Normal People by Sally Rooney follows the relationship between Connell Waldron and Marianne Sheridan. Spending their youth in a small-town in Ireland, the two find themselves to be polar opposites in high school, Connell, a popular jock, and Marianne a quiet outcast. However, they discover that their interests align perfectly, sparking a relationship.
The book does an effortless job at capturing raw human emotion and the nuances in communication as the characters mature. What makes it undeniably beautiful is the ability for the two characters to completely understand each other without even speaking. Rooney does an excellent job at capturing true frustration and real emotion as Connell and Marianne deal with their own challenges. Her ability to depict the depth of human relationships is done so simplistically through her writing leaving any reader pondering the complexities of humans.