NORMAL PEOPLE BY SALLY ROONEY - BOOK REVIEW

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BOOK NAME: NORMAL PEOPLE

AUTHOR NAME: SALLY ROONEY

GENRE: LITERARY FICTION

PUBLISHER: FABER & FABER

 



This must be a mistake. The title, I mean. Normal People? These two? Marianne and Connell! Seriously? If anything, they are very far from being normal. 


The story is about two individuals who are drawn to each other but will never confess their feelings because they think they aren’t good enough for each other. They keep exploring life with other people only to get back together again. But can it go on forever like that? We will only find out at the end. Or… not?! The book is neither plot-driven nor character-driven. It’s more like Asian school drama meets American literary fiction, but better. It’s more about exploration of emotions, mental health, and vulnerabilities rather than just a steamy romance.


Honestly, I went into the book blindly because of all the noise around it, and also because I genuinely wanted to try Sally Rooney’s work even though people advised me against it. And you know what? Even at the end, I was not sure what the theme or genre was. 


Every time I finish a book, I go up to Goodreads and Amazon reviews and read through most of them to see which ones relate to my feelings better. But for this book, I could agree with every review—the positives and the negatives alike. But, did I like it? Yes. Did I love it? Well, yeah! Definitely. Did I also hate it for tormenting me like that and making me want to pull my hair out just because two people who liked each other and were normal only around each other couldn’t even express it throughout the book? Heck, yes!! I will never be able to forgive Marianne and Connell for subjecting me to such brutal torture, but I will also never be able to forget them. You know what I mean right? At this point, I'm confused about my feelings for the book, just like its protagonists. It’s very very complicated. Me and this book.


This is a part of Blogchatter Half Marathon 2026 with Piyush’s Plotters

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