Normal People by Sally Rooney is the book that everyone’s talking about. It was named Waterstone’s Book of the Year 2018, Costa’s Novel of the Year 2018 and, then Book of the Year 2019 at the British Book Awards. It was one of my very favourite reads of 2018 and I cannot recommend it enough.
Also, it was picked up by the BBC and released on iplayer on April 26, 2020. If that’s what brought you to this post, these are the perfect recommendations for what to read after normal people!
You are reading: Books like normal people
(And if you haven’t seen it yet, I highly recommend setting aside some time to binge-watch it ASAP, as it’s one of the best TV series and adaptations I’ve seen in a while.)
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Rooney’s second novel tells the story of Connell and Marianne. They meet at high school where Connell is popular but Marianne is considered a social outcast. they strike up a secret relationship, opening up to each other in ways neither of them have before.
Fast forward a few years and they are both students at Dublin’s Trinity College. The tide has turned Connell finds it hard to fit in, but Marianne finds that she is surrounded by (sort of) friends.
It’s a simple story; in fact, not much happens in terms of plot. however, there is something about it that gripped me from start to finish. doing something so normal, so moving is quite a feat and sally rooney is an author to be reckoned with.
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This novel is loved by some, hated by others. I’m very much in the former category and I’m assuming if you’re reading this post then you are too. I believe that each reader’s response to this novel will largely be based on their own life experiences and how much they can relate to the inner turmoil experienced by the protagonists.
Rooney has a way of putting into words exactly how I feel about love, relationships, friendships and more. I felt like she could see into my soul and I had that wonderful feeling when you realize someone has articulated your own thoughts and you feel a little less alone.
keep looking for books like normal people by sally rooney.
Haven’t you read normal people yet?
what are you waiting for?!
you can get a copy here: amazon | book deposit | cesspools
If you loved Sally Rooney’s Normal People, here are some books similar to Normal People that you might enjoy. This list is made up of authors whose books offer such profound insights into human nature that you can’t help but nod vigorously in understanding and acknowledgment.
enjoy!
books like normal people by sally rooney
conversations with friends by sally rooney
if you liked normal people and it was your first time reading sally rooney, then the first thing you should do is, of course, choose her other works. Conversations with Friends is Rooney’s first novel and deals with similar themes of love and vulnerability.
It is written from the perspective of Frances, 20, and we focus entirely on her, as opposed to the alternate perspectives we find in normal people.
I didn’t like any of the characters in this novel, but I don’t think we should. Frances desperately wants to be intellectual, Bobby is obsessed with himself, Melissa is idolized, and Nick is just a boring actor.
The relationships between the four are strangely intimate, and Rooney uses them as the basis for his observations on human psychology. I didn’t enjoy conversations with friends as much as normal people, but if you’re a new fan of rooney’s work, then this is a must read.
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one day by david nicholls
one day by david nicholls is kind of a “grown up” version of normal people. was the first book that came to mind when I thought of books as normal people.
While Rooney’s novel begins in high school, One Day begins on the eve of the main characters’ graduation. We revisit these characters, Dexter and Emma, on July 15 every day for 15 years.
Nothing terribly exciting happens, but you find yourself engrossed in the all-too-common story of emma and dex. Nicholls captures a feeling that many twenty-somethings will have experienced: the desire to find their place and do something with their lives.
Emma wants to be a writer but spends much of her time working in a Mexican restaurant. dex wants to be somebody so she falls into being a tv personality.
Both characters take drastically different paths, but something brings them back together. their personalities couldn’t be more different, which is why they work so well together.
each gives the other the push they need to get on the right path when life is stagnant and you see them struggle and grow. it’s a helpful reminder to any 20-year-old that you don’t need to have it all figured out and you don’t need to know where life takes you.
one day does not shrink from the negative aspects: grief, stagnant relationships, professional failures and more. there will be many ups and downs and sometimes life will not be so exciting, but little by little you will find your place.
buy a day from david nicholls: amazon | book deposit | water stones | cesspools
the course of love by alain de botton
The course of love is not your typical romantic novel. while most depict the sweet beginnings of a relationship, ending when the characters get their happy ending, that point is where the course of love begins.
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Alain de Botton, author and philosopher, explores what happens after we’ve supposedly achieved our happily ever after, and shows that this is just the beginning of the long and complicated relationship we call love.
shows us that life is not like the movies and that labor relations are not established overnight. they are arduous, require a lot of hard work and cooperation from both parties.
If you want a novel that represents the true nature of love and romance, without the vapid ideals often perpetuated in literature, this is the book for you. this is one of my favorite reads and i know i will read it again and again throughout my life.
buy the course of love: amazon | book deposit | water stones | cesspools
call me by your andre aciman name
Call Me By Your Name was one of the most talked about movies of 2018 and andré aciman’s original story has become very popular ever since. The book is set in Italy in the 1980s, and we follow the 17-year-old protagonist, Elio, as he discovers first love and explores desire.
Related: 15 Best Self-Discovery Books To Read
is a coming-of-age story that demonstrates how a single relationship can mark you for life. It is a beautifully written book that speaks of passion and feeling in a frank and unsentimental way that is reminiscent of Rooney.
Like many titles on this list, this is another book in which there is decidedly little “action”, with the author focusing on the internal struggles of his characters. it’s an incredibly raw narrative that doesn’t hold back in its depictions of longing and fantasy.
The prose is beautiful, though it may seem pretentious to some, and the story will leave you with a bittersweet taste in your mouth. and it’s not because of the peach. If you have seen or read this, you will know what I mean 🙈
buy call me by your name: amazon | book deposit | water stones | cesspools
cute by belinda mckeon
cute by belinda mckeon is another story set in dublin and written by an irish author similar to sally rooney. We go back in time to the late 1990s and meet Catherine and James, a Trinity College student and artist.
Catherine is enjoying a stereotypical college freshman existence complete with parties, societies, cheap booze, essay writing and a flat share. however, what she underlies is still a girl who is deeply insecure about herself, her desires and how to behave with others.
james lives bravely and opens catherine’s eyes to another way of living her life. they become the best of friends and each grows immensely as a result of their friendship with the other.
However, as often happens, life separates the couple and takes them both in a direction that is difficult for the other to follow. Like Rooney, McKeon’s novel explores human relationships and their lasting impression on us through a story of first love and stolen innocence.
However, in cute, things take a dark turn and, without revealing too much, the obsession becomes a main theme. perhaps we can describe this as a cross between normal people and you by caroline kepnes.
shop tender by belinda mckeon: amazon | book deposit | water stones | cesspools
the last letter from your lover by jojo moyes
the last letter from your lover is from one of my all-time favorite romance authors, jojo moyes. this novel is told in two parts, the first in the 1960s, the second in the present day.
In the 1960s, Jennifer Stirling is married to a rich man, living in a charming house, and going to parties with her other rich friends. she has the “perfect” life.
But then she gets involved in a car accident and loses her memory of the past few years. when she wakes up, she doesn’t recognize her husband and she has no desire to let him into her life. something is not right.
uncovers letters between her and a mysterious man “b”. he is asking her to leave her husband. she struggles to fit back into the old life that her friends and family tell her she is so lucky to have. who is b
the last letter from your lover the story of two people who continue to miss each other because everyday life and social norms get in the way. the novel revolves around a central question: do you do what your heart desires or follow the unspoken rules of 1960s society?
Divorce was still a taboo in those days and certainly not something a good lady like Jennifer Stirling should consider. the novel explores many of the same themes as normal people, such as complicated relationships, women’s place in society, conformity to social norms.
The emphasis is more on romance here, but the themes explored in relation to 1960s society and modern society demonstrate the universality of these themes that are just as important today as they were 50 years ago.
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chimimanda ngozi adichie americanh
Chimimanda’s
americanah has become a modern classic and explores the lives of two Nigerians heading west. ifemelu heads to the united states where she finds academic success and obinze heads to the united kingdom to lead a life as an undocumented immigrant.
It’s kind of a coming-of-age story mixed with a (rather unromantic) love story, and we’re given glimpses into the lives of these two characters, both together and apart.
The dominant themes of americanah are identity and race. ifemelu has lived in the usa. uu. for over a decade, but her experiences led her to start a popular blog where she documents her experience of being African in America.
Related: 33 Best Modern Books of All Time
Like Rooney, Chimimanda’s astute observations about people and social norms are spot on, especially in these blog posts.
both ifemelu and obinze look at the west with foreign eyes and their narratives make you think twice about social norms you may never have questioned whether you grew up in the united states or the united kingdom.
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If you’ve ever been made to feel “other,” then you’ll find americanah to be very relatable and deeply revealing about the society in which we live.
buy americanah: amazon | book deposit | water stones | cesspools
everything i know about love
I feel that everything I know about love is a book that the marianne of normal people needs to read. It’s written by former Sunday Times dating columnist Dolly Alderton and is packed with personal dating disasters, recipes, observations on life and love, and more. Alderton clearly had a privileged upbringing and I think Marianne could relate to some of Alderton’s experiences.
This is Alderton’s memoir thus far, detailing the struggles of early adulthood. this includes the many, many dates she has been on, the difficult search for a job, finding a sense of self worth and more. is both funny and heartbreaking with the overarching message that you are enough.
Overall, this book is much more optimistic than normal people, as it offers its readers hope that everything will work out. Rooney delivered a bittersweet ending for his readers, but Alderton’s book will leave you shaking your head fondly at Alderton’s ridiculous antics.
shopping everything i know about love: amazon | book deposit | water stones | cesspools
elif batuman’s idiot
Elif Batuman’s Idiot is a coming-of-age story centered on Selin, a Turkish-American girl in her first year at Harvard. she befriends svetlana, her serbian classmate, and strikes up an email relationship with ivan, an older hungarian student.
at the end of his first year of university, he heads to the hungarian countryside to teach english (couldn’t have anything to do with ivan, could he?) and spends the summer in europe.
This novel delves into the feelings of first love, the freshest life, the search for meaning and the feeling of identity. Just like normal people, a lot of people complain about the lack of action in this book. batuman takes us through the ins and outs of selin’s freshman year of college, including both the exciting and the banal.
He has no idea what he’s doing and often wonders how others seem to have it all figured out. This is a sentiment familiar to those of us in our twenties, and Batuman articulates it perfectly, and often with a great deal of humor as well.
buy the idiot: amazon | book deposit | water stones | cesspools
give them a good time by nicole flattery
nicole flattery is another rising voice in irish literature and comparisons to sally rooney have already been made. If you’re looking for authors like Sally Rooney, Nicole Flattery is a good place to start.
Show Them A Good Time is the first collection of short stories of flattery that explores what it is to be a man and a woman in today’s society.
The narrator is a young, broke Irish woman, and Flattery uses the story of life and relationships to distinguish the roles in which both genders have been typecast.
Show them a good time lacks some of the more joyful and moving moments that normal people have, which makes this collection more difficult to access. there is no doubt about it, these stories are strange.
A lot of people won’t “get” them, but for those who value black humor and social criticism, you can’t miss it.
The protagonist’s fervent refusal to conform to the norms of modern society and her frank assessment of the events around her also reminded me of the voice of eleanor oliphant.
shop show them a good time: amazon | book deposit | water stones | cesspools
me and you on vacation by emily henry
you and me on vacation (people we meet on vacation in the united states) is a story of friends to lovers that will touch your heart.
poppy and alex have little in common. when they first meet in college, they actively dislike each other.
She’s a travel addict, always looking for remote places, he’s the type who wants to settle down in the suburbs.
A year later, they are forced to carpool back to their hometown together and somehow become the best of friends.
This story differs from Marianne and Connell’s in that it’s not an on-and-off romance, but one where life and circumstance get in the way of their feelings for each other.
Both characters have emotional issues they are dealing with that prevent them from revealing their true feelings and it is painful to see a pair who are clearly meant to be together separated by closed mouths and repressed feelings.
despite these underlying themes, it’s a funny, romantic and moving book. It may be less in depth than some of the other titles on this list, but this book is perfect for those who are romantics at heart and love the romantic aspects of normal people.
buy you and me on vacation: amazon | book deposit | water stones | cesspools
voilà, there you have 11 books to read if you liked normal people by sally rooney! all of these books are similar to normal people in one way or another, some are more uplifting and some are even more profound.
And if you’ve gotten this far down the page but haven’t read normal people yet, you’d better open it now before it fits the screen!
Don’t forget to watch the TV adaptation now available on BBC iPlayer!
buy normal people from sally rooneyamazon | book deposit | cesspools
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pin now, come back to read later!
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