Normal People

The novel I decided to read from my to-read-pile was Normal People by Sally Rooney, as you may have guessed from my statement that I couldn't live without it a second longer after reading its review. And the review was right. This is a great novel.
It has been a long time since I read anything that felt like it was exactly what I should be reading at the time; one of those novels you don't want to read too quickly because then you'll have read it all and there won't be any new bits of story left. The plot is what it is; basic boy-meets-girl stuff. I read somewhere that this is a love story, but not a romance. This is very true. But don't let the love story bit fool you. The language and style is beautiful. It is a contemporary story, but it feels completely timeless. There are descriptions and short in-between sentences that stuck with me for a couple of days; there are bits that are just so beautifully written that you have to read them again just for the joy of it.
Then there are the characters. Obviously, these are not normal people, or they wouldn't be found in such a magnificent novel. And in a way they are, as the title tells us. The story is about Marianne and Connell; the first is awkward and unpopular in secondary school, but blossoms when she gets to uni. He is the other way around; the popular soccer star in high school, but lost in the posh university universe. Somehow they have found each other, and somehow they manage to stick by each other. They both have their flaws; personality traits and experiences that run deep and influence every decision they make. The scenes where they are together, depending on each other and supporting each other, are the best in the book. But then they break the fragile bond between them, at first because they are clumsy and inexperienced, later because they cannot stand the intensity of the emotion, or the feeling of being so close to another human being. They are very recognisable, striving to fit in and be normal people but at the same time standing out because they are so beautifully crafted. It reminded me in some ways of Jude in A Little Life, only somehow better written.
There are lots of other things in the novel; class boundaries, intimacy issues, gender roles; there is a fair bit of sex in a very casual, normal way. All of this fleshes out the story, makes it more than just a love story, but for me it wasn't the main thing. The main thing was their story.
And then I got to the back inside cover of the novel and there is a picture of Sally Rooney herself and it turns out that she is only 27! Who, at 27, could know this depth of character, these intricate details of the human personality that make people who they are, that make people act and react the way they do? Some other review called her 'Jane Austen for the millennial generation', and I have to agree completely. I can't wait to read Conversations with Friends, her first novel.
But, here is the big but to this novel. The ending. I won't spoil it for you, but the final chapter really bugged me. The chapters alternate between Marianne and Connell, not their full point of view but we follow either of them around, and the final chapter is a Marianne chapter that I really disliked. Somehow, it even felt rushed the way it was written. I read deep into the night to finish this novel, so I thought it may have been my sleepy head just wanting the story to finish, but upon reread the rushed quality is still there. All the emotion, all the light, loving connections that existed between these characters are now replaced by sodden, plonking style. It was a major let down.
But overall, this novel is beautifully written, in a fresh, young, sparkling style. The characters are so well made. The story is so light, so fragile, it might break at any moment (and for me it does break in the final chapter). Still, it is a lovely read, and I recommend it to anyone looking for a story that loves its characters and itself.