Reviews tagging 'Sexual harassment'

Normal People by Sally Rooney

355 reviews

biapoweer's review against another edition

dark emotional reflective sad tense fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.25

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Body shaming, Bullying, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Mental illness, Panic attacks/disorders, Suicidal thoughts, Toxic relationship, Grief, Toxic friendship, and Sexual harassment

miilk's review against another edition

emotional reflective fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.75

Connell and Marianne were kinda made for me

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Bullying, Child abuse, Cursing, Death, Drug use, Eating disorder, Emotional abuse, Infidelity, Mental illness, Physical abuse, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Toxic relationship, Blood, Medical content, Grief, Alcohol, Sexual harassment, Injury/Injury detail, and Classism

Moderate: Panic attacks/disorders and Racism

Minor: Death of parent

mattyvreads's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional sad medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

5.0

The book is everything I wanted Elif Batuman’s The Idiot to be, but unlike that book, this book really delivered for me. I was totally engrossed in the story and completely enthralled by these best friends’

(lovers’)

dynamic. Sally Rooney is such a powerful writer and her prose is exquisite. 

I love how she structures her story: linear vignettes and flashbacks which tell us so much about each character — how they think, how they choose to behave. It is devastating, beautiful, and profound. 

Rooney illustrates how quickly a relationship can change, and inversely, how long it can remain the same. This book is absolutely tragic in parts, as each chapter is punctuated by some missed connection or tragic misunderstanding between our two protagonists.

I love the ending of this book. Throughout the book, we see this couple that “should work” due uncomplicated, unconditional love, and yet circumstantially, each party is in a mismatched phase of their lives and independent journeys.

They are like an almost-circle, drawn out, but whose end never meets its point of origin. They are so close to be aligned, and never can settle comfortably due to where they are in their lives.

Of course it needed to end with another missed connection and misunderstanding.

This book is really well-written and quite brilliant. I am excited to re-read. Salley Rooney is such a good writer, she actually made me care about a straight relationship. That says everything.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Mental illness, Sexual violence, Suicidal thoughts, and Sexual harassment

Moderate: Sexual assault

doramak's review against another edition

emotional funny hopeful reflective relaxing medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Physical abuse, Sexual content, Toxic relationship, Violence, Blood, and Sexual harassment

Moderate: Panic attacks/disorders, Death of parent, and Classism

Minor: Drug use

waytoomanybooks's review against another edition

emotional reflective sad fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.0

Rooney is such a good writer, and I love her style! I just wish the ending wasn’t so ambiguous and abrupt, and I wish I had gotten to see Marianne blossom at least as much as Connell since the book was supposed to be about the both of them growing up, growing apart, finding each other again, etc. But it was pretty much all about Connell and then sometimes Rooney remembered that Marianne has thoughts and feelings, too.

Marianne and Connell’s relationship is so fascinating though. It is so incredibly toxic, yet they clearly belong together at the same time. I think that their relationship is realistically portrayed, and I could sympathize with one or the other of them at different stages in their lives and their relationship. I think that is a testament to Rooney’s writing: feeling like I want/need to evaluate the characters, to pick a side, and to sympathize and empathize with them and why.

However, I hated the ending. Ambiguous endings infuriate me, especially when the ambiguity suggests what it suggests here. We’re really ending with

Marianne staking her worth on her on-again, off-again boyfriend and putting him above her and “letting him go” so he can, what? Some bullshit about how she’s a springboard from which his life can “truly begin”

?

Before I read the last ⅓ of the book, I was expecting to give it a 4 out of 5, but seeing Marianne’s storyline and the ending get fumbled leads me to give it a 3 out of 5.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Body shaming, Bullying, Child abuse, Death, Domestic abuse, Eating disorder, Emotional abuse, Fatphobia, Mental illness, Misogyny, Physical abuse, Self harm, Sexism, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Toxic relationship, Blood, Grief, Suicide attempt, Toxic friendship, Abandonment, Alcohol, Sexual harassment, Injury/Injury detail, and Classism

rhubarbpi3's review against another edition

dark emotional reflective sad slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

2.0

I thought this was well executed and everything I just thought it would be happy but it just made me really sad. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Body shaming, Bullying, Child abuse, Domestic abuse, Drug use, Eating disorder, Emotional abuse, Mental illness, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Grief, Death of parent, Abandonment, Sexual harassment, Injury/Injury detail, and Classism

actuallyan's review against another edition

dark emotional reflective sad fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Sexual content

Minor: Eating disorder, Physical abuse, and Sexual harassment

thisreadingcorner's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional hopeful reflective medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

Normal People is not a romance but it is about a romantic relationship between Connell and Marianne, two teenagers turned university students in Ireland. Connell’s mother Lorraine worked for Marianne’s mother as a cleaner and the two have known each other since at least 11/12 although the narrative kicks off in their high school years.

The narration style of this book is unique and reminds me of a few books I’ve read that have been contentious in terms of reviews. Like the previous books, I loved it.

The giddy awkwardness, the passing smirks, “that’s really weird but I think I understand it”, “it’s not like this with other people” of it all is so good.

The frantic miscommunication is made tolerable by the long moments we spend inside both of their heads dissecting the origins of their particular quirks. Rooney manages to seal them to each other and ages them up somehow more dynamic (and dysfunctional).

The Hulu adaptation wimps out on Marianne’s home life and Connell’s very intense inner dialogue which takes away from the potency of their attraction to each other in my opinion. It was still incredibly acted and I would call it a successful interpretation, just not as good as the book. For me that potency combined with the journey they take over their friendship and relationship makes the ending okay, if a little painful. The romantic in me sees a bright future regardless.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Sexual content

Moderate: Emotional abuse and Suicidal thoughts

Minor: Sexual harassment and Injury/Injury detail

milkschank's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional reflective sad tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.25

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Bullying, Emotional abuse, Mental illness, Panic attacks/disorders, Physical abuse, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Toxic relationship, Violence, Grief, Toxic friendship, Sexual harassment, and Injury/Injury detail

Minor: Abortion

lilygeller's review against another edition

challenging dark reflective sad tense fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Bullying, Emotional abuse, Mental illness, Physical abuse, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Suicidal thoughts, Toxic relationship, and Sexual harassment