Who would’ve thought a little book about two young people meeting at high school and continuing a relationship through university would generate so much lively discussion and passion? That’s what happened at Pageturners.
An article in The Guardian dubbed author Sally Rooney a “Salinger for the Snapchat generation”, in reference to her latest novel Normal People, was just one point of discussion.
Comments included “I like it, it was short, it was over a 3.5 year timeframe, it forced the reader to focus, there was lots of dialogue, they were little vignettes, some were minutes later – some months later, you had to get into the rhythm of it, without quotation marks you had to work out who was speaking, I loved it, it captures millennials just right, I was frustrated, they didn’t talk about things, there were misunderstandings because of this, I just wanted them to really talk to each other, the beginning was very tragic, they were drawn to each other, she felt she was unworthy, her family was wealthy but dysfunctional, there’s a lot in it, she detached, Rooney’s a young author, it is well written, I continued because there must be some reason for writing it, it didn’t make me feel good, it was repetitive, it showed mental and physical abuse, some of the characters weren’t developed enough, she allowed men to mistreat her, shows that everyone is a mystery, you don’t really know what the other person is thinking, makes you think what is normal? it’s about power, class, emotional and physical abuse, depression, independence, self-worth, identity, belonging, mind games, submission, it was annoying and frustrating, I couldn’t finish it, beautiful writing, she’s so clever, it is just so relatable.”
Star ratings out of 5 ranged from 0.5 to 5 – so a wide range of views and feelings about Normal People.
Next Read:
The next book for discussion is our classic read Main Street by Sinclair Lewis to be held at Orange City Library on Wednesday 12 June, Don’t forget to RSVP online through Eventbrite.com or call the Library on 6393 8132.
Project Gutenberg has a free download of Main Street. Find it here: https://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/543
And here are some more reviews for Normal People by Sally Rooney:
New York Times – news brief
New York Times – review
Pageturners CWL 