NORMAL PEOPLE

by Sally Rooney

Normal People is the most poignant coming-of-age novel that I’ve read in years. Rooney’s beautiful, spare writing style and her ability to bring to life very real characters who interact in believable ways makes this story one I’ll remember for a very long time.

Normal People follows the unlikely relationship of Connell, a popular high school football player whose mother cleans houses for a living, and Marianne a social outcast in high school who comes from a very wealthy family.  That Connell wants to keep their relationship a secret in high school and that Marianne agrees, sets the stage for what’s to come. Some time after they graduate from high school, the two meet up at Trinity College in Ireland, where Marianne now has a network of friends and Connell feels isolated.  But once again, they are drawn to each other.  And so it goes over many years: Connell and Marianne repeatedly coming together, and life circumstances and their own human failings conspiring to tear them apart.

I can’t emphasize enough how masterfully Rooney exposes her characters’ innermost thoughts and insecurities and motivations.  Normal People will break your heart over how cruel people can be to each other. But you will empathize and truly come to like Connell and Marianne.  Read this book.  You’ll love it. (Liz)