I found Normal People by Sally Rooney to be a fairly mediocre read, landing somewhere around 2 or 2.5 stars out of 5 for me. 

The writing style, particularly the lack of quotation marks and punctuation, was a significant barrier to my enjoyment. It often felt unnecessarily pretentious and made the prose feel less accessible. That said, my experience improved somewhat when I switched to the audiobook format, which made the narrative flow a bit more naturally.

Marianne and Connell, while central to the story, struck me as rather bland characters. They lacked the depth and spark I typically look for in protagonists, making it hard to fully invest in their journey. However, I will say I was pleased with how their story wrapped up. While I’m not usually a fan of ambiguous or unsatisfactory endings, I thought the conclusion suited the tone of the book and offered a quiet sense of resolution.

One element I did enjoy was the setting. As a student at Trinity College myself, I appreciated the familiar backdrop of campus life and the surrounding areas in Dublin. It added a personal connection to the story that kept me engaged, even when other aspects fell short.

However, I found the portrayal of class dynamics a bit off. The way they were explored felt more in line with the experiences of England or the UK rather than Ireland, which I found somewhat jarring. Perhaps this is just my perspective, but it pulled me out of the narrative at times.

Overall, Normal People was a fine read—far from the groundbreaking literary masterpiece it’s often hailed as, but not entirely unenjoyable either. It had its moments, but it didn’t quite live up to the hype for me.