This Twitter Thread will Convince you to Read Sally Rooney’s Normal People

Normal People! Sally Rooney’s second book is one that makes you fall in love with it. This post is not a review of the book. It is exactly what the titles says, a Twitter thread, which might be more powerful than writing a review about the book.

Those who follow me on Instagram and Twitter know that I just cannot stop talking about this glorious book. My online friends message that they ‘think of me’ when they see Normal People anywhere (Best compliment ever). Some lovely folks tag me in all Sally Rooney related pieces online because they think I’d love to read them (I do, thank you).

 

The thing is, I love reading and I read a lot. I gobble up books. I can read a book even if it doesn’t grip me strong enough because I love the act of reading. I am patient enough to let a new book unfold at its pace.

PS: That’s a generalisation; Normal People drew me in right away, I didn’t have to try at all. So it comes as no surprise that I adored Connell and Marianne’s story of ‘meet and drift’ told over a span of five years.

 

But my husband is not fond of reading. He occasionally indulges in graphic novels and probably the last book that made him ‘sit down’ and read is the Harry Potter series when he was younger. In his adult life, there was a Jeffery Archer pacer that he loved, a non fiction hardback that he enjoyed because it was about something he was passionate about, but you get the idea – There has to be something about a book that makes him bite.

It was a harmless ‘would you do this for me’ kind of thing last year when I asked him to read a few pages of my favourite book of 2018. To be honest, I did not expect him to finish even one chapter, just because he doesn’t like reading fiction, and definitely not literary fiction. Long story short, it was the first book that he read back to back in three years! Well, if a book has that kind of impact on someone unenthusiastic about reading, there must be a special bite to it, huh?

 

I was motivated to put together this post after I asked on Instagram and Twitter about the book recommendations from me that my readers loved and hated in 2018. I wasn’t surprised to see Normal People as one of the top picks. But I was genuinely surprised to see few messages that said they were convinced to read the book because of this thread.

So here you go. The original Twitter thread about what happened. After the reactions to this thread, I felt it deserved to be immortalised into a post.

There! The Twitter thread is at a momentary pause there.

 

If you are curious about my thoughts on the Sally Rooney stunner, I wrote on Frolic – Seven Reasons why Normal People is the best love story of 2018 . I will always be in awe of how Sally Rooney took ordinary situations and conversations and spun a story that is so real that it squeezes your heart until it aches. I am a hopeless fan. I’d love to re read it some day. The book has had a similar effect on many. It is almost like being part of a secret (not really) community of fans of the book. My friend, Sana Goyal, for example, keeps her copy on a never ending lending roll so that she wouldn’t be tempted to grab it from her shelves and re read. I have promised myself that I’d give it at least a year before I pick the novel again. Fellow readers say they had a sleepless night because they couldn’t stop reading the book. Or if you are a choosy reader, Normal People was long listed for Man Booker Prize, 2018, won the Costa Novel award, 2018, was named Waterstones book of the year and is a worthy contender in Women’s Prize for Fiction long list, 2019.

Winding up. Pick up the book already.

Rating : 5/5 (both of us give it a five star)

I think Normal People is one of the best books of our times. Here's a Twitter thread that will convince you to give it a try. No kidding, my husband dislikes reading and this is his first book in 3 years and we loved it! Click To Tweet

Disclaimer : Much thanks to Faber and Faber for sending me Normal People. All opinions are my own. a