Alba Mastromatteo, am696@uakron.edu
Normal People by Sally Rooney was my introduction to the world of literary fiction. This book follows two main characters: Marianne and Connel. We watch them grow through their adolescence up until they graduate from university and are getting ready to start their careers. Their character dynamics are spectacular. Their relationship is toxic and magnetic. Everytime they are together, they hurt each other. Everytime they are apart it somehow hurts worse.
While writing, Rooney leaves out quotation marks and does not do anything to signify the change between dialogue and the rest of the narration. This is something that upset many people, but in my opinion made this book very special. Because of this, I felt more immersed in the characters’ thoughts and perspectives. I felt the pain that they felt. I felt that hope that they felt. Her description of emotions (often understood more through the actions and inner monologue than through character discussion) is visceral, as if I was experiencing them in myself. Rooney’s words evoke such specific situations and emotions that somehow apply to such a wide range of people. She describes a whole generation of people’s real struggles and pain through these two character’s lives.
Normal People is known to be a very divisive book, not because of any problematic elements but because of its uniqueness. It breaks rules in literature we didn’t even realize were being upheld as well as some well known grammar rules (such as leaving out quotation marks during dialogue). People either love this book or hate it. There is often no in between. This is a strong indication that it is very well done. Literature is meant to evoke deep emotions from people, positive or negative. Whether people liked it or not, this book challenged them in some capacity. Personally, this book challenged my world view and inspired its expansion.
This book inspires intelligent conversations surrounding human experiences and emotions as well as societal issues such as capitalism and social class. Through Normal People many unlikely themes are explored and pieced together to show the ways in which they exist and intertwine in the world that many would miss if not for first hand experience.
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