A wonderful depiction of the development of
a relationship, not as soppy romance or as power and brutality, but as deep
understanding and need. (Review by Margaret von Klemperer. Courtesy of The
Witness)
Irish author Sally Rooney has been hailed
as being at the forefront of a new wave of young writers, and on the basis of
this, her second novel, it is easy to see why. On the surface it might seem to
be a straightforward coming-of-age story, but the writing is so subtle and
assured that it is much more than that.
When Normal
People opens, teenagers Marianne and Connell are the bright kids in their
small Irish hometown – Marianne the teased misfit and Connell one of the
in-crowd. They compete to be top of the class, but Connell’s mother is
Marianne’s mother’s cleaner, and even in the 21st Century, that creates a major
gulf. However, the two see each other regularly when Connell comes to fetch his
mother from Marianne’s big house and a relationship develops between them. It
is not a straightforward one – there are things in it that are ugly – but it is
important, and formative.
Rooney depicts the nuances of the shifting
balance of power in their interactions with deep understanding and skill,
showing how things change when the two get to university in Dublin and Marianne
becomes the popular one while Connell is the working-class outsider. She’s
clever and rich: he’s clever and poor. But as they work through the drinking,
sex and experimentation of their university years, they still maintain a deep
connection, even while getting involved with other people.
When they were schoolkids, things seemed
straightforward enough. But both Marianne and Connell are in their own ways
damaged. Marianne’s loveless home which has turned her into one of life’s
victims is particularly well drawn, and very disturbing to read about. And
while on the surface, Connell seemed rooted and happy, he too has his
fragilities. As they get older, they come to see the truth about each other,
and to realise how deep the connections run and how necessary each is to the
other’s survival.
Normal
People is not a novel of big, page-turning events
but of the humour, success and tragedy of everyday life. It is a wonderful
depiction of the development of a relationship, not as soppy romance or as
power and brutality, but as deep understanding and need. Sally Rooney really is
a writer to watch, and if her work continues in this vein, one to praise to the
skies.
Normal
People is published by Faber & Faber. ISBN
978-0-571-34729-2 - Margaret von Klemperer
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