For a long time I was so focused on reading world literature classics, I had minor chance to really check what is currently trending. Thanks to Berna, she told me about this new book called “Normal People” from Sally Rooney. Apparently the book has also tv-series, which I have not seen yet.
To me, the language of the book was pretty dirty, lol. I was not really expecting that much of a slang so it kind of shocked me. So the story is starting from the last year of high school and extending to the university years even mentioning Erasmus exchange etc. It also gives the story of moving from a small town / village to a big city. How you could change roles within couple of months when you arrive to a new environment. The book made me think of my high school years and the beginning of the university. So around the time 2006-2009.
That was a time full of acitivities, full of people and who are now lasting as memories…
People appear, people disappear… You do not really remember the details of these times if you have not taken any notes. Which I find sad, it is always funny to look back at things and even get back into these feelings for a while…
What impressed me?
He seemed to think Marianne had access to a range of different identities, between which she slipped effortlessly. p:14
Physically it just felt right, and he understood why people did insane things for sexual reasons then. p:24
Instead everyone has to pretend not to notice that their social lives are arranged hierarchically, with certain people at top, some jostling at mid-level and others lower down. p:29
If he thought he had the slightest chance with you, he would be talking very differently. He just thinks you look down on him. p:36
Most people go through their whole lives, Marianne thought, without ever feeling that close with anyone. p:37
To be known as her boyfriend plants him firmly in the social world, establishes status, someone whose conversational silences are thoughtful rather than socially awkward. p:155
I just feel like things would be less confusing if there wasn’t this other element to the relationship. p:233
It’s funny the decisions you make because you like someone, and then your whole life is different. p:233
she is an abyss that he can reach into, an empty space for him to fill. p:236
He has sincerely wanted to die, but he has never sincerely wanted Marianne to forget about him. That’s the only part of himself he wants to protect, the part that exists inside her. p:248
He probably won’t come back, she thinks. Or he will, differently. What they have now they can never have back again. p:266
