Normal People

The novel is about the complex friendship and relationship between two teenagers, Connell and Marianne, who both attend the same secondary school in County Sligo and, later, Trinity College Dublin (TCD). It is set during the post-2008 Irish economic downturn. Connell is a popular, handsome and highly intelligent secondary school student who begins a relationship with unpopular, intimidating yet equally intelligent Marianne, whose mother employs his mother as a cleaner. Connell keeps the affair a secret from school friends out of shame but ends up attending Trinity with her after the summer and reconciling. Well-off Marianne blossoms at university, becoming pretty and popular, while Connell struggles for the first time in his life to fit in properly. The pair weave in and out of each other's lives across their university years, developing an intense bond that brings to light the traumas and insecurities that make them both who they are.

The novel was longlisted for the 2018 Man Booker Prize.[4] It was voted as the 2018 Waterstones' Book of the Year[5] and won "Best Novel" at the 2018 Costa Book Awards.[6] In 2019, it was longlisted for the Women's Prize for Fiction.[7] In the same year, the novel was ranked 25th on The Guardian's list of the 100 best books of the 21st century.[8] Media in Ireland described the book as a polemic, noting that Rooney has described herself as a Marxist and that the book features discussions about The Communist Manifesto document and Doris Lessing's feminist novel The Golden Notebook.[9]

In May 2019, BBC Three and Hulu announced that a TV series based on the novel, starring Daisy Edgar-Jones and Paul Mescal as Marianne and Connell respectively, was to be produced.[10] It premiered on 26 April 2020 on BBC Three and 27 April 2020 on Australian streaming service Stan.[11] In Ireland, the series began airing on RTÉ One on 28 April.

• Faber & Faber – Sally Rooney's profile