Synopses & Reviews
Synopsis
NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER - LONGLISTED FOR THE MAN BOOKER PRIZE - "A stunning novel about the transformative power of relationships" (People) from Sally Rooney, the author of Conversations with Friends and "a master of the literary page-turner" (J. Courtney Sullivan). "Fresh and accessible . . . There is so much to say about Rooney's fiction--in my experience, when people who've read her meet they tend to peel off into corners to talk."--Dwight Garner, The New York Times At school Connell and Marianne pretend not to know each other. He's popular and well-adjusted, star of the school football team, while she is lonely, proud, and intensely private. But when Connell comes to pick his mother up from her job at Marianne's house, a strange and indelible connection grows between the two teenagers--one they are determined to conceal.
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.
Sally Rooney brings her brilliant psychological acuity and perfectly spare prose to a story that explores the subtleties of class, the electricity of first love, and the complex entanglements of family and friendship.
Praise for Normal People
"I went into a tunnel with this book and didn't want to come out. Absolutely engrossing and surprisingly heartbreaking with more depth, subtlety, and insight than any one novel deserves."--Stephanie Danler, author of Sweetbitter
"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, "12 Best Books of Spring"
" 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
Synopsis
NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER - From the celebrated author of
Conversations with Friends comes "a stunning novel about the transformative power of relationships
" (
People), hailed as "a masterpiece, pure and simple" (
Minneapolis Star Tribune).
"Among the vast cohort of new millennial novelists, none are connecting with readers as intimately, or generating as much excitement, as Sally Rooney."--Entertainment Weekly
WINNER OF THE AN POST IRISH BOOK AWARD - WINNER OF THE COSTA NOVEL AWARD - LONGLISTED FOR: THE MAN BOOKER PRIZE - THE DYLAN THOMAS PRIZE - THE WOMEN'S PRIZE FOR FICTION - THE RATHBONES FOLIO PRIZE - THE KERRY GROUP IRISH NOVEL OF THE YEAR AWARD
At school Connell and Marianne pretend not to know each other. He's popular and well-adjusted, star of the school football team, while she is lonely, proud, and intensely private. But when Connell comes to pick his mother up from her job at Marianne's house, a strange and indelible connection grows between the two teenagers--one they are determined to conceal.
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.
Sally Rooney brings her brilliant psychological acuity and perfectly spare prose to a story that explores the subtleties of class, the electricity of first love, and the complex entanglements of family and friendship.
Praise for Normal People
" 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
"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, "12 Best Books of Spring"
"Keenly observed, deeply perceptive, and psychologically acute, Normal People brims with disarming insights into how men and women wrestle with sex, class, popularity, and young love."--Esquire, "Best Books to Read This Spring"
Synopsis
NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER - LONGLISTED FOR THE MAN BOOKER PRIZE - COMING TO HULU IN 2020 - SALLY ROONEY NAMED TO THE 2019 TIME 100 NEXT LIST "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).
NAMED ONE OF ENTERTAINMENT WEEKLY'S TEN BEST NOVELS OF THE DECADE - NAMED ONE OF THE TEN BEST BOOKS OF THE YEAR BY THE NEW YORK PUBLIC LIBRARY AND ONE OF THE BEST BOOKS OF THE YEAR BY The New York TImes Book Review - O: The Oprah Magazine - Time - The Washington Post - Vogue - Esquire - Glamour - Elle - Good Housekeeping - The Dallas Morning News - Kirkus Reviews - BookPage
"Absolutely engrossing and surprisingly heartbreaking with more depth, subtlety, and insight than any one novel deserves."--Stephanie Danler
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
Synopsis
COMING TO HULU SPRING 2020 - NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER - "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 TEN BEST NOVELS OF THE DECADE--Entertainment Weekly
TEN BEST BOOKS OF THE YEAR--People, Slate, The New York Public Library, Harvard Crimson
AND 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