FIVE STARS * * * * *
Genre: Psychological fiction
I was encouraged to look up this book after so many positive reviews about the TV show which arose out of it. Since I'm in India, I can't access the BBC show so I haven't seen it yet and generally I always prefer to read the book first anyway! When I looked up the book, I immediately fell in love with the cover. So simple, yet so striking. It really captures the very question of what 'being normal' means, it's sharp edges and what that signifies for the story of Connell and Marianne, the central characters. The cover design is by the very talented Henn Kim in case you want to look her up.
Synopsis
Connell and Marianne grow up in the same small town in the West of Ireland, but the similarities end there. In school, Connell is popular and well-liked, while Marianne is a loner. But when the two strike up a conversation - awkward but electrifying - something life-changing begins. Normal people is a story of mutual fascination, friendship and love. It takes us from that first conversation to the years beyond, in the company of two people who try to stay apart but find they can't.
My thoughts
I've quite simply fallen in love with Sally Rooney's completely absorbing writing style. While initially thrown by the lack of use of speech marks, I quickly forgot about it and soaked in every word. I read this in near-enough one setting. I was hanging on every word, waiting to see how Connell and Marianne's relationship would develop. The awkwardness of their relationship is captured so well along with, paradoxically, the total synergy they have too. I have no idea how the author does this but, she does!
It's a beautiful story of growing up, of hiding, of discovering and connecting. I think most people can relate to the roller-coaster of emotions you feel at school, outside of school, with different people, in college and beyond. She puts in words all those delicate moments, while embracing the view points of both characters. The story jumps in time inconsistently but coherently. This technique works so well that you're itching to know what happened in the time you missed. It develops a stinging empathy in the reader for a need for answers that the characters also want. I'm looking forward to reading more of her books!
About the author
Sally Rooney was born in 1991 and lives in Dublin. Her work has appeared in the New Yorker, Granta, The White Review, The Dublin Review and The Stinging Fly. Her debut novel , Conversations with Friends was a Sunday Times, Observer and Telegraph Book of the Year and was shortlisted for the Dylan Thomas Prize, the Desmond Elliott Prize and the Rathbones Folio Prize. She is the winner of the Sunday Times/PFD Young Writer of the Year Award.
Bio as given in 'Normal People' e-book, published 2018.
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