Book Review: Normal People by Sally Rooney
A subjective literary analysis of Normal People.
Overview
challenging, dark, emotional, reflective, sad
Pacing? Slow
Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? It’s complicated
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
Connell and Marianne grew up in the same small town, but the similarities end there. At 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.
A year later, they’re both studying at Trinity College in Dublin. Marianne has found her feet in a new social world while Connell hangs at the sidelines, shy and uncertain. Throughout their years at university, Marianne and Connell circle one another, straying toward other people and possibilities but always magnetically, irresistibly drawn back together. And as she veers into self-destruction and he begins to search for meaning elsewhere, each must confront how far they are willing to go to save the other.
Normal People is the 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 that they can’t.
Review (5/5 stars)
Normal People by Sally Rooney is unlike anything I have ever read. It’s a critique on mental health, the human condition, and the deeply complex dynamics between people. The writing style throws everything out into the open by plainly stating the character’s thoughts, feelings, and justifications. This book drew me into the character’s heads, where I found myself constantly ruminating over their mental states. It was actually a difficult read for me, given the fact that every time Connell or Marianne fell into a depressive mood, I felt that weight inside me.
I have no real critiques for this novel. At first it annoyed me that the book didn’t use quotation marks to determine when someone is speaking, but I quickly got used to it, and even appreciated it for what it was: not using quotation marks drew attention to the fact that this book was a study on people, how they communicate, and how they think.
I did find the book to be mostly depressing and a little hopeless at times — I kept desperately wanting Connell and Marianne to be happy and fulfilled in their lives, but it just never really happened, or it happened in short bursts. I realized later that this was me projecting myself onto the characters. I wanted them to be happy and fulfilled because I saw myself in them, my own personal struggles with mental illness, and I wanted to know that it was possible to overcome those challenges. However, that wasn’t the message of this book. Normal People normalized mental illness, arguing that nobody can be happy indefinitely, and there will always be highs and lows to life. A person is also mostly shaped by the people they’re surrounded by, the expectations of those people, and how they’re treated by their friends and family.
Character(s)
The characterization was the most profound aspect of this book. There were so many nuances to Marianne and Connell. Something that makes this book unique is that the character development is entirely dependent on other characters. If Connell changes in some way, so does Marianne, and vise versa. At the end of the book, Marianne herself states, “People can really change one another.”
I thought it was really interesting how Marianne’s abusive relationship with her family transformed her into someone that came across as special, someone who was “above everyone else,” and generally disliked. It’s almost like the author was trying to say that you can spot abused individuals based on how society alienates them; that abuse often translates into “fake” intelligence, where a person is seemingly very worldly, or thinks they’re exceptionally good at reading others thoughts and emotions. I really liked the nuance and diversity of Marianne, I thought she was at her core a very sweet person, but had been poisoned by the abuse. Because she wasn’t wanted by her family, the moment she experienced something like validation and acceptance from Connell, she clung to it, thrived on it, to an unhealthy degree.
Connell was not a good person, in my opinion. I’m not sure if we were supposed to like his character or not, but I definitely wasn’t his biggest fan at least 80% of the time. He cared deeply about what other people thought of him, which translated into high anxiety and depression in his adult life. (Unlike Marianne, I am not sure where this insecurity comes from. If I were to guess, I would say it originates from the fact that his family didn’t have the best reputation, and he was the first in his family to really make a name for himself?) Connell cared so much about the opinions of his peers that he refused to even publicly associate himself with Marianne, a childish mental block that continued well into his college years. Despite continuously rejecting having a public relationship with Marianne, he always thought of Marianne as his, even when they were seeing other people. This insecurity in Connell translated into a kind of dominance, where he felt that he owned Marianne, where he was aware of his power over her and constantly used her for his own satisfaction. Connell could always be himself around Marianne; he never needed to monitor himself around her, and so he could be cruel.
When I think about it, though, Marianne and Connell did work perfectly together as a couple. They were the best for each other in the end, given that Marianne would never attract a truly healthy relationship for herself. Connell was really her best option. If he ever learned to accept her, he would never hurt her, and he truly did love her. Connell was forever hung up on Marianne, and any relationship he manifested would always come back to how he felt about her. She was the only person he could be himself with, which gave him a sense of peace in his life.
I think the ending of this book was perfect — Connell finally accepts Marianne, kissing her in front of all their childhood friends on New Years Eve, demonstrating that he has grown as a person capable of openly loving her. He makes Marianne feel worthy of being loved, changing her fundamentally as a person. Then, something interrupts the happy burst of life they’ve created. Connell is given the option to move away for his career, and we have no idea if they stay together. But it doesn’t matter, because Marianne has been changed by his affection, and is happy. We have a sense that it’s possible for her to create new healthy relationships and move on.
Moral Argument
I think the moral argument of Normal People was that you can be fundamentally changed by the people you interact with; you are built up by them, torn down by them, and made who you are by them. This dependency can have both negative and positive results, all of which are entirely normal. Everyone is to some degree Connell, and some degree Marianne. Everyone is heavily influenced by their environment and the people in their social circles.
I think the book is also trying to say that there is someone out there for everyone, that your mental illness doesn’t have to hold you back from the world, or from having healthy relationships with others — Connell, despite having his own deep rooted flaws, ended up being good for Marianne because he helped her feel worthy. Sometimes you meet people at a certain point in your life, and they are good for you in that moment, even if they themselves are not a perfectly healthy or mentally sound.
Story World
The story world of this novel is unique in the sense that it happens almost entirely in the dynamics between people. That was the element that made the book interesting. Other than that, it takes place primarily while Marianne and Connell are in college.
Symbolic Development
I would say the biggest symbol in this book was Marianne and Connell’s relationship. The way they drifted apart, fused together, and the magnetic connection between them was always present. While I was reading, I thought the end goal was for Marianne and Connell to be happy together — but because their relationship was a symbol, it represented more than that. Over time, it became clear that the goal wasn’t to be happy together, it was to be happy in general. To take what was good about their relationship and use it to change them for the better, even if they didn’t end up a happy couple in the end (something that was skillfully undetermined.)
Plot
The plot of Normal People was entirely dependent on the characters as well as the relationship between Marianne and Connell. There were no real big events that happened, other than the change in dynamics between people. The changes in dynamics served as important story beats; Marianne going to college and becoming popular, for example.
Prose
I was at first extremely put off by the prose. I disliked how the author neglected using quotation marks when characters were speaking, but as previously mentioned, I quickly came to appreciate it. The writing style was very on the nose and threw everything out in the open. It followed a “tell don’t show” rule, but in a way that was still interesting to read, almost coming across as satirical.
Story Structure
Hero: Marianne Sheridan (arguably both Marianne and Connell were the protagonist, but I understood Marianne more, so it makes sense for me to list her as the hero here.)
Weaknesses: Craves validation, hates herself, self-destructing.
Psychological Need: She needs to believe she is worthy of love and happiness.
Moral Need: She needs to stop letting other people walk all over her.
Problem: Connell, Marianne’s love, does not openly or publicly love her back.
Desire: She wants him to accept her.
Opponent(s): Connell.
Plan: They’re going to go to college together; other than that there is no real plan.
Battle: It’s difficult for me to pinpoint a battle in this novel. This is one of those books that proves that there is no one-step-be-all to writing a good story. My best choice for this would be when Connell and Marianne are sleeping together in the same room, sometime after their childhood friend committed suicide. Marianne does her best to confront Connell on how he’s been treating her all these years, and states it would be nice to be in an actual relationship together. He tells her he wants to think about it, then Marianne gets hit by her brother and saved by Connell.
Psychological Self-Revelation: Connell decides to officially date Marianne, and she realizes that she is worthy of love.
Moral Self-Revelation: Because of Connell’s open affection, she is capable of manifesting healthy relationships outside of him.
Moral Choice: When Connell is offered a job position far away, he asks Marianne if she wants him to stay or go, and he’ll do whatever she wants. She tells him that it’s okay to leave, and she will be there, waiting for him as always.
New Equilibrium and World Change: Although Marianne is waiting for him as always, it’s different now, because we have a sense that she will be okay without him. She feels worthy of goodness because of the acceptance she recieved from Connell.
Notable Quotes
“Marianne had the sense that her real life was happening somewhere very far away, happening without her, and she didn’t know if she would ever find out where it was or become part of it.”
“No one can be independent of other people completely, so why not give up the attempt, she thought, go running in the other direction, depend on people for everything, allow them to depend on you, why not.”
“He probably won’t come back, she thinks. Or he will, differently. What they have now they can never have back again. But for her the pain of loneliness will be nothing to the pain that she used to feel, of being unworthy. He brought her goodness like a gift and now it belongs to her. Meanwhile his life opens out before him in all directions at once. They’ve done a lot of good for each other. Really, she thinks, really. People can really change one another.”
“Generally I find men are a lot more concerned with limiting the freedoms of women than exercising personal freedom for themselves.”
Content Warnings
Graphic: Sexual content, Alcoholism
Moderate: Physical abuse, Emotional abuse, Drug abuse, Suicide
Minor: N/A
