In my last review i talked about wanting to explore more female writers (asian or otherwise) so here i’m a few weeks later reviewing Sally Rooney’s Normal people -a best-seller turned serie- the novel that had accumulated high praises among readers and critics alike.
Normal people is a short novel - 266 pages- written by the Irish author Sally Rooney. In this book Rooney explores the complexities of emotional intimacy, and personal identity. Published in 2018, this novel has been praised for its raw and honest exploration of love, vulnerability, and the challenges young people face as they navigate their different relationships.
Normal People revolves around the on-off relationship of Connell and Marianne, two Irish teenagers who come from different backgrounds. The novel is told from both Connell and Marianne point of view at different time periods throughout high school and university which I found gave a nice peek into what goes on in our main characters' heads. Rooney explores their intimacy, and how it can be both empowering and challenging, often revealing the characters' insecurities.
Once you get used to Rooney's dialogue format it's pretty smooth sailing from there. The novel can be categorized into the following themes:
- The exploration of Connell and Marianne’s intimacy, physical and emotional, that was quite intense and overwhelming and how that relationship prevented them from finding and forming healthy relationships with others.
- Power Dynamics: One of the most interesting things about this book is the power dynamic between Marianne and Connell, the imbalance was so apparent even the characters themselves acknowledge it. It’s basically Marianne dancing to Connells tunes.
Rooney also addresses the social class differences between them, but I don't think it impacted their relationship much, since whenever they are together they seem to exist within their own world as those metrics fade away.
“Being alone with her is like opening a door away from normal life and then closing it behind him.”
- The exploration of identity: we have Connell the popular athlete, who hides his intellectual capabilities in order to fit in. Marianne on the other hand, struggles with her self-esteem that seems to be the result of her troubled family history. Rooney here captures their journey of identity formation during the transition from adolescence to adulthood.
- The impact of communication or the lack thereof plays a pivotal role in our main characters' relationship. Connell and Marianne’s inability to express their feelings and their fear of vulnerability often leads to misunderstanding and hinders their ability to form genuine connection.
That being said, I unfortunately really struggled with the story. It's a fair idea but Rooney missed somewhere in the execution. The author mentions Edward Snowden, communism, Palestinian liberation and freedom of speech on campuses, but doesn't do anything with them.
Normal people is supposed to be this psychological exploration of romance literary masterpiece, yet it doesn't do anything with what it has. Our main character's relationship is very on-off dumpster fire. The first time they met again I was rooting for them to fix their relationship after all they (mostly Connell) were put under pressure to conform and fit-in at their high-school, but after it kept going in circles and nowhere, I stopped.
Reading it felt very repetitive and boring. There is no plot, theme, or character development. We don't really go anywhere. The main characters make mistakes but never learn anything from them. And some parts of the story were so bizzare and seemed to come out from nowhere.
The drawing of all relationships was rather bleak, like i get it people are fucked up and do fucked up things but that's not always the case, kind people do exist too.
I have to confess, when i picked the book -based on the title and it's cover (how else am i supposed to judge the book, seriously?)- I expected that we will come to the conclusion that there are no normal people, it's just an idea. We can strive to reach normalcy or whatever but we can never attain. Or at the very least, i expected to recount a tale of two normal people who love each others navigating the changes that comes with transitioning from high school to university.
And the most frustrating thing of all, is that the book just ends. Abruptly. As if the author decided to stop writing at that point.
My problem or dissatisfaction with Normal people is that it talks alot but doesn't really say anything. There is no exploration of small town complexities, Irish culture, depression, complex feelings surrounding sex. It just mentions some topics and then glosses over them. I kept wishing I would just be done with it, and when it did, I just felt really unfulfilled and void.
After finishing Normal People, I went on and read Conversations With Friends and I came to the conclusion that Sally Rooney is not really my cup of tea. I don't know if i'm going to write a review about it but i do know i'm not going to be reading any Rooney works from now on.
