A review by xoxogossipgorl
Normal People by Sally Rooney

5.0

I heard that Sally Rooney writes her novels with a Marxist lens, and reading this book with that in mind made it all the more enjoyable. Class, gender, and power underlie all the conflict between Marianne and Connell; their different experiences with class and gender prevent them from being able to truly understand the other, contrary to their mutual belief that they are the only ones who understand each other. Nevertheless, each character is deeply intertwined with the struggles of the other. Their love brings them together time and time again, yet Rooney never quite answers if it is enough for them to be in a stable successful relationship. I normally don't like ambiguous endings like the ending of Normal People, but both characters go though so much development that I found it a very satisfying note to end on.