Reviews with content warning for Mental illness - Normal People

Both characters extremely well written; you'll especially enjoy this book if you can relate in any way to both of their social and emotional struggles. Hits close to home sometimes and is a tense, emotional read that fulfills but not satisfies; beautifully incomplete, yet never "satisfying" in ways that leave you wondering what will happen next and why. Never been more invested in 2 characters' emotional and romantic growth-both as individuals as together. It's not a lovey-dovey feelgood story and it's certainly not about 2 perfect human beings; reviews questioning the nature of their relationship are very right but then I don't see their relationship as being toxic or unhealthy, though both connell and marianne clearly have things that negatively impact the relationship they have-making it an imperfect, less than ideal one and the tragedy of that is an emotion that really resonates. It gives a bittersweet and realistic insight into two broken and emotionally stunted people trying so hard to love themselves and each other but not quite managing, yet growing and bettering as people regardless. A premise not necessarily entirely original but executed very well through Rooney's ability to write her characters. I think this story really tries to portray that confusedness and hurt and frustration very well. It's not a "these two sad depressed people fall in love and are alright together" story; connell and marianne are both teetering around the edge of barely being OK and barely moving through society happily but in each other they have found fundaments upon which they can hopefully move towards things for the better. Though much of that is left open for the reader, as

Spoiler

the ending does not follow the both of them until the end. And it's so bittersweet and sad ah!

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irembik's review

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emotional hopeful lighthearted reflective medium-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

3.0

to be honest i found it hard to read when i first started, the writing style was not for me and i couldnt get into it. but i really liked how realistic their relationship was, how flawed and real the characters were. and the last 50-ish pages were so well written and it made me feel all kinds of feelings. overall was a good read i think, but i would not pick this book up again.

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sandysmith's review

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dark emotional reflective sad medium-paced

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

3.25

I liked this book, but I found the lack of punctuation annoying and at times confusing, mainly concerning whether they were talking to each other or whether they are analysing what each other has said. The main characters are Marianne and Connell and their relationship, at times i wanted to shout at them just talk to each other. I felt the ending was unsatisfactory. But the book was beautifully written and it certainly wasn't a DNF and even if the plot didn't go anywhere you just wanted and were compelled to keep reading. A thought provoking read.

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