Sally Rooney’s novel Normal People charts the relationship between Marianne Sheridan and Connell Waldron, two friends from the fictional town of Carricklea in Sligo, Ireland.

At the beginning of the novel, the friendship between Marianne and Connell begins to develop when Connell regularly picks up his mother, Lorraine, from her job working as a housekeeper for Marianne’s wealthy family. In their conversations, Connell and Marianne share a deep sense of privacy between them that eventually culminates in a kiss. Although he is attracted to Marianne, Connell, who is popular and athletic but plagued by insecurities, is worried about openly dating her, as she is the school outcast. He is painfully concerned about what his friends would say and what their relationship would do to his reputation, and when they begin sleeping together, he and Marianne decide to keep their sexual relationship a secret. Connell tells Marianne he loves her but, panicked about what he has done, asks another girl to go to the Debs (the school’s senior prom). Deeply hurt, Marianne ignores Connell’s texts and doesn’t return to school, instead spending the remainder of the year studying at home.

When school is finished and the summer is over, Marianne and Connell begin their first year at Trinity College, Dublin, where Marianne encouraged Connell to apply as an English major. While Marianne, a History and Politics student, is popular there, Connell feels isolated and struggles to make friends. After meeting each other again at a party, however, they reconnect and eventually resume their relationship. This time they do not keep it a secret. But when Connell loses his job and can’t afford rent for the summer, he puts off asking Marianne if he can stay with her. When he finally tells her about his situation, the two suffer a miscommunication and agree to see other people while Connell moves home to Carricklea.

When Marianne returns home for her father’s anniversary Mass, she runs into Connell, who volunteers to attend the Mass with her. Marianne has begun dating her friend Jamie, which Connell discovers when they return to Trinity. The relationship is an unhappy one; Jamie is privileged and arrogant, and he enjoys beating Marianne during sex. While it was Marianne who initially proposed that she act the part of a “submissive,” she does not enjoy Jamie’s sadism so much as believe she deserves it. Connell, meanwhile, has started dating a medical student named Helen, with whom he believes he is able to have a healthy, socially acceptable relationship for the first time. He and Marianne remain friends.

Marianne and Connell both receive prestigious scholarships at Trinity, which allows Connell a degree of financial freedom he has never known before. That summer he goes traveling in Europe with his friends Niall and Elaine, eventually arriving at Marianne’s family holiday home in Italy, where Marianne, Jamie, and their friend Peggy are staying. The first evening there, Connell witnesses a violent argument between Marianne and Jamie and is forced to intervene. Afterward, Marianne tells him the truth about the abuse she has endured from her family, including both her late father and her older brother, Alan. Marianne breaks up with Jamie when they return to Trinity, leading Jamie to spread rumors about Marianne’s sexual proclivities. Most of her social circle abandon her, with the exception of her friend Joanna.

The next year, Connell continues at Trinity, while Marianne studies abroad in Sweden. There she begins another sadomasochistic relationship, with a photographer called Lukas. Their relationship, particularly the verbal abuse Lukas subjects her to after sex, confirms Marianne’s feelings of worthlessness. Marianne ultimately ends the...