Normal People by Irish author Sally Rooney is a study of adolescent relationships. Connell and Marianne are students in their final year of school in a small town in Ireland. Connell is one of the popular students at the school while Marianne is mainly ignored by her fellow classmates. Marianne comes from a well to do family that hires Connell's mother to clean their house twice a week. Her mother would never approve of Marianne having a friendship with the son of their cleaner. Despite this, Marianne and Connell do become friends but it must be kept a secret. Both Connell and Marianne do very well in their final exams and gain places to study at Trinity College in Dublin.
Normal People traces the on again / off again relationship between Marianne and Connell from January 2011 to February 2015. They both have encounters with other people but they continue to have a strong connection resulting in them reforming their partnership from time to time. Whatever happens there appears to be a bond between them that cannot be permanently broken. When problems arise they are quick to support each other though obstacles continue to occur to stop their relationship becoming a lasting one. At one stage Marianne observes to herself that it would be good to be normal people.
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