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~ Book TW: sexual abuse in consented setting; lots of sex; suicide ~
Normal People takes its reader through Sally Rooney's second novel, following her debut Conversations with Friends. The novel follows the lives of Irish students Marianne and Connell who develop a complex yet timeless relationship. As the novel progresses, we witness the journey of this relationship and how they deal with the struggles of being a teenager, becoming a young adult, and whether their young love can face the 'real world' of the university.
Initially, the thought of reading this book felt like a chore in itself, as I tend to distance myself from the romance genre, especially with the typical trope of 'unpopular person falls in love with the popular person at school and it’s an instant connection'. However, as many before me have described, the book and the emotions it conveys are very real, raw, and realistic. As someone who has just finished her teenage years, the complexity of teenage relationships as well as dealing with exams, university applications, and the constant reminder that everyone at school is judging your actions is extremely accurately portrayed in the novel. The topic itself can make you reminisce about the reader's own school experience, but Rooney manages to make you feel like you're living through Marianne's bullying, as well as feeling the extent of love between the two protagonists. Even from the beginning, you get the sense that Marianne and Connell's fate is inextricably linked.
Unfortunately, one of the main problems of the book is how unlikable many of the characters are. As a reader, it is easy to spend most of the time annoyed with the characters for their lack of effective communication in their relationship and not being in touch with how they truly feel. Annoyingly, this is probably the point. The 'misinterpretation' scene, as it has been described, was less misinterpretation and more just not discussing what he wanted - to live with Marianne. By this stage in the book, you would expect that the characters have developed from their previous 'secret' relationship into a much more open and accepting one (and hopefully exclusive) except that is not the case and Connell seems to be experiencing the same doubt and confusion as he was during college. With the case of Marianne, it is a typical case of a girl who seeks validation from the men around her, exploring herself through these men and finding endless dissatisfaction and emotional abuse. Consequently, because of this lack of defined relationship between them, it resulted in feeling annoyed at the characters for not taking enough action in their own lives.
Despite the characterisation failing in my opinion, Rooney’s writing style and depth of knowledge does upgrade this book from a ‘romance novel’ to an intellectual one, and one done correctly. Her literary references throughout the novel are timely, being mentioned at key moments during the story and highlight the intelligence of the characters. For example, one of the first things one notices in the novel is the lack of speech marks, making it easy to slip in and out of dialogue and monologue between characters. In the same sentence, the reader can read what they both say and think. Not only is this technique directly derived from Emma by Jane Austen, but this book is mentioned in the novel as one of Connell's reading choices. Austen was one of the first novelists to use free indirect discourse, the technique adopted by Rooney, and shown through the lens of Connell educating himself on writing techniques for his future career path. It is clear the effects of the famous novelist at work in Rooney’s novel. To add to this, Rooney takes her references to the next level by weaving the storyline of a novel to the storyline in Normal People by briefly mentioning them in conversation. To name a few, Candide, or Optimism by Voltaire is a coming-of-age story where the main character grapples with morality and must figure himself out psychologically. Normal People layers this message of discovery and coming of age by presenting two teenagers who are themselves coming of age discussing books that reflect their current situation. Lastly, the most obvious reference is The Communist Manifesto, discussed very early on in the novel. Marx's manifesto is the epitome of class consciousness and class holds a central theme in this novel, being the reason they properly meet, because of Lorraine's career as a cleaner in Marianne's mansion, but also sometimes the reason they part, like when Connell had to move back home because he couldn't find a job. The scene where the manifesto is mentioned plays out ironically because Marianne tells Connell he doesn't need to write down the title, she's already aware of the book but admits she’s never read it, compared to Connell who has. This reveals how Connell is not only actively engaged with social issues but also understands that he lives in a world that ties him to his class. Even when he becomes a student at a prestigious university because of his grades, not his wealth, he still needs to find a job to earn money, a struggle Marianne has never had to face.
Furthermore, another strength of this novel and one that has to be mentioned because of its uniqueness among romance novels is the way that sex is discussed throughout the book. Even though the 'kink' aspect of Marianne's relationship with Jamie and later Lukas could have been explained in a much healthier way, the way Connell is constantly aware of Marianne's well being before, during and after sex is refreshing. His assurance to Marianne the first time they have sex about limits and boundaries is one of the few ways consent has been touched upon in the book, not to mention the discussions surrounding condoms, contraception and even Connell saying no when he does not want something, highlighting the mans experience of sex. While the emotional side to their relationship isn't always healthy, it is refreshing to see Rooney engage with sex so openly and healthily.
I think I would have enjoyed it more if some of the surrounding characters were not so pretentious and fitting in with the typical college/university story line, with one nice friend, Joanna, one rude friend, Peggy, all the boys chasing Marianne, Jamie and the popular vs. unpopular at high school. The trope is often exaggerated and false and extremely overdone in the YA genre.
Speaking of characters, Lukas, in my opinion, could have been entirely cut out from the story as her time in Sweden didn’t seem to have any overall effect on her character arc and just reinforced the idea that she can and will be used by men, either viciously like Lukas and Jamie or subtly like Connell.
Overall, while the book is an upgrade from typical YA novels that portray teenagers transition from one chapter of life to another in its attempt to be complex in references and make the love between the two main characters feel very real, the overdone nature of this trope is at time boring and predictable – halfway through the book you know they’ll end up reunited somehow and break it off again. This cycle is repetitive and tiring.
If you are someone who reads YA novels often, especially romantic ones, Normal People is for you because of its maturity and complexity whilst still fitting the YA feel of writing.
Rating: ⭐⭐⭐