How apt, to have polished off Sally Rooney\u2019s \u2018Normal People\u2019\nin a day of self-isolation. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
How, indeed, do \u2018normal people\u2019 function in times like\nthese? Do they shut off, in blissful ignorance of what\u2019s going on around them,\nor do they sit at home in a sense of panic, washing their hands until they\nbleed? <\/p>\n\n\n\n
I\u2019m painfully aware that behind millions of doors, there are\npeople alone and terrified. Whether they have cause to be, or not. There are\nmillions more putting on a brave face, because they have no choice but to \u2018get\non with it\u2019 – their \u2018it\u2019 being emptying hospital bins, delivering vital supplies\nor at the coalface of the checkout in Tesco.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Sally Rooney\u2019s two protagonists are damaged, lonely and putting on a front in their own distinct ways. Their recognition of each other and of what it\u2019s like to live in a state of permanent isolation, is what unites them and repeatedly tears them apart. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Central characters, Marianne and Connell, are both ashamed of their strange behaviours, their warped thoughts. Marianne, at one point ponders whether she has gone to far, is too obscene for anyone to love. The novel deals with what it is to spend your life worrying about what others think, to the detriment of your own happiness and of being yourself \u2013 truly, openly and honestly. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
I think most of us can identify with the sentiments echoed there.\nWhich is maybe why Rooney\u2019s book has been so well received. And in the face of\nscary, strange times, where human behaviour and circumstance doesn\u2019t resemble\nanything like normal life, it\u2019s important to realise that whatever fears and\nworries you\u2019re dealing with \u2013 be it a haunted past, an anxious future or\nworries for the here and now, you aren\u2019t alone. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
If there\u2019s comfort to be had, it\u2019s that there are no such\nthing as \u2018normal people\u2019. As a society we should stop punishing ourselves for\nconsistently failing to live up to something that doesn\u2019t exist and realise\nthat, in more ways than one, we really are all in this together. <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
How apt, to have polished off Sally Rooney\u2019s \u2018Normal People\u2019 in a day of self-isolation. How, indeed, do \u2018normal people\u2019 function in times like these? Do they shut off, in blissful ignorance of what\u2019s going on around them, or do they sit at home in a sense of panic, washing their hands until they bleed? I\u2019m painfully aware that behind millions of doors, there are people alone and terrified. Whether they have cause to be, or not. There are millions more putting on a brave face, because they have no choice but to \u2018get on with it\u2019 – their \u2018it\u2019 being emptying hospital bins, delivering vital supplies or at the coalface of the checkout in Tesco. Sally Rooney\u2019s two protagonists are damaged, lonely and putting on a front in their own distinct ways. Their recognition of each other and of what it\u2019s like to live in a state of permanent isolation, is what unites them and repeatedly tears them apart. Central characters, Marianne and Connell, are both ashamed of their strange behaviours, their warped thoughts. Marianne, at one point ponders whether she has gone to far, is too obscene for anyone to love. The novel deals with what it is […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":231,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[8],"tags":[16,17],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/vicpickup.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/05\/Normal-People.jpg?fit=678%2C1024&ssl=1","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/vicpickup.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/230"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/vicpickup.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/vicpickup.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/vicpickup.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/vicpickup.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=230"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/vicpickup.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/230\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":232,"href":"https:\/\/vicpickup.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/230\/revisions\/232"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/vicpickup.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/231"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/vicpickup.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=230"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/vicpickup.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=230"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/vicpickup.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=230"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}