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A review by molly_cahill
Normal People by Sally Rooney
challenging
emotional
reflective
sad
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
5.0
Second book in my summer 2024 Sally Rooney reread project!
Damn I love this book. But WHY CANT THEY JUST WORK IT OUT!!
One common critique I hear of SR is that her books are too similar to one another. Reading conversations with friends and then immediately picking this up totally dispelled that for me. She’s doing such different things with pov/narrator, time/tense, and character exploration. Yes, you get a sense of some of her preoccupations and themes she likes to come back to. But this is both a different and, depending on how you look at it, more mature book than CwF.
I’m so impressed by her writing and find myself totally gripped by her storytelling.
Now I’m starting Beautiful World, which was my least favorite of her books the first time I read it. Let’s see if that sticks!
Damn I love this book. But WHY CANT THEY JUST WORK IT OUT!!
One common critique I hear of SR is that her books are too similar to one another. Reading conversations with friends and then immediately picking this up totally dispelled that for me. She’s doing such different things with pov/narrator, time/tense, and character exploration. Yes, you get a sense of some of her preoccupations and themes she likes to come back to. But this is both a different and, depending on how you look at it, more mature book than CwF.
I’m so impressed by her writing and find myself totally gripped by her storytelling.
Now I’m starting Beautiful World, which was my least favorite of her books the first time I read it. Let’s see if that sticks!