Rooney’s second novel Normal People followed a year later in 2018, and once again received praise from both critics and readers. The narrative revolves around a connection between two people; it explores love and youth without becoming a romance. The story follows Marianne, a self-contained misfit from a wealthy family, and Connell, the effortlessly popular son of said family’s cleaning lady. Despite wildly different social lives, the two teenagers are drawn together.
Switching between each of their perspectives, Rooney writes with evocative intricacy about the exhilaration and awkwardness of first relationships and the shifting sense of self that comes with leaving home. Just as Marianne and Connell find it impossible to leave one another alone, we, the readers, become fully absorbed in their lives. So much so, that the ambiguous ending of Normal People has left many hoping for a sequel.
Rooney is in conversation with Kishani Widyaratna at St George’s Church, in a talk hosted by the London Review Bookshop. This is a chance to hear the author talk about Normal People, and perhaps even ask any burning questions you have about the novel and its engrossing protagonists.
What | London Review Bookshop talk: Sally Rooney, St George’s Church |
Where | St. George's Church, Bloomsbury, Bloomsbury Way, London, WC1A 2SA | MAP |
Nearest tube | Holborn (underground) |
When |
On 02 May 19, 7:00 PM – 8:00 PM |
Price | £12 |
Website | Click here to book |