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Normal People: The Scripts
The complete screenplays of the acclaimed Emmy-nominated drama based on Sally Rooney's bestselling novel.
'You know, I did used to think that I could read your mind at times.'
'In bed you mean.'
'Yeah. And afterwards but I dunno maybe that's normal.'
'It's not.'
Connell and Marianne grow up in the same small town in the west of Ireland, but the similarities end there. In school, Connell is popular. Marianne is a loner. But when the two strike up a conversation, something life-changing begins.
With an introduction by director Lenny Abrahamson and featuring iconic images from the show, Normal People: The Scripts contains the complete screenplays of the acclaimed Emmy-nominated television drama based on Sally Rooney's bestselling novel.
OVER ONE MILLION COPIES SOLD!
WINNER OF THE COSTA NOVEL AWARD 2018
WINNER OF THE AN POST IRISH BOOK AWARDS NOVEL OF THE YEAR
WINNER OF NOVEL OF THE YEAR AND BOOK OF THE YEAR AT THE BRITISH BOOK AWARDS
WINNER OF THE SPECSAVERS NATIONAL BOOK AWARDS INTERNATIONAL AUTHOR OF THE YEAR
LONGLISTED FOR THE MAN BOOKER PRIZE 2018
LONGLISTED FOR THE WOMEN'S PRIZE FOR FICTION 2019
'You know, I did used to think that I could read your mind at times.'
'In bed you mean.'
'Yeah. And afterwards but I dunno maybe that's normal.'
'It's not.'
Connell and Marianne grow up in the same small town in the west of Ireland, but the similarities end there. In school, Connell is popular. Marianne is a loner. But when the two strike up a conversation, something life-changing begins.
With an introduction by director Lenny Abrahamson and featuring iconic images from the show, Normal People: The Scripts contains the complete screenplays of the acclaimed Emmy-nominated television drama based on Sally Rooney's bestselling novel.
OVER ONE MILLION COPIES SOLD!
WINNER OF THE COSTA NOVEL AWARD 2018
WINNER OF THE AN POST IRISH BOOK AWARDS NOVEL OF THE YEAR
WINNER OF NOVEL OF THE YEAR AND BOOK OF THE YEAR AT THE BRITISH BOOK AWARDS
WINNER OF THE SPECSAVERS NATIONAL BOOK AWARDS INTERNATIONAL AUTHOR OF THE YEAR
LONGLISTED FOR THE MAN BOOKER PRIZE 2018
LONGLISTED FOR THE WOMEN'S PRIZE FOR FICTION 2019
368 pages, Hardcover
Published November 12, 2020
208 people are currently reading
7947 people want to read
About the author
Sally Rooney
36 books68k followersSally Rooney was born in 1991 and lives in Dublin, where she graduated from Trinity College. Her work has appeared in Granta, The Dublin Review, The White Review, The Stinging Fly, and the Winter Pages anthology.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 356 reviews
May 2, 2022
i love depression i love mental illness i love codependency i love love
December 27, 2021
If you like the show Normal People, this is the perfect book for you.
If you love Sally Rooney so much that it's like a spell has been cast on you to read every single story, excerpt, postcard, or shopping list she has ever made publicly accessible, this is a book that will feel like obligatory reading to you.
I am part of the latter group.
I like Normal People, or more accurately I go back and forth on Normal People but usually lean toward liking it fine, but...
I do not like the show.
I find both of the actors to be well-cast and hot, and that's the nicest thing I have to say about it. Liberties the show takes from the book make the story feel totally different to me.
And that's a huge thumbs down!!!
I did like this slightly more than the show it's the script for, in that I was physically capable of finishing this, which I cannot say of the show.
And that, beyond objectifying the actors in it, is the only compliment I have in me.
Bottom line: I've been trying to only read books I actually think I might like this year. This is a loss on that front.
-----------------
pre-review
to read this is to decide to be sad on purpose.
review to come / 2.5 stars
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currently-reading updates
reading the script of a show i couldn't even make myself finish. my mind <3
clear ur shit prompt 11: last book you purchased
follow my progress here
-----------------
tbr review
that part in graceland too where phoebe bridgers sings "whatever she wants" except it's me singing "whatever she writes" and it's about sally rooney
If you love Sally Rooney so much that it's like a spell has been cast on you to read every single story, excerpt, postcard, or shopping list she has ever made publicly accessible, this is a book that will feel like obligatory reading to you.
I am part of the latter group.
I like Normal People, or more accurately I go back and forth on Normal People but usually lean toward liking it fine, but...
I do not like the show.
I find both of the actors to be well-cast and hot, and that's the nicest thing I have to say about it. Liberties the show takes from the book make the story feel totally different to me.
And that's a huge thumbs down!!!
I did like this slightly more than the show it's the script for, in that I was physically capable of finishing this, which I cannot say of the show.
And that, beyond objectifying the actors in it, is the only compliment I have in me.
Bottom line: I've been trying to only read books I actually think I might like this year. This is a loss on that front.
-----------------
pre-review
to read this is to decide to be sad on purpose.
review to come / 2.5 stars
-----------------
currently-reading updates
reading the script of a show i couldn't even make myself finish. my mind <3
clear ur shit prompt 11: last book you purchased
follow my progress here
-----------------
tbr review
that part in graceland too where phoebe bridgers sings "whatever she wants" except it's me singing "whatever she writes" and it's about sally rooney
Read
June 19, 2023i will defend this book/series for the rest of my life. marianne and connell forever <3
April 14, 2021
well i mean it was just bloody magnificent wasn't it
February 8, 2024
my roman empire.
"then we'd be in college together. i bet you'd pretend not to know me if we bumped into each other."
"i would never pretend to not know you, connell."
"then we'd be in college together. i bet you'd pretend not to know me if we bumped into each other."
"i would never pretend to not know you, connell."
January 29, 2022
“i am not a religious person but i do sometimes think god made you for me” god made this edition of normal people for me
September 12, 2022
Just letting Normal People destroy me in every possible format
May 2, 2022
okay i get it now
February 15, 2021
“I can’t imagine what my life would be like if I cared what people thought of me.”
Normal People is one of my favorite books. It was one that I knew that I was going to fall in love with even before I read it. Then I watched the show and now I’m completely obsessed with both.
This book contains the scripts to the show. These scripts give an intimate look at the inner workings of how a show is written. It makes you relive watching the show for the first time and it makes you love and break right along with Connell and Marianne.
Normal People: The Scripts is a fantastic edition with beautiful endpapers to snapshots of the show throughout. Be ready for this edition to steal your heart as it did with mine.
Normal People is one of my favorite books. It was one that I knew that I was going to fall in love with even before I read it. Then I watched the show and now I’m completely obsessed with both.
This book contains the scripts to the show. These scripts give an intimate look at the inner workings of how a show is written. It makes you relive watching the show for the first time and it makes you love and break right along with Connell and Marianne.
Normal People: The Scripts is a fantastic edition with beautiful endpapers to snapshots of the show throughout. Be ready for this edition to steal your heart as it did with mine.
March 19, 2022
i’m literally crying and shaking and foaming at the mouth right now. When I first read normal people i liked it but i certainly wasn’t obsessed but now i understand the craze. Being obsessed with connell and marianne is my main personality trait at the moment. I loved every second of these scripts even though it made me want to die all over again. 11/10. I’m a slut for anything related to sally rooney.
March 4, 2021
This truly is my everything. I love having something in my hand for a series and a book I have seen and read over and over plenty of times.
December 6, 2022
this book + this show altered my brain chemistry fr
February 10, 2022
because being emotionally destroyed by the book and the tv show just wasn't good enough for me apparently
October 16, 2021
I am probably forever going to be reading and re-reading Normal People. It's my happy place.
January 7, 2022
THIS IS MY JOKER!!!!!!
January 2, 2025
Commencer 2025 en beauté (et en larmes) parce que je mérite Normal People en fait.
January 26, 2021
When I read Normal People for the first time 2 years ago, something inside me shifted. Maybe it was my standards raising, or maybe it was just my heart tearing itself in two. Either way, this book made a lasting impression on me, and is one of my all time favourites.
•••
For me, it is the gold standard of reading. Marianne and Connell are fictional characters, they're words on a page, but they're tangible, vivid, and so painfully insecure that they feel like real, - wait for it - Normal People. The thing I adore about this book is that I love Marianne and Connell but God, do I want to grab them by the shoulders and say what the FUCK do you think you're doing??? Sometimes they frustrated me and upset me so much. Some people say that's what true love is, loving someone despite (and indeed because of) their flaws and insecurities, despite the fact that they drive you up the bend. So yes. Maybe I'm in love with Marianne and Connell. What of it.
•••
When the TV show came out I was elated, but I feared that it wouldn't adapt very well because so much of the book is spent in Marianne and Connell's heads. But it works. It's not the same, but it works. The scriptwriting wasn't particularly great (it was very bare bones, most of the flesh is in Sally Rooney's dialogue), and it wasn't as visceral as the prose but this still gets 5* because it's such a brilliant story. Honestly I am eternally indebted to Sally Rooney for my entire experience of NP
•••
For me, it is the gold standard of reading. Marianne and Connell are fictional characters, they're words on a page, but they're tangible, vivid, and so painfully insecure that they feel like real, - wait for it - Normal People. The thing I adore about this book is that I love Marianne and Connell but God, do I want to grab them by the shoulders and say what the FUCK do you think you're doing??? Sometimes they frustrated me and upset me so much. Some people say that's what true love is, loving someone despite (and indeed because of) their flaws and insecurities, despite the fact that they drive you up the bend. So yes. Maybe I'm in love with Marianne and Connell. What of it.
•••
When the TV show came out I was elated, but I feared that it wouldn't adapt very well because so much of the book is spent in Marianne and Connell's heads. But it works. It's not the same, but it works. The scriptwriting wasn't particularly great (it was very bare bones, most of the flesh is in Sally Rooney's dialogue), and it wasn't as visceral as the prose but this still gets 5* because it's such a brilliant story. Honestly I am eternally indebted to Sally Rooney for my entire experience of NP
Want to read
January 14, 2022I don't think I could read these scripts without sobbing my little heart out.
Me:*adds to cart*
what am I doing? this will destroy me...
Also me:*buys book*
Me:*adds to cart*
what am I doing? this will destroy me...
Also me:*buys book*
January 19, 2023
Crying shaking vomiting. I want to live every form of the normal people universe. If I don’t see Paul mescal in person in the near future I don’t know what to live for
December 28, 2023
Normal People is my roman empire. Reading the scripts was something I never knew I needed <3. The last page makes my chest HURT. Connell & Marianne are so Fine Line coded.
“It’s not like this with other people.” “I know, but I like you a lot more than other people.”
“How I act with her is my normal personality.”
“I wouldn’t be here if it wasn’t for you.”
“We have done so much good for one another.”
“You know I love you. And I'm never gonna feel the same way for anyone else.”
“It’s not like this with other people.” “I know, but I like you a lot more than other people.”
“How I act with her is my normal personality.”
“I wouldn’t be here if it wasn’t for you.”
“We have done so much good for one another.”
“You know I love you. And I'm never gonna feel the same way for anyone else.”
October 26, 2025
“I’ll go” “and I’ll stay, and we’ll be okay” pfffff dit boek doet het elke keer opnieuw wauw
June 4, 2022
Real book is obviously so much better, but this felt like watching the show but reading it instead. Also added in the Irish accents OBVIOUSLY!!! also cried but that’s a given
July 19, 2022
EXQUISITE🫧✨💌 I hate Sally Rooney for creating this story and making me so invested in the characters
October 25, 2022
I cried during this as much as I did watching the show. I loved how well the script flowed. It was really remarkable.
December 9, 2023
2.5 ⭐️ i read the actual book twice and loved it. so i thought it would be a good idea to read this screenplay while watching the show. and to be honest, my thoughts are very complicated.
this screenplay was ok & the show bored me. the book was very internal and subtle but you got to actually SEE marianne and connell’s thoughts throughout. they didn’t feel like black boxes. but the show made it very difficult to tell what was happening to them internally. if you haven’t read the book before watching the show, you’ll prob be bored or confused. and if you did read the book before, you’ll be overcome with emotion from the reading experience that it will bias you toward the show. i felt myself doing that until i pushed the book out of my mind and just pretended that i was watching the show for the first time ever without context. and i concluded that it was boring and confusing, so i stopped watching it on episode 7.
as far as the screenplay itself, it was ok, nothing special. compared to the book, it was underwhelming. it was lowkey kind of bland in terms of the writing style. everything that makes rooney special was missing in the screenplay. and this is coming from someone who wouldn’t even describe themselves as a rooney fan.
it gave bare bones 🤷🏾♀️ i didn’t gain anything by finishing this 😗
this just confirmed that the book is superior in every way. i said what i said.
this screenplay was ok & the show bored me. the book was very internal and subtle but you got to actually SEE marianne and connell’s thoughts throughout. they didn’t feel like black boxes. but the show made it very difficult to tell what was happening to them internally. if you haven’t read the book before watching the show, you’ll prob be bored or confused. and if you did read the book before, you’ll be overcome with emotion from the reading experience that it will bias you toward the show. i felt myself doing that until i pushed the book out of my mind and just pretended that i was watching the show for the first time ever without context. and i concluded that it was boring and confusing, so i stopped watching it on episode 7.
as far as the screenplay itself, it was ok, nothing special. compared to the book, it was underwhelming. it was lowkey kind of bland in terms of the writing style. everything that makes rooney special was missing in the screenplay. and this is coming from someone who wouldn’t even describe themselves as a rooney fan.
it gave bare bones 🤷🏾♀️ i didn’t gain anything by finishing this 😗
this just confirmed that the book is superior in every way. i said what i said.
December 16, 2024
Marianne and Connell are two of the most tortured souls on this planet, and the only person more tortured is me—for relentlessly consuming every piece of media about them, whether it’s the book, TV show, or script. If they ever turned it into a comic book, I’d probably read it, cry over it, and fall in love with it all over again.
March 11, 2021
“I dunno. I don’t feel anything. Then I…I find myself crying or, or having a panic attack, so presumably I do feel it. Just... It just doesn’t connect.”
I flew through this. I became infatuated with the TV show adaptation when it was broadcasted during the summer lockdown of last year, after I read the novel, and reading this just reminded me of how much I enjoyed binge-watching the series. I was just as addicted to reading the scripts as I was to reading the novel which I think is a partial testament to Rooney’s writing style but also her co-writers in regards to the screenplay. I recommend this to anyone that enjoyed the show and/or the book.
I flew through this. I became infatuated with the TV show adaptation when it was broadcasted during the summer lockdown of last year, after I read the novel, and reading this just reminded me of how much I enjoyed binge-watching the series. I was just as addicted to reading the scripts as I was to reading the novel which I think is a partial testament to Rooney’s writing style but also her co-writers in regards to the screenplay. I recommend this to anyone that enjoyed the show and/or the book.
January 31, 2022
I started with the series in December and I was obsessed. I decided to read the book then since I loved the series so much and really liked it.
When I discovered about the series edition I knew I needed the book and I asbolutely adored it!
I just love how simple Sally Rooney’s writing is. I love the relationship between Connell and Marianne.
I love how this story deals with heavy topics.
I love how this book became my new comfort book and one of my favorite books in the world.
When I discovered about the series edition I knew I needed the book and I asbolutely adored it!
I just love how simple Sally Rooney’s writing is. I love the relationship between Connell and Marianne.
I love how this story deals with heavy topics.
I love how this book became my new comfort book and one of my favorite books in the world.
April 27, 2021
duh :)
although i will say that this was weird to read at times and i sense that it was not actually the original screenplay, someone just transcribed the show.......but still obviously i loved it rip lol :)
although i will say that this was weird to read at times and i sense that it was not actually the original screenplay, someone just transcribed the show.......but still obviously i loved it rip lol :)
Displaying 1 - 30 of 356 reviews