I don’t know why I can’t be like normal people.

I can’t completely say that I really loved Normal People. There was a lot about the characters, about the representation of their relationship and connection that I thought were very well done but that doesn’t necessarily equate to me enjoying the book. I often find myself in this situation; liking a novel in but not enjoying it. I appreciate how artfully written, well-constructed and realistic it is, but it isn’t what I look for in a reading experience.

In part, I think it comes down to Marianne and Connell being extremely real, relatable characters that we explore down to their very core, their hopes and dreams and their anxieties and traumas and personally, I don’t like reality. The novel is called Normal People after all and its portrayal of real people I can find no fault in. It may just be I don’t like real people.

The nature of their relationship would be extremely poignant for those who have experienced something like it; two people who can’t seem to keep away from each other, whose lives mould each other. The worlds they live in, the social circles and relationships they build outside of one another, all seem to be linked to the central connection between them which I find a fascinating concept. For me the most important message is this:

You don’t know who is going to have a profound effect on your life until it happens

Interestingly, I found the television series totally enjoyable. The lead characters seemed to iron out little aspects of Marianne and Connell’s personalities that I found frustrating in the novel and make them seem like they made perfect sense. For one, every time there was a miscommunication between the pair that caused them to break up or hurt each other, I felt the clumsiness of being a teenager, the inability to express ones feelings and so on, were there in every longing glance and awkward silence. Not to mention, the palpable sexual tension that was felt and the gritty realness of the intimacy on the screen.

Coming to the conclusion of my very long-winded thought process, I have decided it is a matter of format. The reality of love and relationships, of growing up and finding out what it means to be “normal” or not, work better for me when I can see the body language, the expressions, the tone of the person rather than just know what is going on in their head.