Normal People, Normal People and Maybe Gladiator II—

if you know, you know.

Hello from a snowy Canada! I’m writing this with freezing cold feet. Even the thickest socks can’t seem to warm them. You may have noticed, I’ve been away for a little while; I’ve been reading a lot and watching a lot of 🥁 Normal People, in both cases. Phew! I think I have a new favourite book. Well— second favourite— or maybe tied. It would take a lot to topple Jhumpa Lahiri. I’ve been in a sort of Normal People trance, which, if you are an actual normal person, might be hard to understand. You know, when you’re so into a book or a TV adaption that your real life starts to feel slightly surreal? No? Just me? There must be someone out there who goes through the same thing—

Please say hi so I know I’m not the only one. Which book/film did it for you?

What a book and what an adaption! I don’t know how I could have missed it until now. The book by Sally Rooney came out in 2018. The TV adaption with Daisy Edgar-Jones and Paul Mescal (I was looking for the right emoji, but there is none), in 2020. It’s now 2024. Oh, Ingrid, what Earth have you been living on? The only way I might explain it is: there’s this Buddhist saying— when you’re ready, the teacher will appear. I feel like that applies to me and Normal People. My time was now, and it just came to me, all in one go. Book, TV series.

For the few of you who might have no idea what I’m on about,

❆ Normal People is a book by the brilliant Sally Rooney,

which was long listed for the Man Booker Prize, among many other prizes, and winner of: the British Book Award, the Costa Book Award and the An Post Irish Novel of the Year.

It’s a love story of the on-again-off-again lovers, popular Connell and misfit Marianne, which starts in high school as a secret thing. Connell thinks it best they keep the relationship secret lest his standing with his friends suffer. She lives in a mansion that his mother cleans. As the novel progresses, we see them both go to Trinity College in Dublin where their social standing changes and the on-again-off-again relationship continues. Through it all, a close friendship remains. They are each other’s best friends. They both love each other, it’s palpable on every page. The writing is exquisite. It’s sparse and kind of reminds me of Jhumpa Lahiri’s, where it’s creatively restrained— not every feeling, emotion and thought is spelled out, yet you feel it deeply from what the characters say and do.

One of my favourite passages comes from the chapter where Connell visits Marianne in Trieste:

Marianne smiles and says ciao, as if she's making fun of herself, and she kisses Elaine's cheeks and then Niall's and asks about their journey and Connell stands there, overwhelmed by this feeling, which might only be total exhaustion, an exhaustion that has been accumulating for weeks. He can smell the scent of laundry. Up close he sees Marianne's arms are lightly freckled, her shoulders a bright rose color. Presently she turns to him and they exchange kisses on each cheek. Looking in his eyes she says: Well, hello. He senses a certain receptivity in her expression, like she's gathering information about his feelings, something they have learned to do to each other over a long time, like speaking a private language. He can feel his face get warm as she looks at him but he doesn't want to look away. He can gather information from her face too. He gathers that she has things she wants to tell him.

Hi, he says.

❆ The TV adaption, directed by Lenny Abrahamson and Hettie Macdonald, is just as breathtaking.

The chemistry between Daisy Egar-Jones and Paul Mescal is out of this world. Both their performances are deep. I can read the characters’ inner most feelings from a simple look passing between them. There are so many phenomenal moments. I mean, the Hide and Seek, Imogen Heap montage. I dare you not to watch that more than twice. It turned out extremely true to the book— no surprise there, Sally Rooney herself, along with Alice Birch, was involved in the adaption.

❆ Speaking of Paul Mescal, I watched Gladiator II and enjoyed it

and might go and watch it again. Who else has seen it and opinions please. It has been getting mixed reviews, the main peeves I’ve read are, that 1️⃣ it isn’t historically accurate and 2️⃣ the plot was pretty identical to the first. To the historically accuracy point, I’ll refer you to the director, Ridley Scott’s, own words on Napoleon, his 2023 film about Napoleon. When asked about historical accuracy, during an interview, he’s rumoured to have said “Get a life.” Sometimes a film doesn’t have to be 100% historically accurate to enjoy it. And to the ‘plot’ point, I’ll say that a long enough time had passed since the first Gladiator, for me to have handily forgotten its plot.

So yes, I enjoyed the experience of watching this epic in IMAX. And— the acting and cinematography was excellent.

In the world of books: apart from Normal People, I finished,

❆ The God of the Woods by Liz Moore

which is a literary mystery that takes place mainly in the 1970s in upstate New York on a campsite, and starts off when one of the camp counsellors discovers that a camper from her dorm is missing. All while there is a mass murder on the loose. The missing girl is the daughter of the owners of the campsite, the Van Laars, and also the sibling of another child who went missing 10 years prior.

I raced through the novel— it was that kind of a book— but felt slightly underwhelmed by how it ended. You might not be.

And for a much lighter read, I can recommend one I just finished,

❆ Guy’s Girl by Emma Noyes

which is a debut novel and a recovery and love story about what happens when Ginny, a guy’s girl, falls in love with one of her ‘guy friends’ who can’t commit. It’s beautifully written, and the author draws a lot from her personal experience with an eating disorder and anxiety.

Until next time (which hopefully won’t be too long from now),

XO Ingrid

---

PS. the NYT Cooking Cookie Week is this week for anyone who bakes holiday cookies. I wait all year for their cookie week selection to come out. Happy Baking if you bake!