Rooney’s novels have the unusual power to do what realist fiction was designed to do: bring to light how our contemporaries think and act in private (which these days mostly means off the internet), and allow us to see ourselves reflected in their predicaments. Part of the excitement of reading Rooney is seeing this old-school sensibility applied to what feel like acutely modern problems. Her prose, much like Salinger’s - her predecessor in philosophical post-adolescent neurosis - is sharp, dialogue-heavy and unadorned, written to be absorbed into the bloodstream quickly.

The brave determination of Rooney's characters to reach out and try to catch each other with no guarantee of success - and to open themselves to 'moments of joy despite everything' - is ultimately hopeful. Although frequently heartbreaking, Normal People isn't bleak. They build power by a steady accretion of often simple declarative sentences that track minuscule shifts in feelings.

Yet while Rooney may write about apparent aimlessness and all the distractions of our age, her novels are laser-focused and word-perfect. She seems remarkably comfortable writing about sex - even uncomfortable sex - and she seamlessly integrates well-crafted texts, emails, and Facebook posts into her narratives like the digital native she is. Rooney's dialogue, like her descriptive prose, is slyly ironic, alternately evasive and direct, but always articulate. Although hailed as a voice of millennials, Rooney offers plenty to appeal to readers across genders and generations.

a compulsive, psychologically astute will-they-or-won't-they love story involving two of the most sympathetic people you're liable to meet between covers.

Normal people book cover