Sally Rooney’s novel Normal People always seems to get mixed reviews from others when I bring it up in conversation: you either totally love it or totally hate it. Personally, I love it, but I can understand why the constant miscommunication between the main characters is unappealing to romance readers.
Several months ago, Normal People clouded my social media pages and seemed like the perfect novel to get me back into reading after a reading slump. The novel is filled with relationship realities that often go unexpressed in many other romance novels; it also includes intimacy that goes much farther than just a physical connection.
After reading, I decided to watch the Hulu show and became completely entranced with how genuine the acting felt. The actors expressed such authentic young adult chemistry and emotions, which helped make sure it didn’t feel cheesy or even like it was fictional.
From the description of her mannerisms in the novel, I thought that Marianne was cast perfectly. Daisy Edgar-Jones, who portrayed her in the Hulu series, made me fall in love with a character that I had mixed emotions about initially. Edgar-Jones is undoubtedly a rising star.
However, after reading various articles, I found that many were displeased with the on-screen adaptation of Marianne. This character is meant to have crooked teeth, no cheek or jaw definition and remain thoroughly unkempt. According to many, Edgar-Jones does not represent these flawed features and is simply not off-putting enough for the character. Marianne is meant to be the foil of attractive, popular yet self-conscious Connell, the other main character played on-screen by Paul Mescal.
While Connell is desperately afraid of what others think of him, Marianne is not at all. She holds no value in others’ opinions about her, which is her defining characteristic. However, now I realize that the show focused on this view of Marianne and neglected that she should also be Connell’s physical foil, meaning she should not necessarily be conventionally attractive. In fact, in the book, Connell is a bit confused about why he even finds her attractive at all.
I love the storyline of Normal People because it does not skip the complex parts of an ongoing and blossoming relationship. It constantly expresses a lack of communication between the characters, relating it to real-life “normal people.” Edgar-Jones spoke out about the characters’ poor communication skills in their relationship. She states, “They’re obviously both highly intelligent, and they can speak about big, big subjects.” However, she also acknowledges, “On the simplest, simplest things, they just seem to miss each other.”
For those who did not enjoy the novel, I understand that the writing style—specifically the lack of quotation marks—is abnormal. It can be challenging to tell if the characters are actually speaking or just imagining what they might say, but I think that is also the beauty of the story. Much of the relationship, especially the ending, is left to the imagination. In many romance novels and shows, the characters are unafraid of expressing their feelings about one another; however, Marianne and Connell are absolutely terrified.
That sincerity is what makes this story so relatable and popularized both the book and series. For those who haven’t read Normal People or watched the adaptation, I highly recommend it. You might just be the last person who hasn’t already fallen victim to the most popular book on “BookTok.”
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