Unspoken attraction keeps pulling them together, class and privilege keep pulling them apart

normal_people_sally_rooney_book.jpg

Normal People (2019) by Sally Rooney takes place in the suburbs over the passing of time. A wealthy but unpopular girl secretly befriends poor but popular boy. As they grow up they find themselves in and out of each other’s lives, never fully able to pull apart. Like its title, the story is subtle, but powerfully hits on transformative relationships, class and privilege, passivity and social pressure.