Normal People: One million copies sold

· Faber & Faber
4.3
444 reviews
Ebook
304
Pages
Eligible

About this ebook

'The literary phenomenon of the decade.' Guardian
'The book that defined a generation.' Stylist

** Read the modern classic behind the BAFTA-winning series. **

Connell and Marianne grow up in the same small town in the west of Ireland, but the similarities end there. In 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.

Normal People is a 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 they can't.

'Tender and devastating.' Guardian
'A book to cancel plans for.' Grazia
'A classic coming-of-age love story.' Vogue

Sally Rooney's book 'Normal People' was a #1 Sunday Times bestseller w/c 2018-12-24

Ratings and reviews

4.3
444 reviews
Alex Sanchez
January 16, 2025
adored the characters and flashback style that permeates each chapter. I highly recommend watching the series first and reading the book second, since the picture-perfect casting of Connell and Marianne elevates the novel to new heights.
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Josephina Ballerina
October 29, 2023
Sally Rooney is a confident and skilfull writer, so much so that this is one I read every year. Engrossing, complex and emotionally honest. This book tore my heart out and stamped on it, in the best possible way!
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Tegan A
May 12, 2020
I watched the TV series in one evening (lockdown life) and fell in love with the characters. I wasn't ready to say goodbye so when I found out the TV series was based on a book I had to read it. Just like the TV series, only better, the characters feel real, multi-dimensional. The romance between Connell and Marianne is tragically beautiful, and I resonate so much with it. Thank you for writing a simple, realistic love story.
35 people found this review helpful
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About the author

Sally Rooney is the author of the novels Conversations with Friends and Normal People . Her writing has appeared in the New Yorker, the New York Times, the London Review of Books and elsewhere . Conversations with Friends was shortlisted for both the Dylan Thomas Prize and the Rathbones Folio Prize, and longlisted for the Desmond Elliott Prize. Rooney was also shortlisted for the Sunday Times EFG Short Story Award for 'Mr Salary' and was the winner of the Sunday Times /PFD Young Writer of the Year Award. Normal People was the Waterstones Book of the Year 2019 and won the Costa Novel of the Year in 2018. It was longlisted for the Man Booker Prize in 2018, as well as the Women's Prize for Fiction and the Rathbones Folio Prize in 2019. Sally Rooney co-wrote the television adaptation of Normal People which was broadcast on the BBC in 2020, and for which she was nominated for an Emmy award.

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