Sláinte! Ready to take Dublin by storm with Marianne and Connell? This week’s playlist is inspired by Sally Rooney’s Normal People.
Unlucky in Love
Maybe you’ve heard about this book a million times, especially after its on-screen adaptation hit Hulu in 2020. On the off chance you haven’t, Normal People is a contemporary romance novel that I’d shelve with New Adult fiction.
Beginning in small-town Ireland with our protagonists in high school, Marianne and Connell hardly interact in public, if at all. The pair couldn’t be more different; Marianne is largely friendless - a quiet, introspective young woman ready to escape teenage life. Connell, in contrast, is a well-liked jock who is perfectly content with life as it is. Connell’s mother works as a housekeeper at Marianne’s house, and when he comes to pick his mom up from work, the teenagers inevitably bump into one another. Initially brief and cautious, their interactions soon grow to mean much more to both of them, their clandestine meetings bringing the two together in unlikely ways. Yet Connell is determined to keep their friendship under wraps, lest his school friends discover them.
Fast forward a year, and it’s as though our protagonists have swapped lives. At university in Dublin, Marianne has a crowd of friends and finds that - finally - she seems to fit in. On the flip side, the shock of college life without his old friend group leaves Connell utterly unmoored, uncertain of his place in the world. Despite once again occupying totally different social strata, Connell and Marianne are drawn to one another, craving the comfort of friendship without judgment. Pushing away and pulling together romantically and platonically throughout college, the lines of their relationship blur, but one fact remains constant: they will always be there for each other. Right? But what if Marianne reaches a mental space where Connell can no longer reach her? And if Connell chooses a different path that leaves her behind entirely?
A contemporary coming-of-age story, Normal People delves into timeless themes of friendship, loss, societal expectations/class, and love.
“Being alone with her is like opening a door away from normal life and then closing it behind him.”
Right Connell, Wrong Time
Ugh, part of me really wishes I could have written this review prior to the TV series’ debut! Now, my thoughts are pretty inextricably tied to the character portrayals seen there, as well as their physical representation of the events of the novel. I’ll do my best to separate the two.
Before I proceed, let me attach to this novel a warning: these protagonists experience heaps of loneliness, mental health problems, angst, and uncomfortable/unwanted sexual situations. So please, please do not approach this book (as I did) assuming it will be a lighthearted college romance novel. That, it is not.
I know it’s possible to at once love a book and want to throw it across the room, but this book evoked these urges like no other. Marianne and Connell’s story feels like a mixture between the right person, wrong time trope and the missed opportunity trope, and I’m left so torn by the end...their friendship is clearly so important to both of them, but it’s also plain to see that they both wish for more, and have for a long time. I know I sound like a broken record here, but I wish they'd just choose each other - choose happiness - for once. It breaks my heart to see these narrators repeatedly defer to societal expectations in their decision-making. They're so deeply afraid of being rejected that they do what they think they should do rather than what they actually want to do.
And their alternating narration of the novel only makes their magnetism more compelling and painful - Connell and Marianne care for each other so much, and have a bond unlike any other in their lives. (The way that Connell muses about Marianne sometimes...I swoon.) I appreciate this narration style even more because it allows us to witness their evolving dynamic through high school and college. As we jump through the timeline of their lives, their traded voices highlight shifts in how they think about/speak to one another.
Some reviewers have found Connell and Marianne fundamentally unlikeable. Yes, Connell can be a huge, insensitive, selfish jerk sometimes. But his character growth is *chef's kiss.* There are, naturally, growing pains as he realizes the people he is hurting in his apathy, and he's by no means a perfect character. But he grew and realized the kind of person he wanted to be. I'm not insinuating that Marianne is or should be used as a mere plot device, a means to an end, but he is deserving of a second chance. And perhaps I empathize with Marianne so much because I find her so relatable. She feels so out of place, so unlovable that she never wants more for herself. Is it incredibly painful to see her basically self-destruct for a while? Of course. But her character spoke to some of my most inner insecurities and fears, and by the end I could understand why she made the choices she did, no matter how irrational. She and Connell are testaments to the broken, uncomfortable, imperfect pieces that make life whole. Rather than sugarcoat their romance (as I sometimes wish she would), Sally Rooney delivers an utterly real relationship.
I applaud Sally Rooney's dedication to character development and her John Green-esque writing style. Though our side characters could have used greater dimension, the timeline and punctuation were at times hard to follow, and our protagonists often felt pretentious, these qualities didn't detract much from the narrative. We need more stories that openly discuss men's mental health and challenge women's romantic/sexual expectations. Connell and Marianne also shed a unique light on class disparities, and implore us to consider our own implicit biases. I give Normal People between 3.8 and 4 stars out of 5, and I think readers who enjoyed Queenie or In Five Years, or are into the movie Love, Rosie would like this read.
TW: abuse, depression, suicide, drug use, anxiety, sexual assault, anxiety
Did it to Myself
I’ll scream it from the rooftops if I must: WE NEED MORE NEW ADULT FICTION. Give us protagonists in their early 20s, trying to figure out life! I’m tired of either reading about high schoolers falling in love or 30-year-old women navigating adult life - there is a huge gap here. I want to read about people my age doing both of these things and more! Is that so much to ask? I’m sure that there are many books out there for 20-somethings that I’ve yet to find or that haven’t been labeled as “New Adult,” but these titles need to be A. easier to access/find and B. given more media representation.
I digress. In assembling this week's playlist, I was strongly tempted to consult the series' soundtrack on Spotify, and indeed gave in to temptation. I promise I didn't just steal every song they used, though - there was one song I recalled finding very reflective of the story's mood and I wanted to use it in my playlist. This was another fun one to concoct, especially for such a modern narrative.
Did it to Myself - Orla Gartland (Fresh from the official Hulu soundtrack, this song totally captures Connell and Marianne's inability to resist one another, as well as their refusal to give in to their emotions.)
Champagne Problems - Taylor Swift (The lyrics here speak to how the pair just keep hurting one another, but care so deeply all the same. Hello, right person, wrong time? It's Connell and Marianne calling.)
Say It - Maggie Rogers (Especially reminiscent of their high school attraction, these words were basically written for our protagonists. They're drawn to one another, yet they refuse to admit it, even to themselves.)
Thinkin Bout You - Frank Ocean (More of an ode to Connell's secret love for Marianne, Frank Ocean tells us a story of of pining, insecurity, and dreams for the future.)
Stormy Weather - Etta James (It's not all doom and gloom when our protagonists are apart, but they truly enrich one another's lives so much. They don't complete one another, but this song brings comfort, joy, and nostalgia.)
Nobody - Mitski (A song for Marianne, our angsty Irishwoman. She can't see the support system surrounding her, and feels destined to be alone, to remain unlovable. She's so sure that no one can care for her that she begins a path of self-destruction.)
I Wonder Why - Loyle Carner, feat. Joesef (Loyle Carner's voice here feels quintessentially melancholy, much like the novel. His lyrics also evoke our characters' hunger for one another, and their journeys back to each other.)
Wow, what a cheerful array of songs! I promise that next week's installment will be a little more uplifting. It is the season for change, isn't it? From depressing to hopeful? (I'm looking at you, inauguration.) If you'll excuse me, I think I'll go safely celebrate the departure of our fascist Trumpet with some drinks at home.
Congrats, Madam Vice President!!
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