Normal People in Around the World in 80 Books

Oct 24, 2019 Steve rated it did not like it · review of another edition

Shelves: fiction

Somewhere around page 140 I found myself wanting to read an Elmore Leonard novel, or pretty much anything where stuff happens. I don't know what to say about "Normal People." I'm clearly in the minority regarding the book. I had my doubts coming in, since I picked the novel up based upon a clickbait "voice-of-a-generation" review that ran in the Washington Post. Still, early on I liked Rooney's writing, its stripped down precision, even, I suppose, for a bit, the main characters, Marianne and Co Somewhere around page 140 I found myself wanting to read an Elmore Leonard novel, or pretty much anything where stuff happens. I don't know what to say about "Normal People." I'm clearly in the minority regarding the book. I had my doubts coming in, since I picked the novel up based upon a clickbait "voice-of-a-generation" review that ran in the Washington Post. Still, early on I liked Rooney's writing, its stripped down precision, even, I suppose, for a bit, the main characters, Marianne and Connell. At least through high school, and maybe the early college days, which provide a bit of a reset for both after Connell's cowardly betrayal regarding who to ask to the big dance. Or does it? They of course both change through the years, and yet they don't. Connell is a kind of a vague, working class dick, who can sometimes be nice, and a budding writer (bet you didn't see that coming, even while reading the book) as long as he doesn't have to commit to anyone. Marianne, higher up on the social ladder, reads Proust in high school, and is the more likely writer of the two. She is also a bundle of contradictions, possibly cemented that way due to Connell's early rejection of her. What follows from the early college days on are various hookups between the two, interspersed with other relationships. Marianne, for the most part, makes destructive choices in her lovers, as if punishing herself until Connell comes drifting back again, be it for a night or for a month or two. It's an arid and repetitive journey that is also boring. The novel is also punctuated, weirdly, in half-hearted, conscience raising flaggings, with the various "constructs" we labor (and love) under. Arguably, the novel itself is a failed construct, since it never really comes together. But that would be too tidy for such a introverted ramble as this. I like Rooney's writing, but I don't like her characters, and I don't like her plotless plot. Her talent suggests more than one star, but I'd be lying if I said it was OK. ...more

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Sep 01, 2019 Stacey rated it really liked it · review of another edition

Maybe even a 4.5, I found the strange main characters so endearing somehow.

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Jun 05, 2019 Kay Green rated it liked it

I am not the right demographic for this book. It was very well written and I enjoyed the first third - kind of a peek into the lives of late teens early 20's in Dublin. But then the main characters started to have all sorts of problems and i could not see why they felt their lives were so bad. But worth the writing in the first part.
Saw the 12 part series on Hulu May 2020. The leads were wonderful - such perfect characters for Marianne and Connell. I think i enjoyed the series more - still more ...more

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Dec 17, 2019 Lisa of Hopewell added it · review of another edition

Shelves: dnf

"Can I cum in your mouth" is not great, award-winning literature. ...more

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Jul 29, 2019 Jenny rated it liked it · review of another edition

I get that she was going with the theme, but I felt like she could’ve taken advantage of a few synonyms for ‘weird’ or ‘normal.’ If I ever read it again I’d try to count them. But I won’t read it again bc while I liked her writing, I found both main characters fairly unbelievable in their thoughts and actions.

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Jul 11, 2020 Rongrong rated it really liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: 2020-finished

Read it in a day. Didn’t know what to expect. Highly recommended by SJ. Really enjoyed. The opposite of flowery sentences, and don’t recall Marianne’s hair color or Connell’s eye color (for instance) being mentioned, but characters and settings still so clear.

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