Normal People

I'm late to the party with this one, but wanted to read Sally Rooney's Normal People before the upcoming TV version starts. The tale of two teenagers, Connell and Marianne, in Ireland who start a complicated relationship in school that continues throughout university is so addictive and compelling, I read the whole thing in a day. It's full of sexual intimacies jarring with anxieties and arguments, sections in which two people become as close as humans can be with one another, and then in the next letting that bond slip through their fingers as they continue a pattern of misunderstanding, miscommunication, and disappointment. It has a lot to say about social class, expectations and consent. I loved Normal People, and after putting it on Instagram stories have found out just how many of my followers also can't stop thinking about it. You'll be left asking yourself what your normal is, and how you manage to navigate that.