
Normal People
A Novel
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Narrated by:
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Aoife McMahon
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By:
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Sally Rooney
Now an Emmy-nominated a Hulu original series • New York Times best seller
"A stunning novel about the transformative power of relationships" (People) from the author of Conversations with Friends, "a master of the literary page-turner" (J. Courtney Sullivan).
One of the 10 best novels of the decade - Entertainment Weekly
Ten best books of the year - People, Slate, the New York Public Library, Harvard Crimson
Best books of the year - The New York Times, The New York Times Book Review, O: The Oprah Magazine, Time, NPR, The Washington Post, Vogue, Esquire, Glamour, Elle, Marie Claire, Vox, The Paris Review, Good Housekeeping, Town & Country
Connell and Marianne grew up in the same small town, but the similarities end there. At school, Connell is popular and well liked, while Marianne is a loner. But when the two strike up a conversation - awkward but electrifying - something life changing begins.
A year later, they’re both studying at Trinity College in Dublin. Marianne has found her feet in a new social world while Connell hangs at the sidelines, shy and uncertain. Throughout their years at university, Marianne and Connell circle one another, straying toward other people and possibilities but always magnetically, irresistibly drawn back together. And as she veers into self-destruction and he begins to search for meaning elsewhere, each must confront how far they are willing to go to save the other.
Normal People is the story of mutual fascination, friendship, and love. It takes us from that first conversation to the years beyond, in the company of two people who try to stay apart but find that they can’t.
Praise for Normal People
"[A] novel that demands to be read compulsively, in one sitting." (The Washington Post)
"Arguably the buzziest novel of the season, Sally Rooney’s elegant sophomore effort...is a worthy successor to Conversations with Friends. Here, again, she unflinchingly explores class dynamics and young love with wit and nuance." (The Wall Street Journal)
"[Rooney] has been hailed as the first great millennial novelist for her stories of love and late capitalism.... [She writes] some of the best dialogue I’ve read." (The New Yorker)
©2019 Sally Rooney (P)2019 Random House AudioListeners also enjoyed...




















Critic reviews
"[Narrator] Aoife McMahon, a skillful actor with a gorgeous Irish accent, makes each personality idiosyncratic and believable, and perfectly captures their confusion at being young and emotionally innocent, and trying to be decent but with no idea how to manage it. Rooney's subtle writing and engrossing plot work with McMahon's nimble and witty performance to balance your sympathies on a knife edge between these unforgettable characters." (AudioFile Magazine)
“I’m transfixed by the way Rooney works, and I’m hardly the only one...like any confident couturier, she’s slicing the free flow of words into the perfect shape.... She writes about tricky commonplace things (text messages, sex) with a familiarity no one else has.” (The Paris Review)
"This superb book more than lives up to the high expectations set for it by Rooney's lauded first novel.... Showcasing Rooney's focus and ability in building character relationships that are as subtle and infinite as real-life ones, and her perceptive portrayal of class, Normal People gets at the hard work of becoming a person and the near impossibility of knowing if a first love is a true one." (Booklist)
"I went into a tunnel with this book and didn’t want to come out. Absolutely engrossing and surprisingly heart-breaking with more depth, subtlety, and insight than any one novel deserves. Young love is a subject of much scorn, but Rooney understands the cataclysmic effects our youth has on the people we become. She has restored not only love’s dignity, but also its significance." (Stephanie Danler, author of Sweetbitter)
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![Gente normal [Normal People] Audiobook By Sally Rooney, Inga Pellisa Díaz cover art](https://m.media-amazon.com/images/I/41vHFwL3qkL._SL240_.jpg)













I understand why it's a decisive book. I don't think its fair to say this book is awful just because it doesn't make you feel happy or good. There are parts of this book where I was deeply uncomfortable but it felt important to get through it. There were parts where I was on the edge of my seat and other parts where it was almost like being in an emotional fog. As readers, I do not think we can judge a book as good or bad based on if we like it, if it's satisfying, or if it explains everything. If you want that, go watch a feel good movie. This is a book, it's a hard book, its upsetting at times, and transcendent at times. And then in the end, you are kind of left there to figure out what it all means. I think the end of this book tells us more about who we are as readers than anything about the plot. The plot almost doesn't matter. This book is more of a feeling.
Other thoughts:
-Great narration. Could be a bit slow so at times I sped it up to 1.25x, which was better for me.
-If you're interested in non traditional gender dynamics or social and economic politics, you'll be into this
-Incredible dialogue and writing
-can be triggering at times. The scene with the photographer made me feel physically sick but I think it was a turning point for one of the characters
-I can't believe how connell, who hardly speaks, is such an incredibly complex character and one of the more emotionally deep characters i've read. I can't believe he's not an actual person. Props to sally rooney.
I can't stop thinking about this book. It really stays with you, like you've witnessed something incredibly intimate. Read it, and if you hate it, return it. I really recommend it if you want some good literature at the cost of an emotional, draining, and difficult rollercoaster.
(this is the longest review i've ever written on audible! i blame the book! )
Difficult, but Worth It
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Compelling characters and story.
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Odd and slightly disturbing
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very Intelligent novel
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amazing book and reader
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Decent story
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Great read
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Somewhat engaging but superficial
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I wasn’t a big fan of the Aoife McMahon doing different voices of the characters but it wasn’t horrible.
Bittersweet
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Normal People
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