Reviews tagging 'Racism'

Normal People, by Sally Rooney

56 reviews

cepbreed's review

emotional sad fast-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

“Marianne answers the door when Connell rings the bell.”

 I read this entire book while my chest was constructed. Each line makes me feel like I can’t breathe, like there’s concrete blocking my throat. Oh god this is so tragic. Each misunderstanding makes me want to throw myself into a wall. I had this conversation with my roommate about why Sally Rooney doesn’t use quotations before I began reading. She told me it’s because it makes the book much more intimate, the characters are more lifelike when they aren’t confined to the grammatical conventions of a novel. She’s so right. I didn’t realize I had a little implicit bias when reading, when I see a quotation mark it sends off something in my brain. Without it my brain must take that extra step to realize something is a quote. I have to think first for once, how insane. I still don’t like how it looks but thank you for this Sally Rooney.

Once again I turned to my roommate and had a conversation after I finished and she asked me what I thought about Connell and Marianne, well that's the basics of her question anyways. I answered honestly and told her I prefer Connell. Something about him is just so much more compelling to me. Sure I like Marianne, I sympathize with her, but I feel more pity for her while I relate more to Connell. We talked to through and I came to a conclusion that I guess says more about me than about the characters. Marianne is a character who is full of anxieties, insecurities and vulnerability. As a woman these are all things I hate about myself. Because Connell is a man I don't see his faults in the same light I see her's in. With Marianne a lot of my issue with her comes from the response I would have about myself if it were me in her shoes. Damn.

Songs: 

• Casual - Chappell Roan
• Good Sex - Susannah Joffe
• Sidelines - Phoebe Bridgers
• About You - the 1975
• The Last Time - Taylor Swift 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Body shaming, Bullying, Mental illness, Physical abuse, Suicidal thoughts, Gaslighting, Sexual content, and Emotional abuse

Moderate: Blood, Classism, Panic attacks/disorders, Racism, Alcohol, Grief, and Injury/injury detail

Minor: Death

ileesha's review against another edition

challenging emotional tense 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

i shifted between 2.75 and 3 stars a lot while reading this i found the first few chapters when they were in high school almost unreadable but after i got through that, this book was more bearable i don’t think id ever go back to read it again but i enjoyed parts of it and read it all in one sitting 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Physical abuse, Toxic relationship, Bullying, Mental illness, Sexism, Sexual content, Child abuse, Classism, Domestic abuse, and Emotional abuse

Moderate: Sexual harassment, Violence, Death of parent, Suicidal thoughts, Misogyny, and Racism

Minor: Adult/minor relationship, Death, Grief, Sexual assault, and Pedophilia

kaneebli's review

challenging emotional sad fast-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

3.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Eating disorder, Toxic relationship, Suicidal thoughts, Mental illness, Domestic abuse, Gaslighting, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Emotional abuse, and Panic attacks/disorders

Moderate: Bullying, Misogyny, Sexual harassment, Sexism, and Classism

Minor: Racism, Suicide, Blood, and Adult/minor relationship

clarabean's review

dark emotional sad tense slow-paced

• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

2.0

Very interesting, triggering tho

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Bullying, Eating disorder, Panic attacks/disorders, Physical abuse, Sexual violence, Toxic relationship, Blood, Racism, Suicide, Toxic friendship, Alcohol, Child abuse, Cursing, Death, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Sexual content, and Suicidal thoughts

ryanbada's review against another edition

challenging emotional sad tense 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

3.25

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Sexual content and Mental illness

Moderate: Abandonment, Emotional abuse, Classism, Sexual assault, Body shaming, and Death

Minor: Injury/injury detail, Racism, Grief, Suicide attempt, Suicidal thoughts, Hate crime, Adult/minor relationship, and Blood

jasminealizae's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional reflective sad tense medium-paced

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

5.0

I appreciate the perspective and insight this book brought me. 

Some of which I could genuinely and organically connect with. Despite miscommunication, which I hate, being one of the main themes in this book, if not a "trope", I really felt like it was approached realistically. I liked the growth of the characters in regards to their bad habits and their ability to overcome depression and feeling like they are worthless and just take up space in the world. Though, the fact that there wasn't a HEA is upsetting, but I get it and really kind of enjoyed that.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death of parent, Drug abuse, Gaslighting, Grief, Injury/injury detail, Panic attacks/disorders, Physical abuse, Racism, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Abandonment, Body shaming, Bullying, Cursing, Death, Addiction, Alcohol, Alcoholism, Blood, Classism, Domestic abuse, Toxic relationship, Child abuse, Eating disorder, Violence, Emotional abuse, Mental illness, Sexism, Sexual content, Sexual violence, and Toxic friendship

mintymintyminty's review against another edition

emotional reflective sad tense slow-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

1.75

This book comes highly recommended from so many angles, but IMO does not come even close to deserving these accolades. This book is raw, and written in an interesting kind of vignette style, but it does not do anything with these attributes, and they end up being barely any kind of saving grace to the plot. The plot is insipid and despair-inducing, and the only thing I could glean from these characters is how much I would never want to be like them. Overall, a depressing slog that is a celebration of mediocrity in publishing. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Suicidal thoughts, Vomit, Domestic abuse, Toxic relationship, Sexual violence, Sexual content, Grief, and Mental illness

Moderate: Suicide

Minor: War and Racism

jja_b's review against another edition

challenging emotional reflective sad medium-paced

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

3.5

Ok, while I don’t deny that Rooney is a very talented writer, I think this might have been a mismatch between me and her. I didn’t really know what to expect when going into it, but I probably should have guessed by the title that this would be a “normal” story. I don’t mean that in a critical way, and I’m not implying that it’s uninspired. “Normal” was obviously what Rooney was going for. I could look at a group of people I know and find a similar tale, This just wasn’t for me.

Don’t get me wrong. I did enjoy the book at times. I found Connell quite a compelling character and I think the book can be described as a page-turner, but most of the characters were unlikeable and the miscommunication between Connell and Marianne just became too frustrating.

The ending infuriated me. I get the point, but it was still infuriating.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Suicidal thoughts, Toxic friendship, Physical abuse, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Suicide, Sexual assault, Mental illness, and Toxic relationship

Moderate: Cursing, Grief, Misogyny, Adult/minor relationship, Alcohol, Eating disorder, Child abuse, Classism, Drug use, Emotional abuse, and Gaslighting

Minor: Racism, Blood, and Bullying

gailsage_thomps's review

emotional reflective sad medium-paced

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

4.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Abandonment, Emotional abuse, Grief, Mental illness, Physical abuse, Sexual content, Sexual harassment, Sexual violence, Suicide, Toxic friendship, Toxic relationship, Alcohol, Body shaming, Bullying, Death, and Domestic abuse

Moderate: Death of parent, Drug use, Infidelity, Racism, Blood, Injury/injury detail, Panic attacks/disorders, and Suicidal thoughts

Minor: Islamophobia and Pregnancy

maarigirl's review

dark emotional hopeful 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? It's complicated

4.0

I found this very easy to read. The struggles of both of the main characters are very real and human, instead of shock-worthy.

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Suicidal thoughts, Domestic abuse, Sexual harassment, and Sexual violence

Minor: Racism