Normal People

Book: Normal People

Author: Sally Rooney

At school Connell and Marianne pretend not to know each other. He’s popular and well-adjusted, star of the school soccer team while she is lonely, proud, and intensely private. But when Connell comes to pick his mother up from her housekeeping job at Marianne’s house, a strange and indelible connection grows between the two teenagers - one they are determined to conceal.

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 in college, Marianne and Connell circle one another, straying toward other people and possibilities but always magnetically, irresistibly drawn back together. Then, 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.-Goodreads

Review: This is a depressing love story (of sorts) with unlikable main characters. There are a lot of themes in this book but the main one (for me at least) was their complete inability to communicate with each other. It was a frustrating read as I didn't connect with either character nor did I care what happened to them. 

Grade: 2/5