Didn't think much of Normal People

[Susanna85]

I keep seeing love for Normal People online.
I read it and then watched the BBC series.
Perhaps I was expecting more, given the show's apparent popularity.

I thought it was alright as a book but completely forgettable afterwards. And the TV episodes were not captivating, I began scrolling through my phone etc. Why is everyone loving it so much!? Or is it just clever advertisement

And they spent all this time having deep and meaningful conversations without ever actually talking to each other.
Can you tell it irrationally annoyed me?

I really enjoyed the recognition that you can be, particularly as a woman, humiliated years later just recalling the level of disrespect and shit you once put up with. I found that very real.

I found a large amount of their communication unbelievable for how clear and honest it was - seemed like exactly how a couple should communicate. But then things fell apart often anyway, which didn’t make sense.

I cried every episode though 🙈

Could have done without the condom unfurling sound effects in the first episode though 😁 definitely not one for children/parents to watch together!

@DCIRozHuntleyi also found it very reminiscent of David Nicholls and Ian Mcewan.

I'm absolutely loving it and it is so similar to my university days, I went to TCD too though many years before the time of this book. I also come from a small town and felt very trapped there.

When I got to Trinity it was such a revelation and a feeling of homecoming as I met people there who were interested in the same things as me and were not afraid to own it, English lit, philosophy, art etc. It was also a mind-bending mix of wealth and backgrounds, I went to lost of fancy dinner parties and cocktail parties. There were people with titles in my year. And there were people on scholarships from very deprived areas and people like me from small towns etc.

I had some intense relationships and I travelled to Italy to see art.

I identify with both characters in ways. I was not popular in school - too bookish, but utterly blossomed socially in Trinity, much like Marianne. But I was at times riddled with self doubt and felt apart from some of the lifestyles like Connell.

I think it is set in Trinity for that very reason as it is a very particular environment and it captures it perfectly for me

I was a post grad in 2 other universities and did not have that same impression. I absolutely LOVED the environment in TCD as there was massive intellectual freedom to learn and learn and learn. I often read my friends reading lists as those subjects interested me, not because I HAD to. And I wasn't the only one like that

Isn't condom unfurling noises exactly what young people need to hear? At least it was real.

I haven’t watched it yet as I really hated the book. So dull and I didn’t find their relationship to come across as some great love just a habit they were in. I can’t imagine how they managed to get 12 episodes Of TV out of it!

I haven't got round to watching it but suggested it to my 17 year old dd when she was looking for something new to watch. She hadn't heard of the book but decided to give it a go. She absolutely loved it and binge watched it over a couple of days.

She tells me I should watch it - but also said she is VERY glad that we didn't watch it together.

I loved it, but then I suppose I like romantic stories.

Tedious shite, both the book and the series. People are impressed with such absolute dross these days.

" I never had a single intellectual conversation at uni. "

Not a single one??
I didn't go to an elite uni like Trinity, but we definitely had some intelligent conversations, if not intellectual ones.
We obviously weren't posh enough to have dinner parties. Tequila was common, but I only remember one foam party.

I binged it last week and felt like I just wanted to get it over with. I think I may have slept through one of the episodes though and that could have been the best one, but I doubt it.

I haven’t particularly enjoyed what I’ve read by Sally Rooney, and I stopped watching this after a couple of episodes as it was soooo slooooow.

Did it get much better?

I liked it in some ways. It reminded me of my younger days but it also dragged up memories of an on/off sometimes secret relationship that hurt me badly. The acting was very good. The sex scenes were believable but so much of the story wasn't at all and towards the end I liked it less and less.

"I never had a single intellectual conversation at uni"

This is such a sad thing to read, for me. How can this even happen? What a waste of opportunity

Thought it was dull, couldn't even finish episode 1.

For people who failed to communicate later, I found the early communication about sex unlikely for 2 poor communicators.

Marianne is able to honestly ask him if he does this all the time. They are both able to ask each other if what they are doing to the other is okay/good. Connel is able to check Marianne actually wants to have sex and is able to tell her she can ask to stop if she changes her mind or if it hurts. It's all great communication......but from 2 people who can't say how they feel or what they want.....and this didn't quite ring true but seemed more like what you'd want to happen or a lesson in consent for today - a moral lesson if you like.

Sadly, useless teenage boys still struggle to verbally check consent but carried away and pushy.

It does take patience to stick with it - it's very slow and subtle in parts

It is very like David Nicholls and I loathed his books too.

I really enjoyed it ! It resembled a lot like the relationship I had in my early teens BUT my story resulted in a baby and the boyfriend ended up being an abusive dick which then took me 8 years to finally break up with him for good.

But yeah.... apart from that. I really enjoyed the episodes!

I love David Nicholls' book - the one where the parents and adult son go on a trip abroad can't remember it

Oh WombatChocolate I definitely agree. At University, you see a huge class of people who either have complex/ non complex lives, different backgrounds, stories etc, who you may never get a chance to meet in your lifetime if they are not part of your social circle. When your working, it's different, people generally tend to keep to themselves and like to keep their work and private life separate. Going to University was a completely different experience to that.

I don’t understand why she didn’t get therapy.

I also don’t understand why they got back together at university, when they seemed so incompatible.

It was bizarre.

"I don’t understand why she didn’t get therapy."

Really? Not everyone gets therapy for their problems. I'm a generation above them so maybe it's easier for young people now, but it took me decades to pluck up the courage to go to therapy and you hear about people all the time who have emotional problems but haven't had therapy.

"I also don’t understand why they got back together at university, when they seemed so incompatible."

Weren't they in love? Or at least the pull of the familiar.

I thought it was fantastic.

Fi Glover remarked in a recent podcast that she wondered if Connell could have been written by a man. He is a very good example of a decent guy, you don't see depicted often.

Marriannes mother is not supposed to be likeable. Not all characters are meant to be likeable. What a strange criticism.

I do think it's unrealistic two young people would be able to communicate so well around sex and for sex to be that good. But my god, if I can let my kids see that, especially my son (at an appropriate age) how wonderful to see such an example? Connell is a hero. He's not perfect, but nobody is. Growth.