--- description: Find out why Normal People is one of the best books of 2019. title: 'Normal People' Is One of the 100 Must-Read Books of 2019 image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt6250cd48b50f4b79/698a05ce4ee262c89331695e/normal-people-sally-rooney-100-books-2019.jpg?branch=production&width=3840&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 --- Nov 14, 2019 # _Normal People_ Sally Rooney by [TIME Staff](/author/time-staff/) ## TIME Staff Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close  Irish author [Sally Rooney](https://time.com/collection/time-100-next-2019/5718853/sally-rooney/ "undefined") already staked her claim as a leading millennial novelist with her incisive 2017 debut, _Conversations With Friends_. In her second book, a popular but poor high school boy falls into bed with a geeky but rich girl. Over the next several years, [Connell and Marianne](https://time.com/5567569/sally-rooney-normal-people-review/ "undefined") struggle to stay together as the control in the relationship shifts from one to the other. Rooney showcases a deep understanding of the power dynamics that shape modern romances, which are defined not only by sex, popularity and intelligence, but also by anxieties brought on by social media, class tensions and a public reckoning with domestic abuse. Rooney was once a champion debater, and the book comes alive when her two main characters, intellectual equals, spar with one another. Their mutual resentment bubbles beneath their banter, as does a desperation to be understood and loved. **Buy now:** [_Normal People_](https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/1984822179/ref=as%5Fli%5Fqf%5Fasin%5Fil%5Ftl?ie=UTF8&tag=time-books-20&creative=9325&linkCode=as2&creativeASIN=1984822179&linkId=e8c46effce51f71f0968ac2919247dec "undefined") ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"Article","@id":"https://time.com/collections/must-read-books-2019/5724530/normal-people/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/collections/must-read-books-2019/5724530/normal-people/"},"headline":"'Normal People' Is One of the 100 Must-Read Books of 2019","datePublished":"2019-11-14T14:02:17.000Z","dateModified":"2026-03-02T23:34:44.552Z","description":"Find out why Normal People is one of the best books of 2019.","url":"https://time.com/collections/must-read-books-2019/5724530/normal-people/","keywords":["Books","Must-Read Books of 2019"],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt6250cd48b50f4b79/698a05ce4ee262c89331695e/normal-people-sally-rooney-100-books-2019.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"TIME Staff","jobTitle":null,"url":"https://time.com/author/time-staff/"}],"creator":"TIME Staff","articleSection":"","image":[{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt6250cd48b50f4b79/698a05ce4ee262c89331695e/normal-people-sally-rooney-100-books-2019.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","width":1200,"height":675}],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/collections/must-read-books-2019/5724530/normal-people/","name":"'Normal People' Is One of the 100 Must-Read Books of 2019"}}]}] ```