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Normal People- Sally Rooney
Synopsis: The novel begins with two Irish teenagers, Connell and Marianne, who fall into a deeply complex relationship, concealed from the outside world through lies and secrecy. Throughout the course of their lives, despite the passing of time, their bond remains unbreakable- though not without its complications. As they move from high-school, to university, and into adulthood, Connell and Marianne drift apart and come back together repeatedly, each time changed in small, significant ways. Their relationship is marked by miscommunication, vulnerability, and deep emotional intimacy, capturing the subtle turbulence of love, identity, and growing up. Normal people is not a story driven by plot twists, but by the emotional evolution…
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1984- George Orwell
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The Goldfinch- Donna Tartt
Synopsis: The dynamic of the book begins as a simple and relatable tale of a turbulent family living in the depths of New York, until the life of young Theodore Decker is utterly stripped of its foundations. Suffering with the loss of his mother, Theo is subsequently taken in by a wealthy family yet is haunted by isolation and a yearning for familiarity- leaving him grasping on to the one reminder of her- a goldfinch painting, which ultimately draws him into the criminal underworld. Characters: Firstly, I want to express my admiration for the enchanting depiction of Tartt’s characters. Its very rare that one reads a book and is left…
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A Handmaids Tale- Margret Atwood
Synopsis: Set in a post modern, dystopian society, Margret Atwood’s ‘The Handmaid’s Tale’ follows the life of the protagonist June- better known in the republic of Gilead as ‘Offred’. In the wake of environmental catastrophe and a resulting fertility crisis, a totalitarian regime seizes control of what once was the United States. This regime, known as the Republic of Gilead, enforces brutal theocracy under the guise of Christian morality. Fertile women are forcibly conscripted into servitude as ‘handmaids’, assigned to elite households where they are legally bound to bear children for powerful men and their wives. June, one such handmaid, becomes the property of a man referred to only as…
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A Little Life – Hanya Yanagihara
Synopsis: This carefully crafted novel published in 2015 by Hanya Yanagihara follows the story of four close knit friends weaving their way through life in the heart of New York. The narrative is focused mainly on the protagonist, Jude St Francis, who suffers with chronic pain in his legs, leaving him often forced to resort to the use of a cane- which only arises questions within his companions, none of whom are willing to ask. Yanagihara solely prioritises the familiarisation with the characters during the first 200 pages, creating an unbreakable bond between a reader and the narrative. As the story develops, we are slowly given more insight into the…
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