Connell and Marianne were born and raised in the same small town, but their lives could not be more different. At school, Connell is popular and well-liked, while Marianne is a solitary figure. Yet, when fate brings them together for a conversation—awkward, yet electrifying—something life-altering begins to unfold.
A year later, both find themselves at Trinity College in Dublin. Marianne has found her place within a new social world, while Connell remains on the periphery, shy and uncertain. Over the course of their university years, the two circle each other—occasionally straying toward other people and other possibilities—but always pulled back together, as if by an irresistible force. As Marianne spirals into self-destruction and Connell embarks on a search for meaning elsewhere, both must confront the lengths they are willing to go to save each other.
Normal People tells the story of mutual fascination, friendship, and love. It spans the course of a relationship that begins with that first charged conversation and endures through the years that follow, as two people struggle to remain apart, only to find they cannot.
