Reviewing: Normal People

Before I begin, it's just been half of the first month and I am two books in! Congratulations to me. I love how the new year always starts with this enthusiasm with respect to reading. :)

Normal People is such a well-written book. The whole time, I felt like I was an observer in a two people bubble. I was there in their thoughts and in their actions.. from a distance, disturbing nothing. The dialogues felt so relatable at times. Yet I found myself wondering if we could ever think of the complexities in our lives so poetically.

It also seemed like an interesting study of how our trauma and our experiences shape all of our relationships. There's a specific incident which is first related from her view point and then his. It's comical how for two people who loved each other, they couldn't always understand each other.

Both Marianne and Connell start off with their share of issues and they managed to make each other better, through the years. Sometimes the story shows even what a dangerous turn their relationship could have taken. The power imbalance could have easily been exploited. (Maybe it is? I'll come to it later). Yet it just served to heal.

I love the fact that it was about young love. There is so much context because they've known each other before they changed. I love the way the feeling of being sheltered and being at peace happens whenever they are together. It's a book written so tenderly about belonging. At the same time, it's also a page turner with the whole suspense of will they, won't they. It's a good balance.

The end though. I wondered whether their dynamics regressed to where they were. She says that she'd managed to overcome the pain. But the last lines got me thinking whether they both understood that this is what they were supposed to teach each other or whether they would just keep repeating themselves a la Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind.

Without revealing much, I have noticed some toxic relationships around me and it was a study of that too. Why people say the things they say - why people 'accept the love they think they deserve'. Special appreciation for the way class disparity is shown. It's not just mentioned in passing, it infiltrates a lot of decision making in this book.

#booksof2021