Normal People

Synopsis: Normal People follows the complex friendship of two teenagers, Connell and Marianne. They attend the same high school in County Sligo, Ireland, and later, Trinity College Dublin. Connell is popular, handsome, a good athlete and highly intelligent. Marianne comes from a wealthy family, also highly intelligent, but also unpopular, an outcast, and a loner. It just so happens that Marianne’s family employs Connell’s mother Lorraine as a housekeeper, which forces their paths to cross frequently, and an illicit romance develops. Connell doesn’t want his cool kid friends to know he’s hanging out with uncool Marianne, so he keeps the relationship secret and due to her screwed up psyche, she goes along with the big secret. Fast forward to college, and now Marianne blossoms and becomes the popular one while Connell struggles to find his niche. The two weave in and out of each others lives over the next few years, forging an intense bond which sometimes holds them together and sometimes not.

Review: Sally Rooney has been a critic’s darling since the publication of her debut novel Conversations with Friends in 2017. Normal People was her second book, though my first Rooney experience. I can say that now I know what all the hype is about. The writing is straight forward, but she tackles some pretty weighty stuff here: mental health, class status, social constraints, and so on. Connell, while having an outwardly “perfect” kind of life in high school, struggles with anxiety, and his lack of finances is a major stress for him in college. Marianne has grown up thinking of herself as intrinsically unloveable, so looks for attention in troubling romances/friendships. Both Connell and Marianne are marred by flaws, they can be hypocritical, unlikeable or unable to express there feelings. But they are vividly real, and even the supporting cast felt like people I actually know. The relationship between these two is at times good, at times bad, and endlessly messy. I’ll consider it a win, since even though it was a difficult read at times, once I finished I immediately ordered Rooney’s other two books.

Rating: 4/5

Recipe: When in doubt, what would Ina do? I think her Irish soda bread is just what is needed here. Soda bread is a quick bread where baking soda is used as the leavening agent instead of yeast. This allows a busy home cook to eliminate the need for kneading, and streamlines the process of bread making.

4 cups all purpose flour

4 tablespoons sugar

1 teaspoon baking soda

1 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt

4 tablespoons cold unsalted butter cut into 1/2 inch dice

1 3/4 cups cold buttermilk, shaken

1 extra large egg, lightly beateen

1 teaspoon grated orange zest

1 cup dried currants.

1) Heat the oven to 375 degrees. Line a sheet pan with parchment paper

2) Combine flour, sugar, baking soda and salt in the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment. Add the butter and mix on low speed until the butter is mixed into the flour

3) With a fork, lightly beat the buttermilk, egg and orange zest together in a measuring cup. With the mixer on low speed, slowly add the buttermilk mixture to the flour mixture. Combine the currants with 1 tablespoon flour, and mix into the dough. It will be very wet.

4) Dump the dough onto a well floured board and knead it a few times into a round loaf. Place the loaf on the prepared sheet pan and lightly cut an X into the top of the bread with a serrated knife.

5) Bake for 45-55 minutes, or until a cake tester comes out clean.

6) Cool on a baking rack. Serve warm or at room temperature,.