Lost Souls Meet Under a Full Moon, Mizuki Tsujimura

 Book Title: Lost Souls Meet Under a Full Moon

 Author: Mizuki Tsujimura

Series: Lost Soul #1

Date Started: January 28th  2026

Date Completed: February 8th 2026

Genres: Magical Realism, Contemporary

Quality Rating: Four Stars

Enjoyment Rating: Four Star

Final Rating: Four Stars

Review:

◆ Thank you NetGalley for this eBook copy for review ◆

What a unique idea for magical realism; an elusive contact who, if you manage to track them down or happen to be passed their details by a family member, can give you one night under a full moon to meet someone dead. You don't have to know them, you don't have to pay anything, but you and they only get one chance to see it through. My favourite part is that it was brought to life in such a believable way, with no greater purpose, no magic system supporting it. It doesn't try to be epic or universal, but just something a handful of people try to do for others.

I was really hoping this novel would move from each short story into an exploration of the common element: the teenage go-between who fulfils the living's request. And I'm so happy it did. I do wish it had framed both the start as well as the end to make the final revelation land a bit more. If I'd been thinking about it throughout the book, it would've been such a pay-off at the end.

I'm often not a fan of the episodic nature of these types of novels, but each character's story was special and different enough to avoid feeling repetitive or disjointed, and ultimately everything came together at the end to create a satisfying completion to a central character's arc. It's hard to distinguish a lot of these books that fall in the thoughtful magical realism category, but Mizuki Tsujimura has impressed twice for me so far.

Tomorrow and Tomorrow and Tomorrow, Gabrielle Zevin

Book Title: Tomorrow and Tomorrow and Tomorrow

Author: Gabrielle Zevin

Date Started: April 5th  2025

Date Completed: April 18th 2025

Genres: Contemporary, Adventure

Quality Rating: Five Stars

Enjoyment Rating: Five Star

Final Rating: Five Stars

Review:

Sometimes when you finish a book you feel like there's this space in your heart that suddenly so full, and desperate for the pages to keep being there to turn. Tomorrow and Tomorrow and Tomorrow was like that for me. It filled up something within me. Some call it pretentious, and honestly I understand that - but it was more nuanced for me. Arrogance with soul and vulnerability is just being a human in a room you're scared of sometimes. I just fell for this book, entirely.

I have never ever read a representation of a creative partnership like this; the good, the bad and the very ugly. It was so resonant for me, and it made me realise that I often forget that most people will never experience it. I adored that all the characters were genuinely impeded in their lives by their flaws - and by the end, they're not solved. They've just learned to live with them and that in itself was really their growth.

Zevin clearly loves video games truly, and I loved that their inclusion in the book wasn't inaccessible and full of self-gratuitous references, but rather explorative of that medium of storytelling. I knew some of the titles, didn't recognise others, and had played only a few of them - but the story was so celebratory of the craft in general the experience was enriched just from learning about them within the context of the characters' own ambitions on the field. I spent most of this book feeling like I was reading my own life - despite the many strong differences to my own experiences. But that's escapism at its most magical and transformative - just like a video game is.

Marigold Mind Laundry, Jungeun Yun

Book Title: Marigold Mind Laundry

Author: Jungeun Yun

Date Started: November 19th 2024

Date Completed: November 23rd 2024

Genres: Contemporary, Magicial Realism

Quality Rating: Three Stars

Enjoyment Rating: Two Star

Final Rating: Two Stars

Review:

◆ Thank you to NetGalley for this ebook for review ◆

I honestly found the Marigold Mind Laungry a bit disappointing. I made it 53% of the way through before deciding it just wasn't for me. The sprinklings of magical realism could've elevated the story beyond its domestic setting, and the cast of characters could have been structured to build towards a resolution for the burnout everyone was feeling, but it decided to keep its cards pretty isolated for each person.

It feels quite reminiscent of the sub-genre I've seen a lot in Japanese literature where bookstores/libraries solve everyone's Capitalist twenty-first-century fatigue with life, right down the cyclical short-story structure. These sorts of stories always feel repetitive to me, and vary a lot in how emotionally intertwined the cast of characters are. Such nuance is needed for these books to pay off for me, and it just didn't quite catch it anywhere.

The translation does feel quite awkward, so might be the source of the challenge. I speak some Korean and can tell this is a very faithful translation, but creative license is so important to transpose stories into another language, literally and in spirit.

Everything You Need is in the Library, Michiko Aoyama

Book Title: Everything You Need is in the Library

Author: Michiko Aoyama

Date Started: November 14th 2024

Date Completed: November 16th 2024

Genres: Contemporary

Quality Rating: Three Stars

Enjoyment Rating: Three Star

Final Rating: Three Stars

Review:

◆ Thank you to NetGalley for this ebook for review ◆

I realise it's sort of unfair how closely this novel feels to The Cat Who Saved Book, but I also can't see much beyond it. These little chapter stories about how books can mend the fissures between us, nurse our discontent with the modern world, and ease the lost parts of ourselves trying to be happy are always sweet, but not always distinctive.

These sorts of Japanese books read like short story anthologies - which aren't my favourite, but I do like the way they link seemingly separate stories with a common connection that makes us appreciative of the way all our lives intersect with one another. The Japanese temperament to find relief from mindless business and stress is enviably beautiful; one single, simple thing turns the modern world on its head and anchors us in what really matters.

The quiet slowness of this type of story - the soulful devotion to books and the effort of those who care for the roofs over their heads - is always special. They always seems to say, 'it's going to be okay. Keep trying, someone is listening and rooting for you.' Even if it's not the most original one out there, it's still a comfort to read.

The Cat Who Saved Books, Sōsuke Natsukawa

Book Title: The Cat Who Saved Books

Author: Sōsuke Natsukawa, Louise Heal Kawai (translator)

Date Started: February 26th  2024

Date Completed: March 1st 2024

Genres: Fantasy, Adventure, Contemporary

Quality Rating: Four Stars

Enjoyment Rating: Four Star

Final Rating: Four Stars

Review:

Sarcastic cats leading humans on adventures, magical bookshops and morally challenged individuals remembering what lies beneath their misguided efforts? Someone please put this book in front of Miyazaki, it's a Ghibli adaptation waiting to happen.

Sometimes The Cat Who Saved Books is a bit on the nose with the story it's trying to tell - why books are precious despite the way some may use them for money, power or status in the modern world - but it's incredibly heartfelt. It feels like it could only be told this way against the landscape of Japan and its people's temperament, with their unique grasp of crippling modernity and intrinsic tradition.

While this story is absolutely universal, it feels quintessentially Japanese in its simplicity, adoration of feline souls and thoughtful philosophy that in itself says stop overthinking so much and recognise where you are right now. Where it critiques, it also says look beneath the surface; everyone's trying their best but some just need to be reminded to correct their course.

I also really enjoyed the translator's note from Louise Heal Kawai both in her recognition of the terms that remained in Japanese and the journey of translation itself. The love for books is palpable in both her and Natsukawa's writing, and Kawai highlights a fitting inspiration as the labyrinths Theseus travelled through to find the Minotaur in Greek mythology. Despite my background in mythology, I hadn't even spotted it while reading and that in itself is a testament to how this novel tells its own transformative tale that appreciates the history of storytelling, but proves that there is still endless magic they offer the modern world.

Yellowface

Book Title: Yellowface

Author: R.F. Kuang

Date Started: February 11th 2023

Date Completed: March 11th 2023

Genres: Contemporary, Literary

Quality Rating: Four Stars

Enjoyment Rating: Three Star

Final Rating: Four Stars

Review:

◆ Thank you to NetGalley for this ebook for review ◆

Yellowface is one of those books that I find it hard to write a review for (the irony is not lost on me). In both academic and emotional terms it struck a chord with me to the point I was swearing out loud. Still, at the same time, I often found it unpleasant to read (again, I appreciate why) and towards the end, things dipped into melodrama for the sake of a wrapped-up plot.

Regardless, I kept picking it up. I wanted to know where it went, who would connect the dots, and how the wrong-doers would get their comeuppance - which in itself is a sad reflection of the human impulse Kuang often looks at in the story. The ending (once past the climax that felt sort of forced) was no surprise, and there's no denying that it was a joy to read Kuang embody yet another genre, time and cohort of characters.

Yellowface is a book with a lot of courage to point and prod at everything wrong with the publishing industry, an industry that like several profiting off the creative arts pigeonholes, rigs, discriminated, tokenises, torments, strings along and creates a respectable about the identity of its storytellers. Poignantly aware of the wider social, economic and political frameworks established to keep everything circulating back to the same status quo, Kuang brings the narrative back down to the responsibility, and humanity, of the individual, whether it be writer, reader, reviewer, publisher or witness.

The Vegetarian

 Book Title: The Vegetarian

Author: Han Kang

Translator: Deborah Smith

Date Started: December 17th 2021

Date Completed: December 28th 2021

Genres: Contemporary, Magical Realism

Quality Rating: Four Stars

Enjoyment Rating: Four Star

Final Rating: Four Stars

Review:

The Vegetarian is perhaps the most well-known novel to come out of South Korea in recent years, at the top of many reading lists and recommended relentlessly - as it should be. But, oof, it's a heavy one.

I'd read a short story by Han Kang before, and while I remember enjoying it I couldn't say I could recall it very well. What I do remember was her writing style (translated by Deborah Smith), and the imagery of this novel brought it back to me as being both beautiful and shocking.

I thought that the parts of the book were perhaps separate stories for a bit due to the lack of names until I realised they're of course the same family unit. This is in some way deliberate though; even those connected have absolutely unique experiences and perspectives. The difference in gendered experiences is obviously the biggest gap here.

I actually find this book hard to talk about because it hit me on a very personal level, and yet some parts of it remain frustratingly elusive. It is one of those books that throws you into a void for a little bit after finishing, and perhaps that's a good thing.

A Beautifully Foolish Endeavor

Book Title: A Beautifully Foolish Endeavor

Author: Hank Green

Series: The Carls #2

Date Started: May 31st 2021

Date Completed: June 14th 2021

Genres: Sci-Fi, Contemporary, Mystery, Thriller, Adventure

Quality Rating: Three Stars

Enjoyment Rating: Four Star

Final Rating: Three Stars

Review:

I really respect Hank Green and his endeavours, his interests, and the way he tells the world about them. A Beautifully Foolish Endeavor is another example of that; it's good fun, just as thoughtful as the first one, though perhaps erring a little more on the side of sci-fi adventure than sci-fi mystery. Green has such interesting ideas, meticulously researched and planned and conceived. It is, for the most part, utterly convincing and thoughtful.

A big chunk at the start of the book establishes how things have changed since the end of An Absolutely Remarkable Thing, and we also get an introduction to the various different perspectives in the book (was that a thing in the first book? I honestly can't remember). It isn't until around a third of the way through that we start to dig into the meat of this particular story - and then I started to get excited.

The end of the book became slightly out of control, and had it lost its credibility a little for me. There's generally a really good balance between science fiction and 'real life' cause and effect/commentary (I mean, I happily went along with a talking monkey that was once an AI sculpture without question), but the finale felt like it became too 'epic' for its own rules. It was so cool for the different narrative strands to collide, but it lent too much on omnipotent AIs, Sword Art Online-style VR obsession, and an internet personality being able to raise hundreds of billions of pounds in three hours.

A Beautifully Foolish Endeavor was a really good sequel; it mixed it up story- and theme-wise but kept the characters and core beliefs in line with what we loved in the first book. Half the enjoyment came from seeing these characters grow and develop in their own right, which I suppose is kind of a moral of the book.

Lonely Castle in the Mirror

Book Title: Lonely Castle in the Mirror

Author: Mizuki Tsujimura

Date Started: December 5th 2020

Date Completed: December 23rd 2020

Genres: Magical Realism, Contemporary

Quality Rating: Four Stars

Enjoyment Rating: Four Star

Final Rating: Four Stars

Review:

◆ Thanks to NetGalley for this eBook copy for review ◆

I was pleasantly surprised at how much I enjoyed Lonely Castle in the Mirror since it started off feeling very predictable. Its story is not a new concept, but the way in which it was told was. While a little slow and contrite at times, the moments when it reaches out or reveals itself are genius enough for it not to matter.

Tsujimura is clearly a lover and student of fairytales, and I felt so akin to the way in which she used that to anchor the story. While most of the stories are Western, there's a real reclaiming of them in the Japanese culture we get to see which I really liked. The puzzle-solving element for the reader, rather familiar from classical fairytales, to work out just what is happening in this mysterious castle in the mirror was especially enjoyable - and while I worked out the first twist before the end, its very last one was still a surprise.

I also want to give praise to the translator (who I'm having real trouble finding the name of, which is actually quite upsetting) because they've done a fantastic job. Part of what reached me with this book was its honesty and clarity in the experiences of its young characters, something that felt so real and eerily familiar that it moved me to tears. To write that kind of authenticity is an achievement on its own, to communicate it across to another language is yet another.

I will say that the majority of this book is very talky. It feels like literary fiction a lot of the time, with a dash of magical realism for good measure. While I'm not particularly well educated in what's happening in contemporary Japan, the short afterword does do a lot to explain why this book is so important; Japan is ranked second from the bottom for the rates of young people's mental health. While I don't think context is vital to appreciate a story on its own, Tsujimura's already colourful exploration of young people and coming of age felt all the more vivid after realising that.

The magical realism may frustrate some people, but I feel like it's possibly a good introduction to Japanese fantasy for Western readers, as well as also just being a comforting and enjoyable read in its own right.

Turtles All the Way Down

Book Title: Turtles All the Way Down

Author: John Green

Date Started: November 2nd 2020

Date Completed: November 3rd 2020

Genres: Contemporary, Romance, Mystery

Quality Rating: Three Stars

Enjoyment Rating: Three Star

Final Rating: Three Stars

Review:

The quirks! The angst! The profound quotes! It must be a John Green novel! In all seriousness, while I'm not personally a fan of quoting every author in history to reinforce your thematic points, Turtles All the Way Down has the charms all of Green's other books have too. They weren't quite enough to totally win me over, but it wasn't an unpleasant experience to read.

One thing I will commend Green on, which I know is sometimes controversial, is how mental health representation. I can't really remember enough of the books I read as a teenager, but I was impressed by how Aza wasn't just a 'tortured teen', she had genuine OCD and there was an understanding of what that means to all aspects of her life - and also that that doesn't condemn her forever. It explored things a past the glorified teen angst we're more used to from YA literature.

That being said, I know there's joking cynicism about Green's tortured teens and while I hate to put things in a blanket category, there were moments where I really needed some of the characters to get over themselves and engage their brains.

My biggest critique is that I'm not totally sure what the plot was. I didn't follow the mystery at all - in fact, I couldn't explain what happened in that respect other than someone went missing, then at the end they guessed where they were. Admittedly, the mystery is a side note, but it was a shame that nothing a bit more solid came of it because it's actually a pretty engaging concept.

John Green is a good writer, he's just got a niche audience in the grand scheme of things - which isn't a bad thing at all. I'm not here to diss a good writer, just to give it a try and say it isn't really my thing.

Wicked Fox

Book Title: Wicked Fox

Author: Helen Oyeyemi

Series: Gumiho #1

Date Started: August 9th 2020

Date Completed: August 13th 2020

Genres: Fantasy, Romance, Contemporary

Quality Rating: Three Stars

Enjoyment Rating: Four Star

Final Rating: Three Stars

Review:

Wicked Fox was a lot of fun. To start with, I really enjoyed reading a fantasy novel set in Korea with strong ties to Korean mythology; I mean that's enough for me, I'm sold. As expected, there were a lot more Young Adult influences mixed in there too which I wasn't as much of a fan of, but it didn't stop me from enjoying the book altogether.

The book feels like a well-written fanfiction - which I don't mean as a critique but rather a heads up on the genre and direction of play. And not an obnoxious one either because we all love some indulgent angsty flirting every now and then. I wasn't mad about the initial high school drama situation (it's just not my thing) but once the adventure/mystery side kicked in I fell into it and read the last two-thirds of the book in a day.

There was a good balance of myth and modernisation for an urban fantasy as well; it didn't feel like the real folklore was shoved into the gaps of contemporary society or vice versa. And I loved - loved - the Korean culture and that Cho was happy to fill the text with the Korean names and titles etc. I really like it when books do that, firstly because it really immerses you in the world, but also because it's gently educational! I'm an intermediate Korean speaker and there were new slang words and food names and mythological creatures that I'd never come across before which made the whole experience all the richer. I also think Cho does a good job of leaving hints and/or explanations for readers who won't know what the names refer to so it's accessible for all.

Something that I've thought about since finishing the book are the relationships; there are some really interesting ones. And I like that Cho allows there to be complicated dynamics between characters, but still puts care into distinguishing what's manipulation and what's a human mistake. Look, contemporary romance-based stories just aren't my jam, and I think in part because I have bad associations with unhealthy relationships (romantic and otherwise) being romanticised in some books I read as a teenager. Cho gets the balance and tone exactly right, and that's so good to read.

It was so nice to read something like this, and I hope it opens the way for more fiction in this vein (not everything has to be set in the US or a medieval-style English magic school (despite popular belief, we really don't have that many of them)). Wicked Fox was very enjoyable and I might pick up the sequel if I'm feeling in the mood for it, though I will also commend Cho for writing a story that wraps itself up perfectly well on its own.

Gingerbread

Book Title: Gingerbread

Author: Helen Oyeyemi

Date Started: August 2nd 2020

Date Completed: August 9th 2020

Genres: Magical Realism, Contemporary

Quality Rating: Four Stars

Enjoyment Rating: Four Star

Final Rating: Four Stars

Review:

◆ Thanks to NetGalley for this eBook copy for review ◆

I don't pretend to always fully understand what the author is trying to say with magical realism, but I do enjoy reading it. I would probably need to write a dissertation to fully work out what's actually going on in Gingerbread (which I would actually be up for) but, in this review, I'm instead going to focus on the experience of just reading it for pleasure because I feel like that should be praised too.

Gingerbread is a very dreamy book, as you would expect from magical realism, but it had a narrative that I could follow. Often magical realist stories sometimes leave this out in favour of making their point, but I personally find it harder to follow (and/or care about) something that isn't rooted in a character's experience. As it is, Oyeyemi perfectly balances the narrative with her speculative observations and creations. As a retelling, this book perfectly understands the wicked and clever tone of the original fairytale and adapts it into something bittersweet and thoughtful when combined with contemporary perspectives and issues to explore.

I also absolutely love the directions Oyeyemi has taken the Hansel and Gretel story. Some are more explicit (literal (well, magical realist) gingerbread houses, characters called Gretel, or with fake names relating to the story) than others. Magical realism is, of course, the perfect place to play around with themes and metaphors, and Gingerbread has a field day with it. The book looks at the supposed 'sweetness' of gingerbread with links it to sexuality as being alluring/wickedly seductive; parents being (emotionally) dependent on children vs. abandoning them in the world to fend for themselves; the female-female relationships between different generations (be it mother/daughter, aunt/niece, mentor/student) which is derived from the relationship Gretel has with the witch that she has to use to escape. And so much more - as I said, I could fill a dissertation with it - and it's all fascinating even on the surface level I was noticing it without trying to analyse.

And I'm sure there is a lot that has gone over my head. I would imagine there's a lot to say about Black heritage and dismissed cultural belonging that I'm excited to look into now that I've finished the book. Side note that it was also wonderfully refreshing to have such a diversity of characters - even before you get to Black protagonists, having diversely named parents at the school was noticeably different to a lot of things I read, and damn great.

I've been meaning to get around to reading a Helen Oyeyemi book for years now, ever since Boy Snow Bird started being talked about, and I really should've started earlier. The themes Oyeyemi explores, the beauty with which she explores them, and all within the framework of reimagining fairytales is exactly the kind of thing that I love.

Kim Jiyoung, Born 1982

Book Title: Kim Jiyoung, Born 1982

Author: Cho Nam-Joo

Date Started: June 12th 2020

Date Completed: July 16th 2020

Genres: Contemporary

Quality Rating: Five Stars

Enjoyment Rating: Four Star

Final Rating: Five Stars

Review:

◆ Thanks to the Korean Cultural Centre UK for this copy as part of their Literature Night ◆

This book was not an easy read, and I was an idiot to think otherwise. I found myself unexpectedly crying at multiple points without even realising it, and having to pause at other times to get some things off my own chest even if it was only to my bookshelf. Kim Jiyoung, Born 1982 is about a woman growing up in South Korea and the micro-aggressions, casual sexism, and daily encounters and impact that misogyny and patriarchy have on individuals. And it doesn't hold back. That doesn't mean it's big and dramatic - on the contrary, the things that happen seem small and silly at the time, which is why I was crying. Because we brush them off like they don't affect us, but this book shows eloquently and viciously, that they break us.

I do want to say that I'm British (and white at that). While I have researched and/or been exposed to a fair amount of South Korea's culture and history, I have never been there and, of course, I'm not Korean myself. I'm also of a later generation than what is explored here. But, even so, it's depressing how universal a worrying amount of the situations were - but also Jiyoung-ssi's responses, emotionally and practically, to those events. I recognised a shocking amount of them in myself.

Okay, yes, the text is sometimes a bit stuff (although, when it's revealed the prose is her therapist's account of what she's told him, it makes more sense), and the use of referencing to real, contemporary statistics, studies, articles etc was a little distracting. But it gets across the point it's trying to make, and you can't argue it's speculation just because it's fictionalised.

For me, it was the final chapter that cemented my opinion of this book. It sets out the most important information and revelation this book can offer. After recounting Kim Jiyoung-ssi's life, it is brought to our attention that the account is from, in fact, a man: her therapist. This is honestly surprising, since it seems so sympathetic and raw. There's a moment of something like hope. And then a female therapist comes in, with a going-away present, apologising that she has to leave her job. She's pregnant, finally, but has been warned of dangers of miscarriage and harm to herself. The therapist is disgruntled that she is leaving, that her patients have preferred not to be moved to someone else's care, and muses to himself that he has to make sure the woman who replaces her is unmarried. In a single moment, so many things made sense for me. How a man can have sympathy for a woman whose entire life story has been 'revealed' to them, experiences, grievances from casual to giant, and how they have caused a ripple effect for her prospects and internal state. Yet minutes later, they can dismiss another woman, belittle her choices and have a shallow attitude to her situation.

This book somehow felt like a comforting hand and a death sentence for reality all at once. It was shocking, it was brilliant, it was hard, it was so simple. But, as I said, the most important question this book held was right on the last page. Why do we have to 'live through' a woman's experiences and trauma ourselves to believe them?

One Hundred Shadows

Book Title: One Hundred Shadows

Author: Hwang Jungeun

Date Started: May 2nd 2020

Date Completed: May 4th 2020

Genres: Contemporary, Magical Realism

Quality Rating: Four Stars

Enjoyment Rating: Five Stars

Final Rating: Four Stars

Review:

I read Kong's Garden, a short story by Hwang, a few months ago and was curious to read one of her novels. It was a quick read, but one I wish I could've read sitting under a tree in summer. It washes over you in a sort of daze like summer sunlight.

One Hundred Shadows reminded me why I love magical realism so much - and, probably, why other some people don't. It's a heightened reality, there's no clear ending, and you can lose yourself in applying metaphors and trying to make sense of the magical elements. Really, you have to let go of complete understanding and let yourself feel it out without having control over it; then it gets its way under your skin and stays there. I'll probably remember it more in glimmers than a whole story, but that's how these kinds of narratives are put together and why they feel so visceral for me.

These themes of class and society, tradition and youth, are so prevalent in Korean art. I've come across it in literature, film, music again and again - but they always find new ways to explore it. There're parts where I don't even think it's consciously investigated by the storyteller, it's just a big part of their culture and the way their relationships with other people build. It's one of the wonderful things art and the gift of translation can do: it can make you feel closer to the culture and start to build bridges to real understanding.

My one complaint about the book was that it was so short! I could've read it in one sitting if I didn't want to spin it out more. In all fairness, it suited the story and the style very well, but I still wanted more of it at the end.

Normal People

Book Title: Normal People

Author: Sally Rooney

Date Started: April 25th 2020

Date Completed: May 2nd 2020

Genres: Contemporary, Romance

Quality Rating: Four Stars

Enjoyment Rating: Four Stars

Final Rating: Four Stars

Review:

Normal People was sent to me by a friend who I think might have actually run to the postbox the minute she finished reading it. Basically; a pretty strong recommendation. And, although it's different from what I usually read, I was pleasantly surprised by how much I enjoyed it. It's fluidly written, easy to fall into, and just a nice read overall. (Or perhaps I should say comforting since it's definitely a bittersweet sort of book.)

Rooney explores a whole host of things through the on/off undefinable relationship of two people, Connall and Marianne. We begin in secondary school and follow in snapshots all the way until they're graduated adults in the real world. A bit like a coming-of-age drama for adults - but deliberately not - it's honest about a lot of issues that YA novels don't, mostly for fear of being unmarketable. The most notable being sexuality, the difficulties that come with navigating it, and how all other facets of society end up feeding into it. Personally, the exploration of the class system was more interesting for me. But I suppose the normalised representation of sex and mental health difficulties, their bluntness and complexity, is arguably groundbreaking in and of itself.

As I've said, Normal People was very easy to slip into. It's well written; nothing much really happens, but you're compelled anyway. That, of course, is down to the honesty on the page. It feels real. I didn't necessarily relate wholly to either character (though I suspect there are many people who would), but in elements of both. The fact that Marianne and Connall's relationship really isn't easy to pin down is something that I think we sorely needed to see, as well. Half the experience of this book is sitting back and going 'yeah, I know that feeling'. And that's a hard thing to write.

At the end of the day, I think what Rooney is trying to say is less that 'there is no such thing as normal,' and more that being confused and mess up (or 'damaged') is totally normal. That's a comforting thing to hear every now and then.