So after umming and ahhing and even putting it to the public vote, I finally bought myself a copy of Normal People and set out to read it. Here’s my review
Normal People – the blurb
Connell and Marianne grow up in the same small town in the west of Ireland, but the similarities end there. In school, Connell is popular and well-liked, while Marianne is a loner. But when the two strike up a conversation – awkward but electrifying – something life-changing begins.
Normal People is a story of mutual fascination, friendship and love. It takes us from that first conversation to the years beyond, in the company of two people who try to stay apart but find they can’t.
Who didn’t watch the TV series?
So for those of you not already aware I watched Normal People on TV during lock down (who didn’t?) Watching something on TV before I have read the book is usually a no no for me. I had found the hype around the book off putting so had avoided it yet along came lock down and in came the TV with nothing else really on…. So I watched it and really liked it. Intrigued I decided to ignore the hype and just get on with reading the book. And I’m so pleased I did. Whereas the TV series was all about Connell and Marianne’s relationship (and yes the sex) the book was more about them as individuals and their personal struggles. I found myself appreciating the title more – Normal People – this is what these two people were trying to be.
A true twenty first century love story
Rooney has been praised for her twenty-first century love story and deservedly so. Her writing is sublime, although it does take a beat or two to get used to. The lack of speech marks I know is not to everyone’s taste. I really loved the attention to the small stuff. Sometimes explaining how someone is drinking their tea (takes a small sip, puts the mug on the table, turns the handle to it faces to the wall) can weight a text down, yet the writing still felt sparse and tight. It also felt authentically Irish, capturing small town mindedness alongside Trinity’s lofty well to do crowd effortlessly.
Inner self
I also quite liked how self aware Connell and Marianne were, or at least became. Their conversations were stilted, their words brief – we definitely weren’t reading a Greys Anatomy style monolog (I love GA but they do over do it a tad). What Connell and Marianne did give us though was their inner self. Someone commented to me recently that this was unrealistic, yet I totally disagree. How many of us re-imagine a conversation wishing we had said something differently? Mull over how we feel after the event and what we are going to do next? How many of us have an inner self that not many people actually get to see? Doesn’t everyone?
Sure I could have done without some of Normal People’s loftier intentions (millennial socialism is not something I intend to get into here) but throughout it all you route for Connell and Marianne. To get together, to overcome, to be normal. I loved the parts the TV series took from the book (it was quite accurate, save from about 50 of the sex scenes!) I did have Daisy Edgar Jones and Paul Mescal in my mind when reading and I didn’t mind one bit.
I loved Normal People. Book/TV show it doesn’t matter, either way it’s a bit special. A bit like Marianne and Connell.
