A popular/unpopular opinion on Sally Rooney

I’m not sure if what I’m going to say here will fall under the popular or unpopular opinions on Sally Rooney. If you read the London Review of Books… review, it’s popular. If you look at all the #bookstagrammers praising her, it’s unpopular. I understand both of them. Please allow me to tell you about both Conversations with Friends (2017) and Normal People (2018), and then draw some conclusions at the end.

Conversations… was part of my dissertation reading list. Rooney was 26 when she published it, so I didn’t make it into a full chapter, but I used the book as an example of how proximity to the characters’ age allows authors to create more realistic stories (in contrast with Amber Medland’s Wild Pets, which was an amazing book but writing a 20-year-old at 30 has a different vibe). Anyway, when I finished reading it, I wanted to throw it against the wall, but in a good way. Frances - no spoilers, don’t worry - makes the worst, but most realistic decision. I was so invested in the story that I felt as if Frances just texted to tell me what happened. It was a bad decision, but the kind of decision that you just shrug at and think ‘well, que sera sera’, while still wanting to throw your phone away. I must admit that you do have to put morality on the shelf while reading Conversations… (something that I saw a #bookstrammer complain about), but when it comes to reading, I personally believe that quality > morality, and it’s not like the issues aren’t addressed in the book.

I heard or read somewhere that Rooney’s characters are insufferable - here is one example. I completely agree, BUT annoying characters can be really fun to read IF they’re written correctly. I might be a bit biased here because one of the protagonists in the novel I’m writing is annoying on purpose, but the feedback I got so far is that it doesn’t affect the quality of the story and that might be because

1. the story goes on and the reader gets important information from her, whether they like her or not

and

2. she’s relatable - I know for a fact that I was just as annoying at 16. This is what saves Frances as well. Readers can understand what’s going on with her, even if they can’t really relate (her situation is not really the most common). The first person narrative from Frances’s perspective helps a lot.

The same thing can’t be said about Normal People, Marianne and Connell. I felt nothing towards either of them. Instead, I felt a visceral awkwardness reading about them and their conversations. It wasn’t just discomfort - I usually like novels that make me feel uncomfortable like Rebbecca Ray’s A Certain Age - I felt like I wanted to run away and never hear about the characters again. And if that’s what Rooney was going for, then I gotta say CONGRATULATIONS! I would give this book 5 stars out of 5 if that was the goal because I love books that go against the reader’s expectations.

However, I have no idea if that was the goal or not and people on #bookstagram find it incredibly good. I can understand why. Normal People is a lot more accessible than Conversations…. There are fewer debates, the characters are put in pretty casual situations such as uni parties, and generally, I find that #bookstagram loves on-and-off couples and inter-class romance. Here’s a great example of a book that appeals to a large audience, but isn’t too much of a hit with the ‘literary establishment’. It was only longlisted for both the Booker Prize and Women's Prize for Fiction (two of the most prestigious literary prizes) but in 2020

Figures provided by Nielsen Bookscan show that Rooney’s two novels have enjoyed sales generating £6.18m (€6.97m) in the UK and €1.4m [in Ireland]. The figures show that Rooney’s Normal People alone has generated sales revenues of £4.38m (€4.92m) in the UK and €1m here in Ireland. (Source: here)

Which one is the bestseller? Normal People. Which one was described as ‘a mere success’ by LRB? Also Normal People.

Now, I understand that Conversations… wasn’t even longlisted for any prizes, while Normal People actually won the Costa Book Awards for Best Novel [insert a little value judgement here], but Normal People wouldn’t have existed without Conversations…. Often, a debut will have been written in a few years, then carefully edited before getting published, while a second book (as contracted by the publisher) will be written in a few months and rushed to print. Unfortunately, this seems to be the case here. I would need a full 3000-word essay to go into the details of this so please, just believe me. As LRB concludes:

Nowadays it’s relatively easy to get a first novel published, hard to take the next step with any confidence. Sally Rooney is well on her way, propelled by unusual quantities of acclaim and assurance. And yet, Normal People seems a less mature project than Conversations with Friends, even if it isn’t a resurrected earlier project. Its slightly awkward time scheme, with artificial forward jumps perhaps transforming a more linear narrative, looks like a classic example of that common phenomenon, the rewrite that spawns a few new problems of its own. Either way, it’s an eccentric decision to follow up a triumph with a mere success.

At this point, I want to point out that I like Rooney’s style - straight to the point, this is what’s happening, take it or leave it - but I don’t like Normal People. I really wanted to read it because of the hype and how much I enjoyed Conversations…. Then, a friend told me it was really bad and gave me her copy because she wanted to get rid of it. As I said, I understand both sides - it’s an emotional read and if you’re looking for a fictional world in which to experience some spicy drama (as #bookstagram does), this is your book. It could be worse. It could be a lot worse. Let’s not get into that.

Now, after reading two books that are so completely different, I’m more than curious to read Beautiful World, Where Are You. I like the idea of writing mundane stories with a twist and putting seemingly normal people (pun intended) in extraordinary circumstances. It reminds me of Zadie Smith’s hysterical realism. But really, who goes out for coffee with their ex-situationship and casually drops into conversation ‘Well, he likes to beat me up’ (he = new boyfriend)?

P.S. I promise I usually talk good things about books and authors, but I also like to be honest so there’s that. I need to start writing regular reviews and full articles here, so hopefully, you’ll stick around to enjoy more positive stories too.