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Summary

Community summary are the opinions of contributing users. These summary do not represent the opinions of the Edmonton Public Library.
Connell and Marianne attend the same high school in small town, present day Ireland. On the surface they have nothing in common and probably wouldn't have crossed paths outside school had it not been for the fact that Connell's mother cleans house for Marianne's mother and Connell waits at the house to take his mother home every day. So begins a friendship that is kept hidden from their school friends because at school Connell is one of the popular and confident kids, and Marianne is considered an awkward oddity, having no friends, but really not caring either. Connell is embarrassed to be seen at school with Marianne and Marianne seems to accept that they shouldn't acknowledge each other. Skip ahead a year, and the two are at university in Dublin. Marianne has found her confidence and is popular and outgoing, while Connell can only stand looking on from the sidelines uncertain with what to do with his life. Despite the changes in their circumstances they are each supportive of the other, and through numerous personal, sometimes destructive relationships, they always eventually gravitate towards one another. Normal People could be called a coming of age novel and the central characters are young people, but it isn't necessarily a young adult novel. I don't think Rooney is aiming to write for any particular generation because what Connell and Marianne go through is applicable to most of us whatever our ages. It's not quite a romance either, but it is a love story. It almost defies categorization. Ultimately I think it's a novel about integrity and doing the right thing for the person you love, all the while knowing that your own life will likely be changed and diminished. It's a novel about pure love, love that is capable of overcoming everything, including shame and guilt. Nominated for the Booker prize, Sally Rooney's writing is beautiful, and each new chapter is a snapshot in the lives of two flawed but hopeful young people.