you hit the spot with this one! Rooney’s works are meant to be read critically for the full impact. Her books have minimal plot and are more about societal observations. And at the core of Rooney’s work is her critique of social class as pointed out. I think the problem is that a lot of people who pick her novels up because they are cool or popular don’t have experience of a working class background or at least read through that critical lens. Rooney’s works are not meant to be enjoyable, they’re meant to be enlightening. To not enjoy the novel because it’s not like the series just emphasises this class divide because not being middle class if difficult and not fun! Thank you for writing this 💛
i love this leah!! i think the distinction of normal people as an irish novel is sooooo important and since so many people discovered NP from tiktok or romance recs, it's crazy how quickly the irish context is swept under the rug! i'm so glad you wrote this!
I personally didn’t like Normal People. But that does not mean that I believe people who liked it or the protagonists needs therapy. They were just mere humans. As the title itself suggests they were indeed Normal People.
exactly and that’s such a fair response! in no way do people have to like every book they read, but i do think it’s still important to understand the author’s intentions.
mcnally had this book shelved under “irish literature” and i noticed it as an important distinction as opposed to classifying it with “fiction” as many bookstores do
I loved this book and I love this post. I truly feel that people who didn't enjoy "Normal People" just don't get it. Marianne and Connell's inability to make it work is so much deeper than a lack of communication, or a need to be more open about their feelings. It makes me sad that for many, analyzing literature stops when they leave the classroom. I read "Normal People" for the first time last month (really late, I know) and I think about Marianne and Connell every single day.
This is such great context. It also seems like a fundamentally wrong way to read a story, though! Stories aren’t about what people SHOULD do. They’re about what they DO do. If these were characters who were likely to get help (which they aren’t, as you explained so well) they would be different characters and this would be a different story. THIS story is about characters who don’t, and you can’t be a good-faith reader and get mad at a given story for not being about people it isn’t about doing things they didn’t do.
I grew up super conservative reading a lot of stories in which everyone did what they were supposed to and let me tell you, that is not the stuff of great literature
Great read. This also suggests that everyone knows when they need therapy and not the context behind why the person is depressed, or if they are ready for therapy because of money or culturally reasons. And at the end of the day, we are just people with normal problems
Excellent read. as a lapsed Catholic, I definitely picked up on the Catholic influence lingering while reading but had no idea how deep this ran in Irish society. loved loved loved this
as an Irish person, I love the realistic analysis of Irish culture in this! I always fear the Catholic influence will be overstated but I think this hit the nail on the head.
leah this is literally the most well written thing EVER i will be restacking sentences from this for the next week and thinking about it....i love you and your big brain so much
Such an interesting piece! I liked the book but I’ve never really considered or even thought about the Irish context so you’ve given me some nice food for thought. Definitely want to give NP a reread now, haha.
leah, you are SO spot on with this! i feel like having read sally rooney's books, people always misinterpret or view it with the wrong lens. loved loved loved this piece so much
Leah, this piece is genuinely so good ! Normal People is one of my favorite novel and I never knew how to articulate how good it was to other people but you did it perfectly. I didn’t know that the irish background was playing such a huge part in Normal People and I’m genuinely so happy to have read your article about it ! Thank you so much !
you hit the spot with this one! Rooney’s works are meant to be read critically for the full impact. Her books have minimal plot and are more about societal observations. And at the core of Rooney’s work is her critique of social class as pointed out. I think the problem is that a lot of people who pick her novels up because they are cool or popular don’t have experience of a working class background or at least read through that critical lens. Rooney’s works are not meant to be enjoyable, they’re meant to be enlightening. To not enjoy the novel because it’s not like the series just emphasises this class divide because not being middle class if difficult and not fun! Thank you for writing this 💛
agree with everything you said here! it really is a novel about social class issues and how it impacts your life and relationships
i love this leah!! i think the distinction of normal people as an irish novel is sooooo important and since so many people discovered NP from tiktok or romance recs, it's crazy how quickly the irish context is swept under the rug! i'm so glad you wrote this!
thank you sarah! 🫶🏼🫶🏼
I personally didn’t like Normal People. But that does not mean that I believe people who liked it or the protagonists needs therapy. They were just mere humans. As the title itself suggests they were indeed Normal People.
exactly and that’s such a fair response! in no way do people have to like every book they read, but i do think it’s still important to understand the author’s intentions.
mcnally had this book shelved under “irish literature” and i noticed it as an important distinction as opposed to classifying it with “fiction” as many bookstores do
a very important distinction! a lot of irish literature historically has its own traditions and writing styles.
I loved this book and I love this post. I truly feel that people who didn't enjoy "Normal People" just don't get it. Marianne and Connell's inability to make it work is so much deeper than a lack of communication, or a need to be more open about their feelings. It makes me sad that for many, analyzing literature stops when they leave the classroom. I read "Normal People" for the first time last month (really late, I know) and I think about Marianne and Connell every single day.
YES continuing to analyse and engage critically with the literature you read is so important, and also just fun!
This is such great context. It also seems like a fundamentally wrong way to read a story, though! Stories aren’t about what people SHOULD do. They’re about what they DO do. If these were characters who were likely to get help (which they aren’t, as you explained so well) they would be different characters and this would be a different story. THIS story is about characters who don’t, and you can’t be a good-faith reader and get mad at a given story for not being about people it isn’t about doing things they didn’t do.
very true, focusing on what WE think the characters should do / act like defeats the whole point, we’re not the ones telling the story.
I grew up super conservative reading a lot of stories in which everyone did what they were supposed to and let me tell you, that is not the stuff of great literature
Great read. This also suggests that everyone knows when they need therapy and not the context behind why the person is depressed, or if they are ready for therapy because of money or culturally reasons. And at the end of the day, we are just people with normal problems
thank you! yes exactly, and also therapy isn’t always the answer, it wont work for everyone.
Excellent read. as a lapsed Catholic, I definitely picked up on the Catholic influence lingering while reading but had no idea how deep this ran in Irish society. loved loved loved this
thank you for reading! 🤍
as an Irish person, I love the realistic analysis of Irish culture in this! I always fear the Catholic influence will be overstated but I think this hit the nail on the head.
thank you for reading! 🫶🏼
oh leah, only you can convince me to reread normal people!
do it! i’m very tempted to re-watch the show too
leah this is literally the most well written thing EVER i will be restacking sentences from this for the next week and thinking about it....i love you and your big brain so much
omg elle thank you 😭😭
I left the book halfway, but after reading your piece I am going to pick it up again! 🙂
hope you have a different reading experience this time!
Such an interesting piece! I liked the book but I’ve never really considered or even thought about the Irish context so you’ve given me some nice food for thought. Definitely want to give NP a reread now, haha.
it’s definitely a good one to reread after learning a bit more background info!
leah, you are SO spot on with this! i feel like having read sally rooney's books, people always misinterpret or view it with the wrong lens. loved loved loved this piece so much
Leah, this piece is genuinely so good ! Normal People is one of my favorite novel and I never knew how to articulate how good it was to other people but you did it perfectly. I didn’t know that the irish background was playing such a huge part in Normal People and I’m genuinely so happy to have read your article about it ! Thank you so much !
thank you for reading! 🫶🏼
so perfect and so cool! and wow, how true it that!
thank you for reading! 🫶🏼