Our book group choice for December 2018 is Normal People by Sally Rooney. Connell and Marianne both grow up in the same town in rural Ireland. The similarities end there; they are from very different worlds.
Normal People is a novel by Sally Rooney that tells the story of Marianne Sheridan and Connell Waldron, two teenagers who attend the same secondary school in County Sligo, Ireland. The novel follows their relationship over the course of five years, from their first meeting in 2011 to their graduation from Trinity College Dublin in 2015.
Marianne and Connell are two very different people. Marianne is wealthy, intelligent, and socially awkward. She is often bullied and excluded by her peers. Connell, on the other hand, is popular, handsome, and athletic. He is well-liked by his classmates and teachers.
Despite their differences, Marianne and Connell are drawn to each other. They share a love of books and music, and they are both deeply intelligent. However, their relationship is complicated by their social status. Marianne is ashamed of her feelings for Connell, who is from a working-class family. Connell, for his part, is afraid of being seen with Marianne, who he knows is considered to be an outcast.
Their relationship begins as a secret one. They meet in secret at Marianne’s house, when Connell’s mother comes to clean. They eventually begin a sexual relationship, but they keep it hidden from their friends and family.
When they go to Trinity College Dublin, Marianne and Connell’s relationship becomes even more complicated. Marianne blossoms at university, becoming more confident and outgoing. She makes new friends and becomes involved in student activism. Connell, on the other hand, struggles to adjust to university life. He feels out of place and insecure, and he begins to doubt his relationship with Marianne.
Marianne and Connell’s relationship goes through many ups and downs over the course of the novel. They break up and get back together several times. They hurt each other, and they make mistakes. But through it all, they are drawn to each other. They are the only people who truly understand each other.
Discussion Questions for Normal People
- Did you like it and did you have any preconceptions about it due to the hype both the books and the author re now receiving?
- As with Conversations with Friends, the project started life as short stories, and with Rooney following her characters down the rabbit hole, dropping in at different moments in their lives, recording how each scene, “whether it be momentous or something small, has in some way altered the dynamic between these two people so that from this time forward it will be slightly – or a lot – different”. (from the Guardian, 28th Aug 2018)
- How did you find this affect your reading of the story? Did it feel like short stories stitched together or a narrative whole?
- “Rooney’s talent is for interiority, for the precise, perceptive portrayal of mental and emotional landscapes” – So, it is not plot driven, as such but about how the characters feel at various moments in their friendship. What did you think of the way the story unfolds?
- Both main protagonist are flawed individuals – Connell craving for social acceptance sees him be cruel to Marianne, whilst her dysfunctional family life has damaged her. Do you feel close to Connell and Marianne as characters? Do you find them realistic? What do you think of their relationship?
- The characters are however also affected by external events – the social issues around the financial crash are happening at that time for instance and Rooney explores this via the effects the scholarships have on both C and M, distancing them from their friends and their former lives in Carricklea. Did it feel like a novel of a certain generation, or timeless?
- Depression and introversion – Marianne has always been told that she is worthless, Rob commits suicide, Connor becomes depressed after this – what do you think Rooney’s interest is here? Mental health, introspection?
- Their relationship switches backwards and forwards constantly – by the end how do they think they really are?
- Did the ending surprise you?
- Did you like Rooney’s writing style? How would you describe it? Do you have any favourite descriptions?