I suffered through this

This is, to put it kindly, a better written reversed Twilight. Rich self-loathing awkward girl, well-adjusted but not deep down boy of the "wrong" sort. Insipid on again and off again relationship. Something something masochism. Marianne's character was really hard to get behind and Connell is only slightly better. The author also goes into painstaking detail about exactly how Connell sighs or grunts or gets up or walks or shoves his hands in his pockets and other mundane things other characters do. It's so pointless. Great job by the reader though, it's the only reason I finished the book.

5 people found this helpful

Exquisitely performed love story

The doyen of our millennials angst mines a small, tender love story, with two heart breakingly beautiful characters at its core. The reading elevates the material.

3 star book

narrated really well
but I don't think the book is that great and is worth the hype

Title is misleading

The storytelling in the book is good.. the way author narrates different incidents as we have a chain of thoughts when a particular incident is happening... she switches between those instances smoothly same as a human mind works..she made it really easy to understand, ypu wont be lost any any point about how the story switches.. and the style is appreciable

but the title.. is the opposite of how the characters are displayed... the heroine of the story.. Marianne, not at all normal... there's nothing normal about her behavior, decision-making eyc... it's a neurotic sadistic character.. the other characters also aren't too usual... overall I didn't get overwhelmed by tge story, it was just tiring

Tedious

A very long and boring narrative of a book that hardly has a story .
Had to skip a few chapters to complete.
Waste of time learning nothing meaningful.

I love it!

love Connell and Marianne there story is so heart touching. and the ending is so emotional. must watch the normal people series.

Time like a concertina

Fabulous attention to the small details of daily life and how they express the inner life if the characters. One is always trying to read into what each action means. Time condensed into concentrated detail or the long view with a sudden jump in time and a significant detail casually unfolding. I like this narrator so much that I had to listen to Normal People immediately after Conversations with Friends.

What a performance!

The story is good- interesting characters and structure, with some deep personal insights. It seemed a little too long at times, but it kept me interested nonetheless. As for the reading- I'd give Aoife McMahon ten stars if I could. What a superb job she has done, bringing alive all the characters, each with an individual voice, and an effortless emoting! Simply phenomenal!

Complex relationship captured well

Normal People is a love story where the characters go in circles of misunderstandings. It is as complex as any relationship could be. The author emphasizes on the thoughts and background that leads to choices that the characters make. I liked the character building in the story - even side characters have enough depth to them. But I did feel that for some parts, the intent of actions was missing. Some things like Marriane's family behaviour were assumed and there didn't seem to be a legible background to it. All in all an ok read and a good Audible experience.

4 Star

Epitome of humans
Arbitrary, dysfunctional, ambiguous, capricious yet so riveting, enthralling and vigorous at some time.
This prose epitomizes the normalcy of humans, dismantles their intricacies and develops this potent form of gratitude.The characters Connell and Marian are dynamically woven with each other, sometimes so conspicuously in love but riddled by societal conditions.
The vivid imagaries and metaphors establish a sense of coherence and elevate their personalities.