me - I’m intrigued! This was great😊
First, awesome edits! Lady & the Tramp! No problem with romance, who doesn't love Love? Austen, Bronte, Shakespeare, all great love stories. But so many romances require turning off your brain to emotionally enjoy the cheesiness. So what we need is what you describe here, romances for people who read a lot of literary fiction. Less cliche, more insight, less stereotype, more reality, less pandering, more challenge. More of the unexpected & the underneath. This seems a bit like The Idiot where you found more to appreciate than most readers. Nothing wrong with romance, it makes the world go round, but it has to be done with a rare level of skill to surmount the infinite number of mass produced novels done to a constant template. I didn't think you could talk me into wanting to read this but you did (darn u!). Great review.
Yes! More literary romance, please! Alex from whatpageareyouon also mentioned The Idiot as a possible comp for Normal People-you guys are on the same wavelength! I think Normal People explores romance more explicitly (and not just because of the sex, lol)...I almost think of The Idiot as an anti-romance, in that it has all the elements that could coalesce into something real, but then it doesn't (which is so frustrating but also, in some ways, painfully true to life!). But both books have a lot of the confusion, angst, and ambiguity of being in your 20s, which I appreciated, haha.
Back again. And thanks once more for the review, is has helped me greatly in my thoughts and analysis. I’d obviously agree with you about the ’romance-novel elements and equally the fact that SR appears to extend that into an exploration of different types of relationships, comparing and contrasting what could be called more, and less, successful ones. She brings up quite real if rarely mentioned devices such as domination, approval, a commodity market of social capital, and many other elements, and appears attempting to redefine love as trying to understand and support the other person without possessiveness (cf Helen vs Marianne). And equally (still love) as a kind of undercurrent, or basso continuo, that is there all the time whatever other themes seem to evolve (cf Connel and Marianne’s permanently being in touch, even when she doesn’t respond, even when they are with other, sexual, temporary, partners. This is probably one of the main elements of cohesion (apart from the present tense - past tense frames in the ’chapters’ to locate events in time) ,in the storyline, which sees the protagonists, most of the time, apart physically, and together for only three stretches of several months . They are together for the last semester at school (2011), apart for most of the next year, together again for spring 2012, apart from July up to July 2014 until the incident with her brother, and the final chapter finds them in her/their? Dublin flat when Connel’s US scholarship is coming up. I also loved the depiction and discussion of instances of miscommunication, and would say it’s one of the many points that don’t only apply to young people, as someone has pointed to, but to anyone whatever the age. In ’American Pastoral’, someone says ’We habitually get people wrong’. It’s not so bad here, and we also see peoples’ responses to this: don’t care, don’t mind, assume you’re always right, or ask questions, try to get to the bottom of things that appear strange etc Agreed that it’s not what we typically expect from a romance novel; but isn’t the blame here rather on us, the readers. I’ve been trying to cast my mind back to the books with ’romance elements’, and even Jane A. engages the readers’ cooperation in her happy endings; extreme case - Mansfield Park. After her (JA) I can’t really think of many novels with romance elements to root for and display a happy-ever-after ending: Goethe, Elective Affinities, oh no; DHLawrence, no no; George E, not so sure, certainly not in her ’Mill …’; Thomas H; doubt it; Virginia W, no; James Joyce, surely not ;) Hemingway, Roth, DFWallace, Murakami, Han Kang, … ??? Must have missed them all! IMHO, however, Sally R appears to go beyond that: In Conversations, which (I may have mentioned that) I find a great book, and equally in this one: She seems to discuss a relationship between two people on the basis of: You only lose what you cling to. And could that also be a nod to the fact that growing and evolving means letting go of expectations? Far too long, and much more to say!
Thanks for sharing all these great thoughts! You're so right that the miscommunication depicted in this book isn't specific to young people, and I thought the exploration of what you mean to say/how you mean to come across versus how people perceive you or a situation is really interesting-our individual realities are based on our perceptions, and perception in turn is extremely subjective, so I loved how Rooney delved into all that.
Can't say how much I enjoyed this review, even though I haven't yet read the book, but it's next in line. Really regret I can give only one like ;)) So much I think I can say: Brilliant analysis of the possible angles one would want to discuss that helps the potential reader see more and put their experience into thoughts and words. I'll definitely get back once I have read it. Thanks a lot!
Can anyone else see the dysfunctionality of having a relationship with someone and hiding it for no good reason?. Connel didn’t defend her when she was being bullied at school and drives the decision to keep the relationship secret. Not exactly an honourable character.
Which is why he acknowledges throughout the rest of the book he acted badly and it was wrong, and how many times the both of them comment on how he's changed and grown through the years
For sure he also supported her through her worst demons and helped her feel self worth and loved her even when she didn't love herself rather that looking at the relationship like a woke snowflake try looking at it like an adult. Here's a question to help you understand how childish you are. Would her life be immeasurably better with him in or out of her life now try being an adult rather than a professional victim and see how it feels.
Mr Sir I think Ann was expressing an opinion on the initial impact the male character’s poor behaviour had on the cementing of her self esteem issues. Your reply (Sir) was piss poor.
@@markdbenson75 Yes of course you are right its like reading the first chapter of a book where the protagonist gets completely defined with zero nuace for the other 90% of the book. What a great critique your a genius or it could be the subtle misandrist attitude thats prevelent and people are tired of it. Could you possibly be a simp ?? just asking not judging.
I watched the series based on this novel a few days ago, and I liked it a bit. But your explanation made me understand better. I really like your way of explaining. Thank you. ❤️
Great review, I don't know how I came upon this book, but I think I read it in 2 days. I think that Connell is a very insecure person who also happens to be very good looking with a great body. I think we assume people like him have an easy time of it, but i know from a friend who was the "it" girl in high school, that's not always the case. She said that guys wanted to date her as a trophy and girls wanted to be friends with her to meet guys. I love the way Marianne has such total disdain for school life and her teachers. Besides their class, the biggest difference between the two is that Marianne has never felt the basic love she should have gotten from her family and Connell and his mother have a great, loving relationship. Like Marianne, I think I felt the same way in high school and couldn't wait to get out, so I related to her (even though I wasn't a total outcast). Looking forward to many more books from this author.
@Sensei Moon Jesus..are you serious? Don’t people like that get enough attention already? For ONCE, I want to read and watch stories about the poor, unsuccessful, legitimately unattractive people who suffer dearly in ways that these main characters couldn’t even fathom, and don’t care to, because the privileged love to ironically victimize themselves, and they can get away with it too, because people will listen to them and coddle them and shed tears for them..because of the very privileges they whine about. (Look into the halo effect, this affects the mindsets of others.) That is actually disgusting and incredibly insulting to enable such bs surrounding insane advantages in life. You need to stop that and realize that the whole reason you’re even engaging with their whining is because they are easy on the eyes. You pay them mind, you pay attention to them. Look to your glaring blind spots instead. We assume they have an easy time of it, because they absolutely DO, a much much much easier time of it. This is common sense as well as scientifically backed up with countless studies on how appearances and other privileges open doors and allow for opportunities and freedom of expression that would otherwise never be had. It’s the difference between thriving and figurative and/or literal death for most people. But since nothing is perfect, even a privilege, they find pitfalls and blow them out of proportion so that they can feel “oppressed” like the rest of the world. Vile and disingenuous, manipulative. Lmao, guys just wanted to date her as a trophy? Boo hoo, all men want pretty women and to show them off, she is not special in that regard. Would she rather be ugly or plain and not even be heard nor seen, except to be insulted?? I guarantee if she lost her looks and popularity, she would have lost her mind. I’ve witnessed this occur in many like your “friend”. Girls wanted to be friends with her to meet guys? What a ridiculous “problem” to have. Give me a break, how would they meet any with the “IT” girl around? I feel much worse for her supposed friends than for her. The men would likely only engage with the other girls to get to your friend-the one they actually want to get to know just because she was born fortunate. She sounds insufferable and ungrateful. If she’s so peeved then she can ruin her looks and isolate, have a taste of what real, restrictive suffering is like. But guess what? She won’t. Some advice: Stop listening to the popular pretty men and the “IT” girls and start directing your attention to those truly ostracized and abandoned and ignored by society. You don’t start at the top, you start at the bottom, when giving credence to pain and suffering. I’m so sick of pretty and handsome people being the face of literally everything, including struggles they have no right to play pretend at enduring. It’s absolute filth, like the wealthy moaning to the homeless and impoverished. Just gross
@Sensei Moon Privileged people can have problems..obviously. But as soon as they attempt to create a narrative where they make their very privilege sound like ONE of those problems, I’m out. They have too much time on their hands, picking apart the best case scenario to find little cracks in their advantages. Which anyone could say or do with just about anything. My cousin took her own life because of how much she suffered from being mistreated because of her “less than ideal” appearance (that is putting it lightly) of no fault of her own. She was bullied to the point she had to leave school even though she was very bright, and more importantly, hard working. She had no good memories, no decent pictures to leave behind and be blissfully nostalgic about, she had 30 years of progressive humiliation, isolation and tireless suffering that nobody cared to listen to because she wasn’t pretty enough to be heard or seen or a social media darling. She was the scapegoat of her immediate family and even the friends she had who appreciated her personality would always eventually resort to bullying her, making her feel "less than", demonizing her, and cutting her out in favor of a prettier and more popular model of friend. When people were done using her to feel better about themselves by comparison, when they were done using her as an emotional blood bag, they threw her out like trash. My cousin literally rotted in the shadows of your poor, precious "it girls and boys". Her name was Annie, and I will never forget her and the horrible inequities, disparities, gas lighting, bullying, etc, which proved to kill her. I want to see stories about my cousin and all those like her who are forced to be silent about the pervasive and prevalent issues they are writhing beneath which everyone participates in, but conveniently denies when it suits them. She wasn’t even “allowed” to talk to anyone about her struggles, people were always too busy “feeling” for those in higher places, making sure their privileged fragility came before my cousin’s woes. I’ve had enough of this sort of thing, it’s nauseating and deadly, the way things are, the way people work in this context. I’m sick of it
oh wow this sounds, to me, much more developed than Conversations With Friends, at least with action and initiative between characters that don't rely on assuming characters' emotions. Would you say this romance is comparable to Selin's exploration of romance in The Idiot? I loved how that was done, and in a way see The Idiot as a romance novel too. I didn't keep watching when the spoiler sign went up so I'm excited to get to this one soon based on your thoughts!
Yeah, I found this one much more focused and probing than CWF...as for the romance, it was much more explicit than the exploration of romance/non-romance in The Idiot...so much of Selin's confusion and angst stems from inaction, from things unsaid, from feelings that are there but ultimately don't amount to anything real or substantial...whereas the romance in this novel is very real, and the confusion and angst stems more from the characters being young and facing the challenge of being distinct people trying to exist together in one relationship, if that makes sense. But both books definitely have a lot of ambiguity and miscommunication that feels very specific to being in college/your early 20s.
I haven't read this book yet, and probably would have avoided it if I'd heard it described as a romance, but this video just changed everything for me!
Interesting. Would you say there's a difference between a romance novel and a novel that happens to have romance in it? The feeling I got was that it was more of a character analysis that happens to have romance as one way to help the reader get to know the characters better, though I'd understand the opposing view of deeming the romance to be more significant than I give it credit for.
Definitely - plenty of novels feature romance, but a romance novel is primarily concerned with a central love story, and if other themes/ideas/storylines are explored, it's usually in relation to or through the lens of that central romance. I would say Normal People 100% fits this criteria, and it also adheres to the pacing and a lot of the tropes of the romance genre (the only thing that doesn't make it a true romance novel is the ambiguous ending). Sure, it's more "literary" than most people expect of romance, and it certainly isn't being marketed as a romance novel, but I thought it was interesting to point out all the ways it's *almost* a true-blue romance novel.
I totally felt the same way reading this, it was like half the tropes of the 90's teen romance movie in the first 20 pages. And then later, it plays on the 'reversal of fortune' aspect which I guess probably dates back as far as Jane Eyre and is rehashed every time we get another Star is Born remake, and also felt straight out of the David Nicholls/One Day tradition (and this seems to always apply in a way where the woman is of lower status in the beginning weirdly). IMO it went a bit off the rails when it went hard into that pretty simplistic BDSM subplot but the popularity of the book makes so much sense when looking at how many popular romance tropes it uses.
Totally! I thought Marianne’s story was underbaked on several levels, and the subplot about Connell’s school friend who takes his own life also felt like it was handled in a somewhat slapdash way (interestingly, I thought the show handled that storyline much more thoughtfully). Especially seeing the popularity of the TV show, I maintain more than ever that Normal People is a romance and that’s the root of a lot of its broad appeal 😅
Wow love your review - reminds me of what English lessons were like back in the Sixth Form. Such a shame my school never invited any guests with an awesome American accent like yours. I did meet Simon Armitage and Matthew Sweeney though - this happened maybe 6 years apart (i met Sweeney first, then Armitage) - so that’s something I guess!
Fantastic review. I have only seen the TV adaptation (that stands as a great piece of TV in its own right). Your review is lucid and comes from a deep appreciation of the subject. I have subscribed.
This is precisely the eloquent review I needed and knew I would get on your channel! Looking forward to reading this and coming back to your discussion
The side thread you referred to becomes critical in the TV series, as it displayed some brilliant acting and possibly the tenderest scene in the whole 6 hours.
I definitely was not interested until I read the plot summary and was like...is this a rom-com?? It's definitely more of a rom-dram, but it still hit the spot for my romance loving heart ;)
This one's been on my radar for a while after seeing your "Millennial Fiction" video...I just read it and enjoyed it quite a bit. I wasn't sure exactly what about it I enjoyed, but I knew I did...your review hits on lots of the good aspects though. Also as a millennial myself there were certainly aspects of it that seemed especially relatable, so maybe now I have at least a little bit of a concept of what this millennial fiction thing is
Excellent review as always Claire, this one does seem a lot more successful than her last which it seems some people loved and some people hated. I’m still unsure about trying either as I feel like I’m the wrong audience being older and more cynical but that’s ridiculous thinking really. I loved how you drew out the romance aspects of the book, I’m not entirely sure why romance is often looked down on, especially when it features in so many classic novels and in probably half the literary novels that are published in some form or another.
Thanks for the thoughtful comment as always, Jo! I wonder how much my age affected how I read this book (I'm a few years older than the characters, but close enough that their concerns and anxieties were quite recognizable to me)...and I'm definitely more of a romantic in my reading life (despite being quite the realist/cynic in real life! lol), so I could see how this book might end up being tiring for someone who isn't as susceptible to all that stuff as I am.
I heartily agree with this. I didn’t like Normal People when I initially got it, but then started seeing the adaptation on BBC iplayer and loved it, bought it again, and just finished it tonight. What did you think of the televised adaptation if you’ve seen it?
As an FYI that Lena Dunham headline was likely being used ironically - not at her expense, but it's a reference to a joke in her HBO series Girls. She was joking about that terminology herself...
Yes, I know, I’ve seen the show, but many critics took that line and its irony out of context and called her a voice of her generation anyway, in the way that a lot of critics are now calling Rooney a voice of her generation as well...my point was less about Dunham and Rooney and more about the critical community’s reaction to them.
I love romances and romantic comedies, so I especially appreciate this review. I had no interest in reading this before, but now I'll get it. Thank you!
Great review! I hesitated to read this one, as I, like you, found Conversations with Friends quite mediocre. And the kindle sample of Normal People led me to believe that this surprisingly was romance-like. Great that you define it as such, in a way, but point to how she makes use of the themes to say much more. Now really looking forward to reading it.
So glad I watched your video. Agreed with all your points. I struggled with the ending and have been trying to find some explanation. Helped to hear yours. Got me some closure. GODDAMNIT this book got to me!
I wonder if anyone else wanted to question the underlying assumption of the young students that a relationship started with sex and then let friendship develop as it could, naturally, organically. Is this part of what being a millennial means? If so, it could be seen as an anti-romantic book. The conclusion seems to privilege friendship, which has greater depth, over sex. They accept physical separation for the sake of career goals, indeed - rather like an older generation in a marriage but, crucially, without any commitment.
Enjoyed reading it...got the idea of played scenes & currently out of time ...will pick up as soon as I got out of loop...It's not a book to hope for the forward events happen according to u, just enjoy every event as they meant to happen.
Not interested too much about novels detailing romantic relationships as most people, I suspect, who chose this review are. However,the short intro I read to Normal People demonstrated that Rooney is clearly a gifted writer. But, don't think that would persuade me enough to buy it or borrow it from a library. She was quoted as saying she would never read anything written before 1920. Up to her. But, from my perspective any writer who writes about her cohorts, or young, well educated people as this particular reviewer describes it can only hold my interest so far.
I loved your review! I read this book literally in a day and am wondering if you have any recommendations for similar novels? Love the way you get your points across in this review btw :) thanks x
Wow I hated the book. Absolutely felt deep regret for deciding to read it. No style no flair and literally so boring. and I read all sorts of YA books that are bad and they are better than whatever the hell this was.
Does your Normal People book have quotation marks? I have a hard time reading it because it lack of speech marks. Anyway, I love the review but I think I can’t finish it lol
Wow, I had an exact opposite opinion and experience. I thoroughly enjoyed CWF but couldn’t stand Normal People. The writing and dialogue were really good and genuine. However, the story. Ahh the story, I just couldn’t get through it! I found the plot endlessly circular, most important scenes felt rush and without real meaning in the long run. I had no problem with the characters and how they were portrayed, I even found the underlying message interesting. But, it was messy for me, just a rambling story in which I found myself wishing it would end soon. In comparison, I found CWF to be a refreshing “millenial” take on adulterous behavior and overall, the experience of the 20 something characters, as well as the older ones, felt rounded and genuine to me. Another thing that I noticed was the similarity between the characters of the two books. I read them on the same say, devoured CWF and went straight to NP and couldn’t help but notice it (maybe that spoiled my reading experience as well) how the pattern was exactly the same: intelectual people with special interests in foreign affairs and... it is really harmless in theory, what really bothered me was the fact that you could exchange the characters from the books and you’d get the same person. ANYWAY, to sum up (haha) I still think she is brilliant (not sure about ‘the voice of her generation’ claim right there) and I will keep reading her work!! As a side note, in my opinion NP was a risqué pick for the MB18 longlist and (evil grin) I can totally see why it didn’t make the shortlist (evil laugh)
Ah, that's so interesting! The plot definitely was circular (and even at the end I got the sense that the book was ending because Sally Rooney was choosing to end it, not because the characters' behavior couldn't just keep going, on and off, the way it had been throughout the book)...and you're right, the characters in CWF and NP are very, very similar (I'm glad I had a few months between reading the two, because otherwise I think I would have found that more grating). I think certain authors excel at writing about a particular social set, which seems to be the case with Rooney (so far at least)...it'll be curious to see what kinds of characters her next book focuses on.
I found this book very stodgy, and full of interminable soul searching. The lack of punctuation is annoying. The lead characters are insipid. The plot plods along and mountains are made out of molehills! I realise that everything is heightened when you're a teen, but this reads more like a 70s school girl novel.
This book is controversial---some people love it and others, like me, hated it. To characterize it as a love story seems off. The novel is primarily concerned with a couple unable to connect in any lasting or meaningful way. How is this love? It is anti-love and depressing. It is like rolling a stone up a hill, only to repeat the same dismal process over and over again.
Sally Rooney’s Hate Is the New Normal It is not easy to convince the Snapchat generation to read books. To do so, you must be a gifted writer and know which buttons to press in young people’s hearts. Sally Rooney, a young Irish author, is that kind of writer. Her first two books have won multiple awards and she is widely regarded as one of the most prominent voices of millennials. Rooney is also very opinionated. She is a self-proclaimed Marxist and an avid supporter of the anti-Israel Boycott, Divestment, Sanctions movement (BDS). In line with her views, she has refused to sell translation rights to Israeli publishers. Because of her notoriety, her decision caused quite a stir. The New York Times stated, “Sally Rooney Declines to Sell Translation Rights to Israeli Publisher.” CNN echoed, “Sally Rooney refuses to sell Hebrew rights for latest book to Israeli publisher, citing political objections,” and other prominent news outlets also reported her decision. In response, Israel's two largest bookstore chains announced that they would pull all of Rooney's titles from their shelves. This also caused a stir, though not as much. The BBC reported it, as did The Guardian and other British news outlets. Naturally, the Jewish press was all over the case, as well. I sympathize with the response of the bookstore chains, just as I was in favor of banning other individuals and brands that boycott Israel. At the same time, I understand why they are doing this, and I am glad that it is causing a stir in Israel. We can look the other way for only so long. At some point, we will have to ask ourselves why the world hates us, and it is better if we do it now than later. We need to use such incidents constructively. By "constructively," I mean that we should use them as an impetus to return to the roots of our nation, to our fundamental principles of mutual responsibility and brotherly love. These are the building blocks of our nation, and these are the qualities that we lost long ago and for which we were exiled from Israel. When we were cast as a nation that was to be “a light unto nations,” we were made to reflect the splendor of love of others to the entire world. Long before we gave the world Albert Einstein and Arthur Rubenstein, we gave it “Love your neighbor as yourself.” Granted, we did not quite manage to make it a reality, but the idea itself was, and still is, so novel, so unlike human nature, that to this day it seems undoable. Still, the world will not leave us in peace until we begin to implement this very legacy we had left to humanity. Indeed, it makes perfect sense to demand that the progenitors of this sublime idea be the first to implement it. The more the world becomes divided and hostile, the more it needs its opposite - love of others. The more people hate each other, the more they will demand that we love each other, and they will hate us for not doing so and setting an example for the world to follow. In the near future, numerous celebrities, pundits, and politicians will declare their disapproval of Israel. They will not justify our existence as a sovereign state unless we justify it by setting an example of unity. Nothing else will satisfy them; nothing else will appease their hatred. For more on this, see my publication The Jewish Choice: Unity or Anti-Semitism.
I love this book, but tbh I actually think the TV adaptation not only nailed it but even improved on it. Certain elements were expanded upon and personally I think the ending was better in the show.
I see this story is about fitting in and belongingness, rather than a romance.
Azmi Shah watch the series 🤤
You, madam, are an excellent reviewer. Fluid, erudite, not trying to be mere entertainment etc. Subscribed.
Thanks so much!
Agreed. Same!
I heartily agree with this. I didn’t like Normal People when I initially got it, but then started seeing the adaptation on BBC iplayer and loved it, bought it again, and just finished it tonight. What did you think of the televised adaptation if you’ve seen it?
Totally agree! She put into words what I could not
What a really excellent review. Thank you for articulating my thoughts on this book in a way I cannot.
this book hits really close to home. i was a popular boy in high school; smart and liked by many. everyone thought i would do wonderfully in college. when i got to college i met the woman i thought i was going to marry. she just so happened to someone who wasn't very social and flourished in college socially and academically. and in college my life fell apart and i eventually got professional psychiatric help. I see myself in Connel. Too unsure of myself to be able to give my heart to someone else because of insecurities.
Entertainment and the world entire has always pandered to people like you, you have representation everywhere and you humble brag and benefit incredibly from your unearned privileges while still complaining and stealing the sympathy right out from under those who are truly suffering and actually deserve it.
I don’t feel sorry for you in the slightest, disappointed to read that this fed your ego.
You are the definition of the “well unwell”.
YAVIS vs HOUND, look it up. Even psych practices are made just for people like you to benefit from. So stop complaining. You wouldn’t last a day in most other people’s shoes.
I LOVED this book. Couldn’t agree more with your review. It’s a brilliant, real, complex love story with sex, social-class, mental health, and teenage angst running through 😍
Yes to all of that!! Such a great book-I'm glad to hear you loved it, too :)
I saved this video when it came up for once I’d read the book and I’m so glad I came back to it! I just read the book and completely fell in love with it. One of the best books I’ve read in a long time. I wish more books like this existed for precisely the reasons you compared it to the romance genre. I find that whilst I’m very cynical and unromantic I love an honest romance. I’ll speed through a book to find out what will happen between two people yet all the other layers to this book gave me reason to slow down and think about what I’d just read.
I particularly enjoyed the passages about what sort of person you perceive yourself to be and how any representation of yourself to others is always somewhat of a show. Like when Marianne pauses to consider how to word something to think about how she wants to come across to others. I usually feel like I know myself entirely but this book made me realise that I’ll never be able to honestly describe myself to others - I’ll always be too aware of the audience and relay myself differently because of it. I don’t know if that makes sense but it felt like a scary thing to accept - that I could never be truly knowable, even to myself.
So certainly a romance but one with so much depth to it ☺️
I'm also quite cynical in real life but love a good romance in literature-especially if, as you said, it's an honest portrayal and has extra layers and depth to it beyond just the love story.
And I loved how Sally Rooney explored how people's perceptions play into one's sense of identity-I totally agree with you, that your idea of yourself can often be so different from how people perceive you (or at the very least, those two things never quite line up)...so then what does that say about who you actually are? I also thought Marianne's ideas toward the end of the book about how people are fundamentally unknowable were really interesting-she really believes that under all the social performance, there is a real self that no one else can ever truly know...but then Connell says that he doesn't think people are actually that complicated. I'm still sorting out my thoughts on that exchange but found it really interesting...definitely a book that I'm still thinking about!
Thanks for this excellent video and analysis.
Just by chance, I have somehow gone down a rabbit hole of great love stories this past fortnight and this was a wonderful video for providing a lens to think about these texts.
It started with ‘Emma’ which is obviously a wonderful and traditional romance novel with all of the tropes that you mention here. (I’m also half way through ‘Far From the Maddening Crowd’ which also conforms to these too).
More interestingly, I have subsequently read Hemingway’s ‘The Sun Also Rises’, Murakami’s ‘Norweigan Wood’ and now Rooney’s ‘Normal People’ and all of these novels essentially recontextualise the love story in interesting ways dependant upon their epoch (modernism, postmodernism, metamodernism). None of these narratives have endings that conform to what we may see in Austen but illuminate some really interesting developments about how we view love, and thus ourselves, over the last 100 years.
Lonely and disenfranchised protagonists dealing with mental illness in prose that is pushing boundaries in their context (direct unadorned prose, ethereal symbolism and lack of punctuation).
It’s a compliment to add Rooney’s name to these well known authors and it makes me wonder how this novel will be viewed in decades to come.
Thanks again for this video and the mental diversion it took me down.
It's the first video I see from your channel and it was really nice hearing the way you talk about the book and how you explain yourself! Thanks!
I'm so glad you enjoyed this novel and it was really interesting hearing all your thoughts about it and breakdown of why it's a romance novel. I absolutely agree it's more developed than her first novel.
Love all the references to classic romances you make.
It also felt like she was making a self-conscious romance novel in the way Connell discovers Jane Austen at university and remarks how it's a shame people feel jaded about enjoying the pleasures of simple romance stories.
I can't think of many other novels that play upon tropes of the romance genre - there's Joyce Carol Oates' novel A Bloodsmoor Romance, but that's actually one of her novels I haven't read because I've heard it's not her best.
Yes! I really enjoyed those tidbits about the novels Connell was reading and his relationship with fiction...some of that self-conscious commentary on Rooney's part reminded me of the commentary in Northanger Abbey, where Jane Austen lampoons certain characters' criticism of novels and the frivolity of fiction...I think there were shades of that here and could also be extended to how people view romance as frivolous (even though so many great classics, like Austen's books, were romances!).
Ah, I wasn't aware that was present in Austen's books. I've got to be honest, I've never been a fan of reading Austen's novels but reading Rooney's novel has made me curious to go back and try her again.
Since this doesn't come out in Canada until the Spring (with a cover I absolutely hate) I ordered this off Book Depository today. No shipping! What a website! So excited :D
I love Book Depository!! I'm sure ordering from them is bad for the environment or something, but the free international shipping gets me every time. And I actually read Normal People on NetGalley (the US edition is out next spring, too) but have been thinking about getting a physical copy off Book Depository just because I liked it so much... Can't wait to hear what you think!
I want to thank you for a superb review. Probably like a lot of people who've just watched the TV adaptation, I'm now going through a lot of videos on here about it and stumbled across yours. I think you expressed precisely my own thoughts on the story, particularly the interesting relationship Rooney has with romantic tropes. Despite some of the discourse around the novel subverting these things, for me, at its core this is still actually a very familiar story in a lot of ways, and as you say, if anything it reinforces the idea of soulmates and "forever love", rather than trying to move away from those ideas.
I would be really interested in your take on the adaptation, particularly the ending, which of course differs from the novel in subtle but interesting ways. Thanks again.
Great review as always. You gave me a lot to think about. Like you, I really liked this one and was a bit underwhelmed by CWF. I agree with your romance novel angle, although adding to your point of Rooney transcending the genre, there is a darker tone here than any average contemporary romance, which I appreciated. I was surprised by how complicated and dark the plot went, especially Marianne's sections. There were a lot of shades of grey in this novel concerning characterizations and motivations. Characters were never strictly good or bad and the main characters even managed to make some really awful decisions. And SPOILER: I was totally shook at the disorienting scene when Connell realized that he could do whatever he wanted to Marianne (physically) and she would be submissive. I had to pause at that moment. That scene actually got under my skin. Normal People was a really good one.
You're so right, part of this novel's depth involves the dark places it's willing to go, especially as it pertains to Marianne's storyline. And I agree, I appreciated that the characters weren't wholly good or wholly bad (and that their characters, in general, were kind of in flux as they tried to figure out who they were in this new adult world and university setting). But YES the whole subject of Marianne's submissiveness is something I'm still trying to parse through (I didn't want to get into it too much in the review because I wasn't sure if it qualified as a "spoiler," but also because I'm still working through my thoughts on it)...the power dynamic between Connell and Marianne was something that I found quite unsettling at times (especially because Connell recognizes it and finds it a little unsettling, too)...I think her submission can be read as a response to the rejection and mistreatment she's faced throughout her life, especially from men, and it's scary to think that if Connell were a different kind of person, he could also mistreat her...but he's not, and so her submitting to him is a different kind of submission, something that can fill can emptiness in her rather than deepen it (maybe?)...but I do think it's interesting how, even by the end of the book, she experiences that submission on what she suspects is an entirely different level than Connell does...even though they're meant for each other in so many ways, they're still different, distinct people (I also found her belief that people are fundamentally unknowable vs. Connell's belief that people aren't actually that mysterious really interesting)...so yeah, sorry for rambling, but lots to chew on still! That's one of the reasons I liked this book a lot more than CWF-I'm still thinking about it!
I'm not sure that I am much interested in reading this book, but I love this review and was so taken with your thoughts and descriptions of themes. Well done, as always.
Thanks so much, Michelle!
"at the tender age of about 27" lmaoo
Loved your video/review. Subscribed. I would like to say though that I think Normal People still has a sort of fantasy ending. Realistically, love changes. It tempers and adapts to time, age and circumstance. A happily ever after can kind of be a 'secure, reliable, predictable, somewhat boring' after, while a never after can be filled with contempt, anger, avoidance and loss. Yet Normal People keeps the love forever alive with perpetual yearning, the kind of romantic yearning that's really a core of romance lore.
I loved this book. I just loved their characters. In some parts it was so relatable to me, I'm glad I didn't waste my time and read a book after so many days, and to me, when I read a book, something changes in me. And I loved that feeling after so long. Thanks for your review! I would also like to know, what happens to Gareth? He's only mentioned like once as Marianne's bf, but they don't mention what happened with them afterwards.
omg yes! They never broke up, I assume they did, but we just never officially find out. I guess he was just unimportant, the real douche was Jamie so that's why he gets more attention lol
Nice summary. But you missed the key point for me: power.
And control.
I don’t see that at all...either power or control. Marianne was happy to let men walk all over her...Connell had no such wishes or intentions..for him, it was love, and after this was resolved after Alan broke her nose, Marianne saw the light.
I wish I could analyse text as well as you have here. Great review.
Ohhh I need to try some Sally Rooney. I missed the Conversations With Friends phase, but when I saw this on the Booker list I really wanted to get to it. It wasn’t one of my first Booker reads this year, and now, of course, it hasn’t made the shortlist. I think I shall read it anyway? It’s been getting consistently good reviews (unlike other books on even the shortlist😂). And tbh the romance tropes you’re highlighting are a selling point for me - I’m intrigued! This was great😊
If the romance tropes are a plus for you, then I'd definitely give it a try-shortlist be damned! ;)
First, awesome edits! Lady & the Tramp! No problem with romance, who doesn't love Love? Austen, Bronte, Shakespeare, all great love stories. But so many romances require turning off your brain to emotionally enjoy the cheesiness. So what we need is what you describe here, romances for people who read a lot of literary fiction. Less cliche, more insight, less stereotype, more reality, less pandering, more challenge. More of the unexpected & the underneath. This seems a bit like The Idiot where you found more to appreciate than most readers. Nothing wrong with romance, it makes the world go round, but it has to be done with a rare level of skill to surmount the infinite number of mass produced novels done to a constant template. I didn't think you could talk me into wanting to read this but you did (darn u!). Great review.
Yes! More literary romance, please! Alex from whatpageareyouon also mentioned The Idiot as a possible comp for Normal People-you guys are on the same wavelength! I think Normal People explores romance more explicitly (and not just because of the sex, lol)...I almost think of The Idiot as an anti-romance, in that it has all the elements that could coalesce into something real, but then it doesn't (which is so frustrating but also, in some ways, painfully true to life!). But both books have a lot of the confusion, angst, and ambiguity of being in your 20s, which I appreciated, haha.
Back again. And thanks once more for the review, is has helped me greatly in my thoughts and analysis.
I’d obviously agree with you about the ’romance-novel elements and equally the fact that SR appears to extend that into an exploration of different types of relationships, comparing and contrasting what could be called more, and less, successful ones. She brings up quite real if rarely mentioned devices such as domination, approval, a commodity market of social capital, and many other elements, and appears attempting to redefine love as trying to understand and support the other person without possessiveness (cf Helen vs Marianne). And equally (still love) as a kind of undercurrent, or basso continuo, that is there all the time whatever other themes seem to evolve (cf Connel and Marianne’s permanently being in touch, even when she doesn’t respond, even when they are with other, sexual, temporary, partners.
This is probably one of the main elements of cohesion (apart from the present tense - past tense frames in the ’chapters’ to locate events in time) ,in the storyline, which sees the protagonists, most of the time, apart physically, and together for only three stretches of several months . They are together for the last semester at school (2011), apart for most of the next year, together again for spring 2012, apart from July up to July 2014 until the incident with her brother, and the final chapter finds them in her/their? Dublin flat when Connel’s US scholarship is coming up.
I also loved the depiction and discussion of instances of miscommunication, and would say it’s one of the many points that don’t only apply to young people, as someone has pointed to, but to anyone whatever the age. In ’American Pastoral’, someone says ’We habitually get people wrong’. It’s not so bad here, and we also see peoples’ responses to this: don’t care, don’t mind, assume you’re always right, or ask questions, try to get to the bottom of things that appear strange etc
Agreed that it’s not what we typically expect from a romance novel; but isn’t the blame here rather on us, the readers. I’ve been trying to cast my mind back to the books with ’romance elements’, and even Jane A. engages the readers’ cooperation in her happy endings; extreme case - Mansfield Park. After her (JA) I can’t really think of many novels with romance elements to root for and display a happy-ever-after ending: Goethe, Elective Affinities, oh no; DHLawrence, no no; George E, not so sure, certainly not in her ’Mill …’; Thomas H; doubt it; Virginia W, no; James Joyce, surely not ;) Hemingway, Roth, DFWallace, Murakami, Han Kang, … ??? Must have missed them all! IMHO, however, Sally R appears to go beyond that: In Conversations, which (I may have mentioned that) I find a great book, and equally in this one: She seems to discuss a relationship between two people on the basis of: You only lose what you cling to.
And could that also be a nod to the fact that growing and evolving means letting go of expectations?
Far too long, and much more to say!
Thanks for sharing all these great thoughts! You're so right that the miscommunication depicted in this book isn't specific to young people, and I thought the exploration of what you mean to say/how you mean to come across versus how people perceive you or a situation is really interesting-our individual realities are based on our perceptions, and perception in turn is extremely subjective, so I loved how Rooney delved into all that.
This well a very well spoken, articulate and thoughtful review of a book I loved.
Can't say how much I enjoyed this review, even though I haven't yet read the book, but it's next in line. Really regret I can give only one like ;))
So much I think I can say: Brilliant analysis of the possible angles one would want to discuss that helps the potential reader see more and put their experience into thoughts and words. I'll definitely get back once I have read it. Thanks a lot!
Thanks so much, this is so nice! I would love to hear your thoughts once you've read it :)
You've pretty much-articulated everything this book made me feel. Can anyone recommend similar books that the reader of normal people may like?
Can anyone else see the dysfunctionality of having a relationship with someone and hiding it for no good reason?. Connel didn’t defend her when she was being bullied at school and drives the decision to keep the relationship secret. Not exactly an honourable character.
Which is why he acknowledges throughout the rest of the book he acted badly and it was wrong, and how many times the both of them comment on how he's changed and grown through the years
It's to illustrate how much he grows by the end of the book
For sure he also supported her through her worst demons and helped her feel self worth and loved her even when she didn't love herself rather that looking at the relationship like a woke snowflake try looking at it like an adult. Here's a question to help you understand how childish you are. Would her life be immeasurably better with him in or out of her life now try being an adult rather than a professional victim and see how it feels.
Mr Sir I think Ann was expressing an opinion on the initial impact the male character’s poor behaviour had on the cementing of her self esteem issues. Your reply (Sir) was piss poor.
@@markdbenson75 Yes of course you are right its like reading the first chapter of a book where the protagonist gets completely defined with zero nuace for the other 90% of the book. What a great critique your a genius or it could be the subtle misandrist attitude thats prevelent and people are tired of it. Could you possibly be a simp ?? just asking not judging.
I watched the series based on this novel a few days ago, and I liked it a bit. But your explanation made me understand better. I really like your way of explaining. Thank you. ❤️
Great review, I don't know how I came upon this book, but I think I read it in 2 days. I think that Connell is a very insecure person who also happens to be very good looking with a great body. I think we assume people like him have an easy time of it, but i know from a friend who was the "it" girl in high school, that's not always the case. She said that guys wanted to date her as a trophy and girls wanted to be friends with her to meet guys. I love the way Marianne has such total disdain for school life and her teachers. Besides their class, the biggest difference between the two is that Marianne has never felt the basic love she should have gotten from her family and Connell and his mother have a great, loving relationship. Like Marianne, I think I felt the same way in high school and couldn't wait to get out, so I related to her (even though I wasn't a total outcast). Looking forward to many more books from this author.
@Sensei Moon
Jesus..are you serious?
Don’t people like that get enough attention already?
For ONCE, I want to read and watch stories about the poor, unsuccessful, legitimately unattractive people who suffer dearly in ways that these main characters couldn’t even fathom, and don’t care to, because the privileged love to ironically victimize themselves, and they can get away with it too, because people will listen to them and coddle them and shed tears for them..because of the very privileges they whine about.
(Look into the halo effect, this affects the mindsets of others.)
That is actually disgusting and incredibly insulting to enable such bs surrounding insane advantages in life.
You need to stop that and realize that the whole reason you’re even engaging with their whining is because they are easy on the eyes. You pay them mind, you pay attention to them.
Look to your glaring blind spots instead.
We assume they have an easy time of it, because they absolutely DO, a much much much easier time of it. This is common sense as well as scientifically backed up with countless studies on how appearances and other privileges open doors and allow for opportunities and freedom of expression that would otherwise never be had.
It’s the difference between thriving and figurative and/or literal death for most people.
But since nothing is perfect, even a privilege, they find pitfalls and blow them out of proportion so that they can feel “oppressed” like the rest of the world.
Vile and disingenuous, manipulative.
Lmao, guys just wanted to date her as a trophy? Boo hoo, all men want pretty women and to show them off, she is not special in that regard.
Would she rather be ugly or plain and not even be heard nor seen, except to be insulted??
I guarantee if she lost her looks and popularity, she would have lost her mind. I’ve witnessed this occur in many like your “friend”.
Girls wanted to be friends with her to meet guys?
What a ridiculous “problem” to have.
Give me a break, how would they meet any with the “IT” girl around? I feel much worse for her supposed friends than for her.
The men would likely only engage with the other girls to get to your friend-the one they actually want to get to know just because she was born fortunate.
She sounds insufferable and ungrateful.
If she’s so peeved then she can ruin her looks and isolate, have a taste of what real, restrictive suffering is like. But guess what? She won’t.
Some advice: Stop listening to the popular pretty men and the “IT” girls and start directing your attention to those truly ostracized and abandoned and ignored by society.
You don’t start at the top, you start at the bottom, when giving credence to pain and suffering.
I’m so sick of pretty and handsome people being the face of literally everything, including struggles they have no right to play pretend at enduring.
It’s absolute filth, like the wealthy moaning to the homeless and impoverished. Just gross
@Sensei Moon
Privileged people can have problems..obviously. But as soon as they attempt to create a narrative where they make their very privilege sound like ONE of those problems, I’m out.
They have too much time on their hands, picking apart the best case scenario to find little cracks in their advantages. Which anyone could say or do with just about anything.
My cousin took her own life because of how much she suffered from being mistreated because of her “less than ideal” appearance (that is putting it lightly) of no fault of her own.
She was bullied to the point she had to leave school even though she was very bright, and more importantly, hard working.
She had no good memories, no decent pictures to leave behind and be blissfully nostalgic about, she had 30 years of progressive humiliation, isolation and tireless suffering that nobody cared to listen to because she wasn’t pretty enough to be heard or seen or a social media darling.
She was the scapegoat of her immediate family and even the friends she had who appreciated her personality would always eventually resort to bullying her, making her feel "less than", demonizing her, and cutting her out in favor of a prettier and more popular model of friend.
When people were done using her to feel better about themselves by comparison, when they were done using her as an emotional blood bag, they threw her out like trash.
My cousin literally rotted in the shadows of your poor, precious "it girls and boys".
Her name was Annie, and I will never forget her and the horrible inequities, disparities, gas lighting, bullying, etc, which proved to kill her.
I want to see stories about my cousin and all those like her who are forced to be silent about the pervasive and prevalent issues they are writhing beneath which everyone participates in, but conveniently denies when it suits them. She wasn’t even “allowed” to talk to anyone about her struggles, people were always too busy “feeling” for those in higher places, making sure their privileged fragility came before my cousin’s woes.
I’ve had enough of this sort of thing, it’s nauseating and deadly, the way things are, the way people work in this context. I’m sick of it
@@lukasribin4168 Go look for those stories then and maybe your envy won't shine so brightly.
oh wow this sounds, to me, much more developed than Conversations With Friends, at least with action and initiative between characters that don't rely on assuming characters' emotions. Would you say this romance is comparable to Selin's exploration of romance in The Idiot? I loved how that was done, and in a way see The Idiot as a romance novel too. I didn't keep watching when the spoiler sign went up so I'm excited to get to this one soon based on your thoughts!
Yeah, I found this one much more focused and probing than CWF...as for the romance, it was much more explicit than the exploration of romance/non-romance in The Idiot...so much of Selin's confusion and angst stems from inaction, from things unsaid, from feelings that are there but ultimately don't amount to anything real or substantial...whereas the romance in this novel is very real, and the confusion and angst stems more from the characters being young and facing the challenge of being distinct people trying to exist together in one relationship, if that makes sense. But both books definitely have a lot of ambiguity and miscommunication that feels very specific to being in college/your early 20s.
I haven't read this book yet, and probably would have avoided it if I'd heard it described as a romance, but this video just changed everything for me!
Give it a try!! I was very skeptical at first, but it's such a good read.
Interesting. Would you say there's a difference between a romance novel and a novel that happens to have romance in it? The feeling I got was that it was more of a character analysis that happens to have romance as one way to help the reader get to know the characters better, though I'd understand the opposing view of deeming the romance to be more significant than I give it credit for.
Definitely - plenty of novels feature romance, but a romance novel is primarily concerned with a central love story, and if other themes/ideas/storylines are explored, it's usually in relation to or through the lens of that central romance. I would say Normal People 100% fits this criteria, and it also adheres to the pacing and a lot of the tropes of the romance genre (the only thing that doesn't make it a true romance novel is the ambiguous ending). Sure, it's more "literary" than most people expect of romance, and it certainly isn't being marketed as a romance novel, but I thought it was interesting to point out all the ways it's *almost* a true-blue romance novel.
I totally felt the same way reading this, it was like half the tropes of the 90's teen romance movie in the first 20 pages. And then later, it plays on the 'reversal of fortune' aspect which I guess probably dates back as far as Jane Eyre and is rehashed every time we get another Star is Born remake, and also felt straight out of the David Nicholls/One Day tradition (and this seems to always apply in a way where the woman is of lower status in the beginning weirdly). IMO it went a bit off the rails when it went hard into that pretty simplistic BDSM subplot but the popularity of the book makes so much sense when looking at how many popular romance tropes it uses.
Totally! I thought Marianne’s story was underbaked on several levels, and the subplot about Connell’s school friend who takes his own life also felt like it was handled in a somewhat slapdash way (interestingly, I thought the show handled that storyline much more thoughtfully). Especially seeing the popularity of the TV show, I maintain more than ever that Normal People is a romance and that’s the root of a lot of its broad appeal 😅
Wow love your review - reminds me of what English lessons were like back in the Sixth Form. Such a shame my school never invited any guests with an awesome American accent like yours. I did meet Simon Armitage and Matthew Sweeney though - this happened maybe 6 years apart (i met Sweeney first, then Armitage) - so that’s something I guess!
안녕하세요~전 한국인이에요. Normal people 읽고 싶어서 후기찾다가 들어오게 되었어요. listening 연습도 되고 좋네요. 감사합니다. I love your review. Thank you~
Fantastic review. I have only seen the TV adaptation (that stands as a great piece of TV in its own right). Your review is lucid and comes from a deep appreciation of the subject. I have subscribed.
Dear Claire: I appreciate your reviews so much and could not agree more! This is a romance novel hands down, and there is nothing wrong with that.
This is precisely the eloquent review I needed and knew I would get on your channel! Looking forward to reading this and coming back to your discussion
Thanks so much, Christine! I can't wait to hear what you think of it :)
The side thread you referred to becomes critical in the TV series, as it displayed some brilliant acting and possibly the tenderest scene in the whole 6 hours.
Not gonna lie, I had no interest in this novel before but comparing it to a romance novel made me want to pick it up 😅
I definitely was not interested until I read the plot summary and was like...is this a rom-com?? It's definitely more of a rom-dram, but it still hit the spot for my romance loving heart ;)
This one's been on my radar for a while after seeing your "Millennial Fiction" video...I just read it and enjoyed it quite a bit. I wasn't sure exactly what about it I enjoyed, but I knew I did...your review hits on lots of the good aspects though. Also as a millennial myself there were certainly aspects of it that seemed especially relatable, so maybe now I have at least a little bit of a concept of what this millennial fiction thing is
Excellent review as always Claire, this one does seem a lot more successful than her last which it seems some people loved and some people hated. I’m still unsure about trying either as I feel like I’m the wrong audience being older and more cynical but that’s ridiculous thinking really. I loved how you drew out the romance aspects of the book, I’m not entirely sure why romance is often looked down on, especially when it features in so many classic novels and in probably half the literary novels that are published in some form or another.
Thanks for the thoughtful comment as always, Jo! I wonder how much my age affected how I read this book (I'm a few years older than the characters, but close enough that their concerns and anxieties were quite recognizable to me)...and I'm definitely more of a romantic in my reading life (despite being quite the realist/cynic in real life! lol), so I could see how this book might end up being tiring for someone who isn't as susceptible to all that stuff as I am.
I heartily agree with this. I didn’t like Normal People when I initially got it, but then started seeing the adaptation on BBC iplayer and loved it, bought it again, and just finished it tonight. What did you think of the televised adaptation if you’ve seen it?
What a wonderful review. I’m definitely reading this one. Thank you Claire.
I hope you love it! :D
As an FYI that Lena Dunham headline was likely being used ironically - not at her expense, but it's a reference to a joke in her HBO series Girls. She was joking about that terminology herself...
Yes, I know, I’ve seen the show, but many critics took that line and its irony out of context and called her a voice of her generation anyway, in the way that a lot of critics are now calling Rooney a voice of her generation as well...my point was less about Dunham and Rooney and more about the critical community’s reaction to them.
I love romances and romantic comedies, so I especially appreciate this review. I had no interest in reading this before, but now I'll get it. Thank you!
Yay! It's a little darker than most romances/rom-coms, but it definitely still scratches that itch :)
please, please, PLEASE do a video on the 'intersection' between romance and literary fiction. PLEASE 💕
I must read this. Loved the tv drama.
The book is fab!
Best summary and commentary I have listened on this book.
Good stuff. Your reviews are top-notch, very helpful.
I love romance novels.I really liked your review.Sounds like a good read. Thanks!
Thanks, Marlene!
Great review! I hesitated to read this one, as I, like you, found Conversations with Friends quite mediocre. And the kindle sample of Normal People led me to believe that this surprisingly was romance-like. Great that you define it as such, in a way, but point to how she makes use of the themes to say much more. Now really looking forward to reading it.
Totally! I was prepared to hate-read this one after CWF, so I would encourage you to give it a try (it might surprised you like it surprised me!) :)
Great review!
What a great review! I didnt like it as much as you did, but I completely agree with you.
So glad I watched your video. Agreed with all your points. I struggled with the ending and have been trying to find some explanation. Helped to hear yours. Got me some closure. GODDAMNIT this book got to me!
I'm so happy to hear that! This is one that I've definitely been thinking about in the weeks since reading it-it sticks with you!
I wonder if anyone else wanted to question the underlying assumption of the young students that a relationship started with sex and then let friendship develop as it could, naturally, organically. Is this part of what being a millennial means? If so, it could be seen as an anti-romantic book. The conclusion seems to privilege friendship, which has greater depth, over sex. They accept physical separation for the sake of career goals, indeed - rather like an older generation in a marriage but, crucially, without any commitment.
Enjoyed reading it...got the idea of played scenes & currently out of time ...will pick up as soon as I got out of loop...It's not a book to hope for the forward events happen according to u, just enjoy every event as they meant to happen.
I am watching it on hulu and enjoying it. Having never read the book i can only guess that it is pretty close to the same idea
I loved your review! Subscribed 💕
Not interested too much about novels detailing romantic relationships as most people, I suspect, who chose this review are. However,the short intro I read to Normal People demonstrated that Rooney is clearly a gifted writer. But, don't think that would persuade me enough to buy it or borrow it from a library. She was quoted as saying she would never read anything written before 1920. Up to her. But, from my perspective any writer who writes about her cohorts, or young, well educated people as this particular reviewer describes it can only hold my interest so far.
Then read what you want to read.
7:57 How does a story end in medias res? Shouldn't stories begenin in medias res? Please forgive my stupidity.
I loved your review! I read this book literally in a day and am wondering if you have any recommendations for similar novels?
Love the way you get your points across in this review btw :) thanks x
Brilliant review Claire.
I’ve missed booktube so much. Looking forward to getting back into videos very soon.
Thanks so much, Lia! I hope all is well and can't wait to see your face pop back up in my feed (whenever you feel ready to return!)
Exceptionally well made video!
Worthwhile questions.
I felt like there love was a fragile cristal sculpture that could break with the slightest movement.
Excellent review. I want to read the book now lol.
Wow I hated the book. Absolutely felt deep regret for deciding to read it. No style no flair and literally so boring. and I read all sorts of YA books that are bad and they are better than whatever the hell this was.
The show is even worse ☠️
I love this book
Did you make this sweater? I like it!
Great review! Thanks
the angst and quiproquos were difficult to get through.
I end this book yesterday, I can't say that I like it but I'm just watching your review because you're so pretty haha
Does your Normal People book have quotation marks? I have a hard time reading it because it lack of speech marks. Anyway, I love the review but I think I can’t finish it lol
No it doesn't have them... It makes it a bit annoying to read but you get used to it eventually ☺️
It was readable I just didn’t get what the point of it was
i wish your channel grow fast you are doing good
Really can't figure Connell out whats his problem??
this book is appropriate for intermediate or pre intermediate readers?
I loved it
Wow, I had an exact opposite opinion and experience. I thoroughly enjoyed CWF but couldn’t stand Normal People. The writing and dialogue were really good and genuine. However, the story. Ahh the story, I just couldn’t get through it! I found the plot endlessly circular, most important scenes felt rush and without real meaning in the long run. I had no problem with the characters and how they were portrayed, I even found the underlying message interesting. But, it was messy for me, just a rambling story in which I found myself wishing it would end soon. In comparison, I found CWF to be a refreshing “millenial” take on adulterous behavior and overall, the experience of the 20 something characters, as well as the older ones, felt rounded and genuine to me. Another thing that I noticed was the similarity between the characters of the two books. I read them on the same say, devoured CWF and went straight to NP and couldn’t help but notice it (maybe that spoiled my reading experience as well) how the pattern was exactly the same: intelectual people with special interests in foreign affairs and... it is really harmless in theory, what really bothered me was the fact that you could exchange the characters from the books and you’d get the same person. ANYWAY, to sum up (haha) I still think she is brilliant (not sure about ‘the voice of her generation’ claim right there) and I will keep reading her work!! As a side note, in my opinion NP was a risqué pick for the MB18 longlist and (evil grin) I can totally see why it didn’t make the shortlist (evil laugh)
Ah, that's so interesting! The plot definitely was circular (and even at the end I got the sense that the book was ending because Sally Rooney was choosing to end it, not because the characters' behavior couldn't just keep going, on and off, the way it had been throughout the book)...and you're right, the characters in CWF and NP are very, very similar (I'm glad I had a few months between reading the two, because otherwise I think I would have found that more grating). I think certain authors excel at writing about a particular social set, which seems to be the case with Rooney (so far at least)...it'll be curious to see what kinds of characters her next book focuses on.
one rule of romance novels: HEA or get out HAHA
Excellent Excellent Excellent
I found this book very stodgy, and full of interminable soul searching. The lack of punctuation is annoying. The lead characters are insipid. The plot plods along and mountains are made out of molehills! I realise that everything is heightened when you're a teen, but this reads more like a 70s school girl novel.
No
This book is controversial---some people love it and others, like me, hated it. To characterize it as a love story seems off. The novel is primarily concerned with a couple unable to connect in any lasting or meaningful way. How is this love? It is anti-love and depressing. It is like rolling a stone up a hill, only to repeat the same dismal process over and over again.
Sally Rooney’s Hate Is the New Normal
It is not easy to convince the Snapchat generation to read books. To do so, you must be a gifted writer and know which buttons to press in young people’s hearts. Sally Rooney, a young Irish author, is that kind of writer. Her first two books have won multiple awards and she is widely regarded as one of the most prominent voices of millennials.
Rooney is also very opinionated. She is a self-proclaimed Marxist and an avid supporter of the anti-Israel Boycott, Divestment, Sanctions movement (BDS). In line with her views, she has refused to sell translation rights to Israeli publishers. Because of her notoriety, her decision caused quite a stir. The New York Times stated, “Sally Rooney Declines to Sell Translation Rights to Israeli Publisher.” CNN echoed, “Sally Rooney refuses to sell Hebrew rights for latest book to Israeli publisher, citing political objections,” and other prominent news outlets also reported her decision.
In response, Israel's two largest bookstore chains announced that they would pull all of Rooney's titles from their shelves. This also caused a stir, though not as much. The BBC reported it, as did The Guardian and other British news outlets. Naturally, the Jewish press was all over the case, as well.
I sympathize with the response of the bookstore chains, just as I was in favor of banning other individuals and brands that boycott Israel. At the same time, I understand why they are doing this, and I am glad that it is causing a stir in Israel.
We can look the other way for only so long. At some point, we will have to ask ourselves why the world hates us, and it is better if we do it now than later.
We need to use such incidents constructively. By "constructively," I mean that we should use them as an impetus to return to the roots of our nation, to our fundamental principles of mutual responsibility and brotherly love. These are the building blocks of our nation, and these are the qualities that we lost long ago and for which we were exiled from Israel.
When we were cast as a nation that was to be “a light unto nations,” we were made to reflect the splendor of love of others to the entire world. Long before we gave the world Albert Einstein and Arthur Rubenstein, we gave it “Love your neighbor as yourself.” Granted, we did not quite manage to make it a reality, but the idea itself was, and still is, so novel, so unlike human nature, that to this day it seems undoable.
Still, the world will not leave us in peace until we begin to implement this very legacy we had left to humanity. Indeed, it makes perfect sense to demand that the progenitors of this sublime idea be the first to implement it.
The more the world becomes divided and hostile, the more it needs its opposite - love of others. The more people hate each other, the more they will demand that we love each other, and they will hate us for not doing so and setting an example for the world to follow.
In the near future, numerous celebrities, pundits, and politicians will declare their disapproval of Israel. They will not justify our existence as a sovereign state unless we justify it by setting an example of unity. Nothing else will satisfy them; nothing else will appease their hatred.
For more on this, see my publication The Jewish Choice: Unity or Anti-Semitism.
Chick lit.
Very poor review
I love this book, but tbh I actually think the TV adaptation not only nailed it but even improved on it. Certain elements were expanded upon and personally I think the ending was better in the show.