Sally Rooney’s book got the 2019 British Book Award and several other awards and is labeled as classic. So I picked up the book from a friend and read it. I think I am a bit old for college romances especially one happening in Ireland. It took some time to cancel out the environment and focus on characters and relationships. It’s a story book about love and growing up.
I liked the intensity of love and the confusion in one’s mind when one is not able to differentiate between love and friendship. The complexities with which Connell and Marianne grow up, their insecurities, aspirations and their relationship with their family and college friends. The setting is in small town Ireland where everyone knows everyone.
Unlike India, in west people believe in open relationships and hence it’s ok to try out a different person if one is not working out. But Marianne & Connell have a relationship which is difficult to define although they like each other and believe they are best friends. Marianne is more demanding and probably the core of normal people as she is the abnormal person with her eccentricities, very low self esteem and a brother who dominates her and family who is not bothered about her.
One comes out of the book thinking there is nothing called Normal People we are what we are let’s not define or homogenize ourselves.
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