A review by ntvenessa
Normal People by Sally Rooney

challenging dark emotional reflective tense slow-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

4.75

You know a novel's got you in in its grips when after a 10hr work day, all you want to do is continue reading until there are no more pages to be turned. Lo and behold, you've accidentally been awake for what, 20hrs? This was exquisitely crafted in language and feeling. This is a book about intimacy, love, sex, and the eternally painstaking quest for our insatiable human need to feel understood, and by extension, belong. Some critics will point out the flattening of peripheral characters and use of questionable, if not, uninteresting tropes, but I don't think a book needs to check off a universal criteria list in order to be considered good. What's of value here is the reading experience as much as the feelings that linger after the story finishes. Rooney's skill and talent is abundant in her masterful prose and you are in good hands for this reading experience. I think the novel's intense focus on the main characters' problematic but redeemable personalities to the expense of other characters contributes to what makes this novel brilliant. We all believe ourselves to be the main characters of our own lives. We are just as self absorbed on our own individual quests. It would be nice if trauma was handled a bit better. But it would be nice if trauma was handled better in life too.
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