A review by sarahreadsthings
Normal People by Sally Rooney

dark emotional reflective sad tense medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Strong character development? It's complicated
  • Loveable characters? It's complicated
  • Diverse cast of characters? No
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

2.0

I feel bad for giving this a 2 star rating because I very rarely give books this low of a rating but here we are. I enjoyed Rooney's previous novel, Conversations With Friends, but Normal People was lacking to me. It felt so boring in comparison. I think what I liked about Conversations With Friends was the drama and the fact that the stakes felt like they were higher. With Normal People, I felt like I was reading about a toxic relationship between two people I knew in real life, but didn't understand why they kept linking up. In this story, we never get to see what is going on a lot of times in the main characters heads. I think it would've been beneficial if we got a lot more internal monologue of how the characters felt, even if what they were feeling was complex and not precise (I like him, I don't like him).

I think I'll watch the show and hopefully I'll get a better opinion on this story. Perhaps the actors will be able to give the characters more life and emotion. I might continue with Rooney's work, not sure yet, but I have no particular inclination as of right now to do so.
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