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Normal People Don't Live Like This
“Wonderful! Leah and Helen are authentic, vulnerable characters, whose intimate truths are exposed at perfect, unexpected moments.”―Elizabeth Strout At the center of this startling fiction debut is Leah Levinson, a teen at sea in the anonymous ordeals of a middle-class upbringing on the Upper West Side in the 1970s. In ten installments, written from varying perspectives, we witness her uneasy relationships with faster, looser peers―girls she is drawn to but also alienated by.
No one, though, alienates Leah more than her mother, Helen. Estranged yet intertwined, they struggle within the confines of their personalities, unaware of how similar their paths are. Just when they seem at a lonely impasse, each makes an impulsive change―Leah taking a risky trip abroad, Helen renting a secret room in a welfare hotel. Jolted from their old patterns, the two of them independently glimpse the possibility of a more hopeful life.
Dylan Landis is a gifted portraitist of unforgettable female characters. Normal People Don’t Live Like This is a striking debut.
No one, though, alienates Leah more than her mother, Helen. Estranged yet intertwined, they struggle within the confines of their personalities, unaware of how similar their paths are. Just when they seem at a lonely impasse, each makes an impulsive change―Leah taking a risky trip abroad, Helen renting a secret room in a welfare hotel. Jolted from their old patterns, the two of them independently glimpse the possibility of a more hopeful life.
Dylan Landis is a gifted portraitist of unforgettable female characters. Normal People Don’t Live Like This is a striking debut.
181 pages, Hardcover
First published January 1, 2009
17 people are currently reading
961 people want to read
About the author
Dylan Landis
13 books63 followersDylan Landis is the author of the novel Rainey Royal, a New York Times Editors' Choice, and the linked story collection Normal People Don't Live Like This. She has won an O. Henry Award and published fiction in Bomb, Tin House and Best American Nonrequired Reading. She lives in New York City.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 92 reviews
August 25, 2010
This book is beautiful and agonizing. Dylan Landis writes from the poetic heart of female adolescence, and it matters not a whit that no teenager (that I can imagine) would have the technical virtuosity to articulate the fear, the longing, the anxious insecurities, the love, and the loathing that her protagonist Leah Levinson does in such breathtaking prose. For me, this book is about emotional truth.
Leah has friends. One of them is Angeline. This is what Landis writes:
Angeline Yost keeps a switchblade in her sock.
Angeline Yost has B.O.
Angeline Yost did it in her parents' bed and a week later they had crabs so bad they were in their armpits.
The Gospel of Angeline Yost is graven into desks with housekeys and the blood of Bics; it is written in the glances of girls--low arcs of knowing that span the hallways and ping off the metal lockers.
Angeline Yost walks with her books soldered to her chest.
I have no doubt that some young people enjoy high school. But this book is not about those happy teenagers. Reading this book is like looking into one of those elf-made palantir stones, you can see the twisted, painful, lovely soul of a sensitive girl, still green to the fact that normal people do indeed live like this.
Leah has friends. One of them is Angeline. This is what Landis writes:
Angeline Yost keeps a switchblade in her sock.
Angeline Yost has B.O.
Angeline Yost did it in her parents' bed and a week later they had crabs so bad they were in their armpits.
The Gospel of Angeline Yost is graven into desks with housekeys and the blood of Bics; it is written in the glances of girls--low arcs of knowing that span the hallways and ping off the metal lockers.
Angeline Yost walks with her books soldered to her chest.
I have no doubt that some young people enjoy high school. But this book is not about those happy teenagers. Reading this book is like looking into one of those elf-made palantir stones, you can see the twisted, painful, lovely soul of a sensitive girl, still green to the fact that normal people do indeed live like this.
November 2, 2009
The perfect backdrop for slitting your wrists especially if you're reading it while listening to Joni Mitchell's "Blue" album. Warning: hide all knives and scissors before settling in with this book.
Gave it 3 stars because while the writing was a 5, my enjoyment of the book was a 2; I realize technically that comes out to a 3.5, however half stars are not yet an option on goodreads. Did I mention that this book is unrelentingly depressing? When I read the first page I was anticipating an experience akin to Miranda July's "No One Belongs Here More Than You" - dark but with slashes of quirky humor - nope!
A series of short stories pulled together loosely as a novel though the first story, which in my opinion is the best, doesn't seem connected to the rest. If you're short on time, I recommend reading "Olive Kitteridge" by Elizabeth Strout, which is told in the same format. The difference is that there are moments of grace in "Olive Kitteridge" something totally lacking in this book.
Gave it 3 stars because while the writing was a 5, my enjoyment of the book was a 2; I realize technically that comes out to a 3.5, however half stars are not yet an option on goodreads. Did I mention that this book is unrelentingly depressing? When I read the first page I was anticipating an experience akin to Miranda July's "No One Belongs Here More Than You" - dark but with slashes of quirky humor - nope!
A series of short stories pulled together loosely as a novel though the first story, which in my opinion is the best, doesn't seem connected to the rest. If you're short on time, I recommend reading "Olive Kitteridge" by Elizabeth Strout, which is told in the same format. The difference is that there are moments of grace in "Olive Kitteridge" something totally lacking in this book.
April 6, 2010
I enjoyed this book; once I got started, I devoured it in a few days. It was a bit of an uncomfortable read, though: I liked and identified with Leah, the main character, but in addition to the awkwardness that I had at 13, she also has some OCD. Plus some more regular awkwardness. It was the kind of story that leaves me feeling embarrassed as if I was the one who did all these awkward things myself--not a comfortable feeling, but a sign of good writing.
One thing I found strange, though: the book spends a good bit of time with Leah at 13, then jumps to a time when she's in college. Unfortunately, she doesn't seem to grow out of a single bit of her awkwardness! What seemed natural if pitiable at 13 seems utterly charmless at 20ish. Also, the vast majority of the story is told from Leah's point of view, but the first chapter and two others after the time jump are told from others' perspectives. Why? These parts seem out of place and are never quite integrated into the rest of the story.
Although overall I enjoyed reading the book, I found the ending abrupt and unsatisfying. I liked each part of the book, but they didn't add up to a cohesive whole.
Edit: having read some other reviews, I realize this book is meant to be a collection of related short stories more than a novel, although some of the propaganda about it calls it a "novel in stories." Well, if it's meant to be just a collection of short stories, that explains the lack of cohesion or overall plot structure... but it still feels to me like two chunks of a novel with three extra sketches thrown in. If it's meant to be read as stories, the cover should make that a lot more obvious. Instead, I'm still left with the feeling that this could have been a really good novel if the author had written the part in the middle and finished weaving it together.
One thing I found strange, though: the book spends a good bit of time with Leah at 13, then jumps to a time when she's in college. Unfortunately, she doesn't seem to grow out of a single bit of her awkwardness! What seemed natural if pitiable at 13 seems utterly charmless at 20ish. Also, the vast majority of the story is told from Leah's point of view, but the first chapter and two others after the time jump are told from others' perspectives. Why? These parts seem out of place and are never quite integrated into the rest of the story.
Although overall I enjoyed reading the book, I found the ending abrupt and unsatisfying. I liked each part of the book, but they didn't add up to a cohesive whole.
Edit: having read some other reviews, I realize this book is meant to be a collection of related short stories more than a novel, although some of the propaganda about it calls it a "novel in stories." Well, if it's meant to be just a collection of short stories, that explains the lack of cohesion or overall plot structure... but it still feels to me like two chunks of a novel with three extra sketches thrown in. If it's meant to be read as stories, the cover should make that a lot more obvious. Instead, I'm still left with the feeling that this could have been a really good novel if the author had written the part in the middle and finished weaving it together.
February 1, 2015
I was surprised when I started reading this, Landis' debut novel, that the main character from her latest book, Rainey Royal, featured so heavily at the start of this one, until I realised that both books act as companion pieces, this one concentrating more on Leah Levinson, who we also read about in the latter work, albeit in a more 'bit part' way.
Landis certainly doesn't pull any punches, and there are many shocking moments in this book, which is really a selection of short stories about the characters loosely forming a narrative. Many 'issues' are tackled in its pages, the differing social attitudes of the 1970s colouring outcomes, all to the backdrop of the NYC so famous at the time for being 'broken'.
Don't be reading this book if you're looking for a light hearted, happy experience, but it's definitely one that I'd recommend to anyone who appreciates a gritty read.
Landis certainly doesn't pull any punches, and there are many shocking moments in this book, which is really a selection of short stories about the characters loosely forming a narrative. Many 'issues' are tackled in its pages, the differing social attitudes of the 1970s colouring outcomes, all to the backdrop of the NYC so famous at the time for being 'broken'.
Don't be reading this book if you're looking for a light hearted, happy experience, but it's definitely one that I'd recommend to anyone who appreciates a gritty read.
January 13, 2010
Meh, I suppose it's sort of arty but it skips around & I don't get it. Why doesn't the mom eat? What happened to the dad? How did the mom end up in a boarding house? How did the girl end up in California? It was all so random & I didn't like any of the characters.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
October 12, 2009
Holy friggin' crap. I knew this book was going to be good after I heard Landis read an excerpt in NYC. Happily, she delivers. And delivers. And delivers.
A novel in stories, Normal People Don't Live Like This is painfully arresting, filled with characters who practically hum with heartache and longing, and are driven to various acts of rebellion and rage that make you wince and wonder, what next? Landis has perfected the art of the opening, with beginnings like this from "Jazz":
"It is not true that if a girl squeezes her legs together she cannot be raped.
Not that Rainey is being raped. She doubts it, though she is not sure. Either way, it is true that the thirty-nine-year-old male knee, blind and hardheaded, has it all over the thirteen-year-old female thigh, however toned that thigh by God and dodgeball."
Normal People Don't Live Like This is an amazing piece of work that reverberates in your head, making you wish you wrote sentences this good. Get your hands on it. You will thank me.
A novel in stories, Normal People Don't Live Like This is painfully arresting, filled with characters who practically hum with heartache and longing, and are driven to various acts of rebellion and rage that make you wince and wonder, what next? Landis has perfected the art of the opening, with beginnings like this from "Jazz":
"It is not true that if a girl squeezes her legs together she cannot be raped.
Not that Rainey is being raped. She doubts it, though she is not sure. Either way, it is true that the thirty-nine-year-old male knee, blind and hardheaded, has it all over the thirteen-year-old female thigh, however toned that thigh by God and dodgeball."
Normal People Don't Live Like This is an amazing piece of work that reverberates in your head, making you wish you wrote sentences this good. Get your hands on it. You will thank me.
July 12, 2010
I'm depressed, this book is depressing. Whether those two things are interacting is questionable, but it makes the state interaction work quite well. It also perhaps makes me more susceptible to empathy for the character and association. sliding from normal people don't live like this to normal people don't feel like this to I'm not normal to suddenly no one is normal. I make no promises that the book will slide that way for everyone. In fact for all my friends out there who tell me how they hate books where horrible things happen you won't like this book, you will shut it out. Horrible things happen real things happen. I feel like i would ruin the book to tell any of the things. But at least for me this book is about what it really is to be normal, and what it really is to be alive, and well it isn't a pretty sight.
June 14, 2020
This is a sneaky little book.
I loved the first chapter and enjoyed the rest enough. But by the end of it (and the last chapter-of-sorts is a masterpiece, by the way) I was fully convinced of Leah Levinson's corporeality. I fully expect to bump into her on the streets, someday, when we're able to walk around on the streets again.
One of those books I didn't fully realize I was enjoying until it was over. Which I guess is a testament to its absorptive capabilities?
I loved the first chapter and enjoyed the rest enough. But by the end of it (and the last chapter-of-sorts is a masterpiece, by the way) I was fully convinced of Leah Levinson's corporeality. I fully expect to bump into her on the streets, someday, when we're able to walk around on the streets again.
One of those books I didn't fully realize I was enjoying until it was over. Which I guess is a testament to its absorptive capabilities?
January 13, 2025
This book was exactly what I needed. It is so beautifully written and has that special charm that truly feels like an escape from this world. I love how the characters and stories are so malleable — this could have been set in any decade and it would have fit. I love timeless reads!
March 22, 2012
So what DO normal people live like? Dylan Landis captures one such person - Leah Levinson, a spirited and obsessive teenager growing up in 1970s New York City - in full detail, at pivotal points in her evolution from insecure teen to an increasingly adventurous but still risk-adverse college-age student.
In ten beautifully-written portraits - which, like Elizabeth Strout's Olive Kitteridge, can each be read as a standalone story or chronological snapshots - Ms. Landis reveals truths about Leah, her widowed and anorexic mother Helen, and the way they navigate their lives. The observations are so finely-honed and compassionately-rendered that these characters could easily walk off the pages.
We meet Leah as a young teen, engaging in uneasy relationships with tormenting girls who are far more savvy and popular. The next time we catch up with her, she has stood up to those girls and has survived trials in life - the death of her father and her mother's food disorders. When her science partner says, "What's weird about frogs is they only recognize food when it moves. You set a dead fly in front of a frog, he'll starve", she responds, "My mother's like that. She only recognizes food when it has no calories."
Leah is shown in contrast to the many girls in her life, including Angeline Yost, the strong, unhappy girl with a silvery voice who is labeled the school slut. Ms. Landis writes,"The Gospel of Angeline is graven into desks with housekeys and the blood of Bics; it is written in the glances of girls -- low arcs of knowing that span the hallways and ping off the metal lockers."
Her next friendship is with two defiant sisters who live with their careless mother and who spur her on to shoplifting. As her decorator mother tries to restore order, she speaks to THEIR mother In luminous prose, trying to convince her of the beauty of a well-decorated home. "What do you hate? Helen asks. In this scene, the schism between them is revealed: "Hate is so much more interesting than love, isn't it? I hate a room without books. I hate a desk without papers. I hate not having a cat, but I'm allergic. I hate the way laundry piles up around here. We all share clothes so nobody feels that the laundry is exactly theirs, do you know?"
The obsessive daughter of an obsessive compulsive mother, Leah will need to break free from her boundaries of "how normal people live" and take emotional risks. And, in their own way, both Leah and Helen do. When Leah's would-be boyfriend says to her, "You've been pretending, too. About a lot of stuff, if you ask me", we agree - and at the same time, know in our hearts that Leah is going to turn out alright.
In ten beautifully-written portraits - which, like Elizabeth Strout's Olive Kitteridge, can each be read as a standalone story or chronological snapshots - Ms. Landis reveals truths about Leah, her widowed and anorexic mother Helen, and the way they navigate their lives. The observations are so finely-honed and compassionately-rendered that these characters could easily walk off the pages.
We meet Leah as a young teen, engaging in uneasy relationships with tormenting girls who are far more savvy and popular. The next time we catch up with her, she has stood up to those girls and has survived trials in life - the death of her father and her mother's food disorders. When her science partner says, "What's weird about frogs is they only recognize food when it moves. You set a dead fly in front of a frog, he'll starve", she responds, "My mother's like that. She only recognizes food when it has no calories."
Leah is shown in contrast to the many girls in her life, including Angeline Yost, the strong, unhappy girl with a silvery voice who is labeled the school slut. Ms. Landis writes,"The Gospel of Angeline is graven into desks with housekeys and the blood of Bics; it is written in the glances of girls -- low arcs of knowing that span the hallways and ping off the metal lockers."
Her next friendship is with two defiant sisters who live with their careless mother and who spur her on to shoplifting. As her decorator mother tries to restore order, she speaks to THEIR mother In luminous prose, trying to convince her of the beauty of a well-decorated home. "What do you hate? Helen asks. In this scene, the schism between them is revealed: "Hate is so much more interesting than love, isn't it? I hate a room without books. I hate a desk without papers. I hate not having a cat, but I'm allergic. I hate the way laundry piles up around here. We all share clothes so nobody feels that the laundry is exactly theirs, do you know?"
The obsessive daughter of an obsessive compulsive mother, Leah will need to break free from her boundaries of "how normal people live" and take emotional risks. And, in their own way, both Leah and Helen do. When Leah's would-be boyfriend says to her, "You've been pretending, too. About a lot of stuff, if you ask me", we agree - and at the same time, know in our hearts that Leah is going to turn out alright.
November 2, 2009
I tore through this book in the same manner I devoured Prep--something about my apparent hunger to see an angsty female adolescence given literary weight. Landis shines her considerable literary light on moments and images: for example, the care her bisexual protagonist devotes to touching a pregnant friend's wrist rather than her stomach. It's a book of rooms (the mother character is a designer, so this is both literal and figurative); there's sturdy architecture here, but it's often masked by a beautiful set of curtains. Very occasionally I wanted some of those offstage plot points to get bigger play (what? Leah's dad died? when did that happen?), but mostly I was happy to revel in the details.
January 25, 2016
Unless she gets hit on the head and loses every ounce of writing ability, the next book will be five stars for sure. So fucking talented, this woman. Listen to this:
She loves jazz flute, the way it rises hotly through the leaves of trees, then curls and rubs along the roots. Jazz flute lives about two stories off the ground. It is a reedy ache in a place she cannot name.
Jazz is just about the only genre of music I don't like, but I may or may not have spent the rest of the evening listening to jazz flute on Youtube.
She loves jazz flute, the way it rises hotly through the leaves of trees, then curls and rubs along the roots. Jazz flute lives about two stories off the ground. It is a reedy ache in a place she cannot name.
Jazz is just about the only genre of music I don't like, but I may or may not have spent the rest of the evening listening to jazz flute on Youtube.
January 19, 2015
Landis has constructed an overall good book. I was excited to read a "coming-of-age" story with this specific setting, and I was intrigued by how much I related to Leah. Her uncertainty, family dynamics, and personality were well-crafted.
However, like some other reviewers, I found that this story jumped around a little to much for my tastes. There are glaring gaps in timeline, and the character development was left to the imagination.
I'm glad I read this novel, but it's not one to which I will return.
However, like some other reviewers, I found that this story jumped around a little to much for my tastes. There are glaring gaps in timeline, and the character development was left to the imagination.
I'm glad I read this novel, but it's not one to which I will return.
September 14, 2009
Stayed up late reading this superb collection of linked short stories. The characters are intense and immediate, refusing judgement or easy answers as we follow them through stories as complex and difficult and true as the girls themselves. The language, precise and poetic, laced with a sly and intelligent humor, creates a stunning platform for the keen insights and moving narrative of the lives of these girls, their secrets, their darkness, and their light.
September 30, 2009
This book is gorgeously written and contains little gems of insight or description on every page. This book is marketed as a novel in stories, and the characters in the different parts overlap. It is a testament to the strength of this book that it left me wanting to know more about all these characters.
Highly recommended.
Highly recommended.
November 22, 2009
Collection of inter-linked short stories. Good short fiction writers always amaze me with the depths they are able to go in a condensed number of pages and this was no exception. Beautifully written and some really interesting and complex parts. Some chapters were sort of gnarly, though, so not for the weak of heart. Overall I really enjoyed this.
March 31, 2010
Stunning, difficult and worth reading:
Style is definitely unique. Dylan read clearly and with perfect dramatic emphasis at the Virginia Book Festival. Story line is thin, but it fits the voice. Teenagers and family dysfunction in a refreshingly honest--no blunt--take. I'd read her next book, hope it's soon.
Style is definitely unique. Dylan read clearly and with perfect dramatic emphasis at the Virginia Book Festival. Story line is thin, but it fits the voice. Teenagers and family dysfunction in a refreshingly honest--no blunt--take. I'd read her next book, hope it's soon.
May 11, 2011
Dylan Landis is talented, smart, and savvy. Her writing is brilliant. Readers have to keep up because she expects you to in this story of Leah Levinson. This book will challenge you to hang on to the "ride" for dear life and keep up with what is going on in the story. Wonderfully written! It is one of my new top favorites of all time.
April 9, 2011
I seriously loved this book. The characters are wonderful, real, alive, and freaky and the language is gorgeous, inventive and smart. Such a wonderful read. I highly recommend it, especially to those who love short stories and beautiful, captivating prose.
February 24, 2010
I loved this painful true book.
October 4, 2009
A series of interlocked stories of amazing vibrancy. Landis's writing manages to be both lyrical and incisive, passionate and not without humor. A complicated, serious achievement.
November 24, 2009
Sharp and well-seen stories with a lot of heart.
January 5, 2010
Every word in this novel carries a punch. The wit is superb, not a second wasted. And oh, the ache of adolescence captured here! Brilliant writing.
March 2, 2010
This is one of the best short story collections I've ever read! Dylan writes honest, unflinching fiction with beautiful language and a keen eye for description.
August 17, 2010
Had to stop reading after each story so that I could catch my breath and reorganize my brain cells from these mind-blowingly, gorgeously, heartbreaking stories.
January 11, 2010
The first story of this collection is breathtaking. Can't wait to read the rest.
October 16, 2009
interesting exploration from both the mothers and the daughters point of view
June 26, 2017
Not bad for a book I selected only by virtue of the title. There are beautiful bits of prose --
"...undetectable by any instrument save her own fear." “Leah’s heart sprouted like a seed. It took such thin nourishment, like the lima beans she grew between wet paper towels for science.” "She thought about these things, and in thinking them she ran a tender finger along the edge of her fear.”
"...undetectable by any instrument save her own fear." “Leah’s heart sprouted like a seed. It took such thin nourishment, like the lima beans she grew between wet paper towels for science.” "She thought about these things, and in thinking them she ran a tender finger along the edge of her fear.”
October 5, 2023
Grim stuff but Landis certainly isn't sugarcoating adolescence for females in the 70s. I found it unremittingly depressing and could only read it in short bits, but it is well-written. Essentially about the trauma so many women go through and process on their own. This makes me want to reach out to the nearest teenager willing to talk about life to a librarian and find out things are better. Please.
March 20, 2020
This was a re-read for me. A series of tightly connected short stories that follow a girl through 1970s New York City from maybe freshman year of high school through her first year of college. It's fine writing, but I didn't love it - the characters all feel a little off to me, none of them strike me as completely real.
Displaying 1 - 30 of 92 reviews