It's so interesting how Sally Rooney describes 'character'. She is so right when she says, "I can't conceive of character separate from dynamic," our character is built through social situations, and dynamic through interactions with other people. Looking at the psychology of relationships is such a great way to understand who we are, rather than seeking insight through individualism. I love it, I love her, she's brilliant!
@@cestkk That is such an interesting interpretation, for me I felt they had acquired such personal growth which had come from their social experiences. Upon reflection, I do agree that there is more to our core personality development than just how we interact in social settings, but I do still think Sally makes a great point about how that dynamic largely impacts our character. I do appreciate your opinion that they could have been conceived separately as characters to give them more depth/development, but I think in a way that's what made NP such an interesting novel - it's as though they were two halves of a whole in terms of character. It would be interesting if we saw these characters progress into an adolescent life without each other, perhaps it would make them feel more real? Have you read her short story 'the clinic'? It is set into the future, I believe the characters Marianne and Connell are 23.
Yes, and she gets how Marx is entirely about alienated relationships (and not about the state), and how much we are constrained by deep social forces...
I agree!! it’s reminds me a lot like that writing exercise where you place your character in a random situation to figure out who they are & how’d they react & the way they’d approach things.
One thing many people overlook is how brilliantly Irish it is. Some of the dialogue and mostly the issues in the book are extremely relevant to modern Ireland particularly for millennials
I agree, I think a lot of non-Irish readers are missing out on this. Maybe it's pretentious but I do truly believe that only someone familiar with Ireland can truly appreciate this book as a whole. Maybe that's a stretch but it was a massively important part of it's appeal to me.
IntrospectiveSmith I know you asked about the book but an example from the tv programme came to mind as it’s fresh for me - an example is that in the dinner scene in Italy, Marianne tells Jamie that there are Champagne flutes in the “press” if he wants one. Press is what we call a cupboard/cabinet here. Although the use of the word press will not inhibit anyone not from Ireland from understanding the gist of the sentence, I was immediately impressed and happy that they had chosen to retain that little bit of Hibero-English as it’s precisely the sort of thing that many Irish books/programmes would eschew. That’s just the first example off the top of my head but there are many more such examples littered throughout both the book and the tv adaptation. ETA - another good example is that Connell is a Gaelic football player. That’s a core part of our national identity; a sport to which many of us relate strongly. I’ve seen many (mostly American) reviewers misidentify the sport as being rugby and many authors writing with an international perspective in mind may have written Connell as a player of a much more well-known sport such as rugby. But that piece of Irishness was retained too, much to my delight. These might not be examples of the modern issues facing Irish people which the original commenter wrote of but these little details were what made the book and tv adaption feel like home to me! 😊
@@samaugust85 I thought the same. Marianne was a very werid girl at school and Sally Rooney must have had the same problems in her teen years. An irish girl who must a different accent at her first years in school.... the re`s that
Every sentence that she so endearingly forms, every thought that she so pin-pointedly articulates, is like a gem with so many shiny internal refractions. I don't think I have ever come across: an interview that is so honest, enlightening and an author who is so self-reflective about her work. Given her speaking skills, no wonder she was the best college debater in Europe at the age of 22! What a beautiful brain on an equally endearing personality!
What's incredible about how she captures the normalcy of the characters is that they're so distinctly placed in time and place. What is normal in one time and place is utterly alien in another. That's the beauty of reading Jane Austin or Tolstoy, being able to compare what their lives were like then compared to our lives now, what still rings true, what's different. Through exploring what normalcy is now, she's effectively capturing a snapshot of that place and time for future readers.
this interviewer is a gem. you can see their genuine interest in the book and thought-provoking questions, not to mention the little extras only a fan would know (the short stories that were written before normal people? wow). kudos to Kishani Widyaratna!
Deleting 20000 words in one go, rewriting chapter 3 after finishing chapter 8 were something I considered as my incompetence, my lack of skills. But I guess it's just natural. Thanks Sally for sharing that. I hope you understand how incredibly your experience sharing helps another young writer like me in their hustling phase.
The way the author is exploring dynamics between people rather than setting an inflexible character traits of people feels more closer to reality and relationships and temperaments that we encounter in our day to day lives and in ourselves of how we interact with or interest other people
Rooney's gift comes from engaging us in what would otherwise be mundane characters living in ordinary circumstances. Her title, "Normal People" sets the stage for us to enter an intimate and real world, which is always more captivating than one that's deliberately dramatic or showy.
Dr Ranjan Patel, PsyD MFT Very true. Haven’t read the book, but just watched all 12 episodes. Their struggles are just normal; no real story arches or confrontations. I just wish they could have made a real go of their relationship at the end.
@@pam0626 The story arcs where very subtle. It's almost as if the characters were afraid to show their true selves. They very much end up, how they began, unable to commit and admit there are capable of love and are lovable. Which the last scene, in the series anyway, leaves that door open to propel a sequel forward.
I feel they grew more in the TV adaptation. They never seem to get over their communication issues and Marianne's jealousy/insecurity in the novel. It's a bit unrelenting that there are so few pages left and Marianne is all "blah blah the girl from the magazine has a crush on you." They come full circle and are healed and grown and ready to be their own person in the BBC version.
this is one of the reasons i've been hesitant to watch the series. the ending of the book left me so dissatisfied (it felt like they didn't care about their relationship at all, especially marianne, but that's just how it felt to me obviously; and i thought maybe they had the same approach when it comes to the series, too.
@@carmenhnsen I can see where you're coming from, the ending of the book seems rushed and I think that doesn't help. However from my perspective I think they care, they're both conflicted about Connell going, he says he doesn't want to leave her and Marianne makes that point about how they won't ever have what they have then again if he goes. I think she loves him enough to not want to constrain his dreams and potential even if it means having to let him go again for a while (or she could be resigned to them never being together because something always gets in the way... but that something is usually their own poor communication which seems improved in the last scene as they have an adult conversation about it). The ending is less rushed, and in my opinion more poignant, in the series and I think it works better giving you more time to see them together again as the most mature they've been. I loved the series (I watched it before I read the book), it is fairly faithful but has a few differences. It adds a lot of atmosphere and emotion and for someone not from Ireland it helps with the scene setting. Definitely recommend watching if you haven't seen it!
@@JJDoggett i agree 100% with what you’re saying here. Watched the show first and read the book just after, but I felt a lot more satisfied with the series even though it’s basically the same ending. I guess it just felt like they had grown a lot more in the series than in the book. And yeah the fact Marianne worries about Connell and that girl at the end of the book, felt very out of place for me personally.
What a book reading! I find Sally Rooney to be equally fascinating as her characters and I loved how generously and unrehearsed she responded to each question, offering insights into her writing.
As a human lucky enough to have experienced a tumultuous extremely passionate seven year first love. I know that life is not simple and clear cut. The beauty is in the unknown possibilities. I am now really happily married to my wife with two children. I don’t even know where Sera is now. It does not matter to me. The ending of the book is perfect. As is the television adaptation. The unambiguous nudge to make your own mind up treats us with a maturity that is so rare in today’s writing and film production. Please Sally, I know you have no plans to write a follow up, do not let any offer to tempt you to change your mind. It is so so rare to create with perfection. You have succeeded. Thank you 🙏 for uncovering memories that I didn’t realise I had buried.
Sutters 72 this film gave me hope in love and romance again. I’ve tried all my life with falling in and out of love and before this film believed that romance and love is fickle.The reason being is that I once loved someone and then now I could not care if she now falls off a cliff. So because of this I remain single and unable to trust anyone again because I think we are all just too fickle. But maybe there are people like Connell and Marianne in the world and not just in a romantic book/film True unconditional love only exists with your children, I believe.
Frankiez220 it took eleven years for me to fall in love again after that first love. The trouble is nothing compares to the intensity. It’s like losing your taste and then forcing yourself to eat. I couldn’t commit I didn’t even have one night stands. I think I matured and my expectation of love shifted. Keep trying to dip your toes in the water but when you know it’s not right get out. Let go of the need for trust, give it unconditionally. If it gets broken move on again. Don’t give up on love!
I keep thinking about the term unconditional love....love between two people is always conditional. That’s what makes us treat each other well. When we forget this selfishness can creep in. A strong partner will only put up with that for a short time before the Love starts to die or their sense of self worth makes them push us away. . Even the unconditional love of a child only lasts until they develop critical thinking. Only a dog will keep coming back for more, even so some will bite when mistreated. I think Marianne and Connell had conditions to the love they shared for each other. For example Connell’s love would not have been able to allow him to mistreat her physically even when she asked for it. In meatloaf’s immortal words “ I would do anything for love...........”
I wish I could meet Sally cause I could relate to Marianne so much that I used to ask myself why I can't be like normal people and this book made me feel normal about myself
Sally Rooney wrote one of the most true love stories. She has a clear and deep understanding of what real love is and what it does to people individually and as couples. Bravo.
I am not the kind of person who watches 1 hr long videos on youtube but here TIME FLEW. I can listen to this woman talk forever. She's the wisest person ever. Periodt!
I just finished her newest novel--it is, I feel, her best yet. She and Rachel Cusk and Zadie Smith, Teju Cole and dozens of other younger writers insure that brilliant fiction is alive and well, and continues to speak to our condition.
Absolutely amazing. Every emotion of young first love. Two completely opposite upbringings. Following them through Uni and life and relationships was so well documented.
Both Normal people and Conversations with friends are brilliantly written. And both books made me cry. Both have beautiful endings and speechless. just thinking about how masterfully she cast words and emotions. Bravo! Ms. Rooney, 👏 Bravo. I want to spend a weekend with her and ask her so many questions even while doing mundane or trivial things. Some intense conversations about her and vice versa. Respect!
Really enjoyed this. I Really related to Connell in Normal People and loved hearing more about Sally’s writing process. She seems like a very warm, open person too. Thankyou!
I've never enjoyed reading really, last attempt was in early 90's a paperback called Bravo Two Zero Andy McNab while on Holiday. I've just read your Normal people in a day as I couldn't put it down, thanks so much for showing me books are what I've been missing in life Sally!
I am watching the story of the two lovers on TV and it is riveting ,watchable, though I haven't read the book. I liked her answers, fresh, direct, honest. She has an overall sense of what structurally works in a novel and the dynamic of the characters interdependence. Also her overarching Marxism to explore human relationships and beliefs,and how each generation must work out old systems, beliefs, traditions, normalcy, for itself afresh. She criticized the formality of her work as 'conservative', not formally challenging, which she'd like to go beyond. I couldn't imagine an English writer being this open, alert and smart to what the novel itself is as a form and what it can do.
I really recommend reading the novel! The way sally unfolds the whole story is just unlike any other novel I’ve read. Truly something that makes you want more, a very mysterious kinda feel to it as well.
She talks very fast. I used to do that when I was younger but was told not to. And now I find her speech pattern endearing and trying at the same time. Edit: Over the course of this Interview I found it easier and easier to listen to her and I love what she has to say. Also all the questions from the audience where questions I had asked myself while reading her novels. The answers are fascinating to me. She is really quite inspiring.
Lisa Zoe you should revert, thoughts spilled out are true, insightful and delightful, far too much conditioning in youth to 'the norm' waters down what some of us could otherwise become, I feel. 🙃
He knows that a lot of the literary people in college see books primarily as a way of appearing cultured. It was culture as class performance, literature fetishised for its ability to take educated people on false emotional journeys, so that they might afterwards feel superior to the uneducated people whose emotional journeys they liked to read about. Even the writer himself was a good person, and even if his book really was insightful, all books were ultimately marketed as status symbols, and all writers participated to some degree in this marketing.
During the Q&A portion of the video I started watching Kishani's facial expressions and body language. She looked so unjudgemental and deer-like. I kinda want to hug her. Anyway, great interview. Very thought provoking.
When Kishani at the end of SR's talk prior to the q&a says "we're all really excited about that" is she referring to her new novel or "almost certain full civilizational collapse"?
she is absolutely brilliant and i love normal people but what i am most impressed about in this video is the shine of her hair SALLY WHAT CONDITIONER DO YOU USE?
Me and since then, I've bought and am reading "Conversations with Friends", I've read the short story "At the Clinic" (seedling for "Normal People") and as soon as the TV Series is over (we are at episode 4 here in Canada), I'll buy and read NP.
The book and screenplay are very very similar. They really stayed true to the book. Reading book was like reading the screenplay. Sometimes the setting of the scene was different.
8:24min It is interesting, because that ghost estate would mean something different for Vladimir, and Estragon, and the tension, and violence of property relations and ghosts estates etc.
She seems on top of her game, and very willing to allow her intimate writing to be accessible and accessed. I just read a rte article that said she is the "JD Salinger of our age". After Catcher in the Rye was published Salinger went into self imposed isolation. He reclused permanently in New Hampshire. I hope Saly Rooney does not do that. I have not read Normal People. I have read Anne Enright's The Gathering where did an excellent job on characters. How does Normal People compare to the Gathering I wonder?
@@cestkk You're right, she's 'very, very young'. Though don't you think it quite extraordinary that she's a hugely successful novelist at such a young age? She's obviously captured the zeitgeist ... note the sales figures of her two novels, and the hugely popular TV series. Let's see what Rooney's future holds rather than trying to undercut and downplay her extraordinary success as a 'very, very young' writer.
6:26min There is a lot of it in that final part about the shoes. Where she chose to capitonage it with. Did she understand? under suspension, but reading it as the author. Perhaps leading to a post-modern realization game-theoretical crowds are so much into.
The only thing that I would disagree with her on is that we don’t have control over our destinies because of what happens to us, or that certain relationships will impact us forever. I come from an abusive home and have worked very hard in therapy to not live the life I was “destined” to because of all the pain and suffering I was experiencing. Of course it still impacts me, but I don’t think we are doomed to whatever life contrives for us. I think we have power over who we become to a fairly large degree.
ive just watched the entire series today and I loved it,dark in places at times which was a bit surprisingthe issues portrayed I mean,and I found the roles of connel and Marianne confusing,the way they both held back in how they were really feeling,i liked the ending,even though I was surprised Marianne said no to going with connel to new York,maybe I was disappointed she said no,i loved it though,awesome series
This is the first interview I've watched of Sally's and I'm so in awe of how full her humanity is. She is just incredible. (The hosts facial expressions during Q&A were iconic too ahaha!)
Probably you've now read the book by now but.... I'm not alone in reading and watching NP multiple times. I find it endlessly fascinating and get new insights on each iteration. Rewatching this interview will confirm much of what you'll work out for yourself but not everything. For example I cannot understand why Connell perpetuates his denial of Marianne as his girlfriend after they'd just got back together following his sincere apology to Marianne for his treatment of her in school. If it's purely a generational thing then why does Niall, who is in a similar financial bracket to Connell, not get it? Similarly he can't ask Marianne to help out temporarily with his accommodation when he can't pay his rent because it'd be too much like asking for money. Didn't stop him doing just that when he got mugged!? Also, if you liked Daisy in NP watch Where The Crawdads Sing. There are similar themes and I can't help wonder if Delia Owens read NP beforehand.
That sucks. Her comments about how the title was a very late addition is so frustrating! It seems like everyone is trying to ask Sally questions about the contrasting nature of the title rather than the substance of the actual novel.
46:09min That is fine. What did reading teach you? contributed to your human skills? given that it is called the humanities: in what way was your humanity nurtured by them? If at all. Perhaps they did not.
The interviewer talks way too much! I'm always stressed when Sally's answering that she will interrupt her. Maybe it's just me. Also please don't spoil the plot of another novel when discussing this novel. I know it's common practice in these panels because 'everyone' has read both books or 'everyone' is too wordly to care about the plot, but come on. Those two things are not necessarily true and you can make your point without spoiling the plot.
It's so interesting how Sally Rooney describes 'character'. She is so right when she says, "I can't conceive of character separate from dynamic," our character is built through social situations, and dynamic through interactions with other people. Looking at the psychology of relationships is such a great way to understand who we are, rather than seeking insight through individualism. I love it, I love her, she's brilliant!
@@cestkk That is such an interesting interpretation, for me I felt they had acquired such personal growth which had come from their social experiences. Upon reflection, I do agree that there is more to our core personality development than just how we interact in social settings, but I do still think Sally makes a great point about how that dynamic largely impacts our character. I do appreciate your opinion that they could have been conceived separately as characters to give them more depth/development, but I think in a way that's what made NP such an interesting novel - it's as though they were two halves of a whole in terms of character. It would be interesting if we saw these characters progress into an adolescent life without each other, perhaps it would make them feel more real? Have you read her short story 'the clinic'? It is set into the future, I believe the characters Marianne and Connell are 23.
Yes, and she gets how Marx is entirely about alienated relationships (and not about the state), and how much we are constrained by deep social forces...
I agree!! it’s reminds me a lot like that writing exercise where you place your character in a random situation to figure out who they are & how’d they react & the way they’d approach things.
She's so eloquent, she makes me wish I could find the words to express myself much quicker
She's really, really annoying.
@@louduva9849 nope, she's just smart and articulate
@@louduva9849 sally’s stunning :)
@@louduva9849 wtf and your other comment is gross 🤮 why are you even here?
Be yourself Chloe. She's Sally and you are you. Of course she's impressive but it's natural for her to express herself like that.
One thing many people overlook is how brilliantly Irish it is. Some of the dialogue and mostly the issues in the book are extremely relevant to modern Ireland particularly for millennials
I agree, I think a lot of non-Irish readers are missing out on this. Maybe it's pretentious but I do truly believe that only someone familiar with Ireland can truly appreciate this book as a whole. Maybe that's a stretch but it was a massively important part of it's appeal to me.
•sd• I am so glad that they chose not to stray for the tv show from the depth of ‘Irishness’ that was shown in the book.
@@Hello-mv3xs As someone not from Ireland who has read the book, could you or anyone above elaborate on what this Irishness is in the book?
IntrospectiveSmith I know you asked about the book but an example from the tv programme came to mind as it’s fresh for me - an example is that in the dinner scene in Italy, Marianne tells Jamie that there are Champagne flutes in the “press” if he wants one.
Press is what we call a cupboard/cabinet here. Although the use of the word press will not inhibit anyone not from Ireland from understanding the gist of the sentence, I was immediately impressed and happy that they had chosen to retain that little bit of Hibero-English as it’s precisely the sort of thing that many Irish books/programmes would eschew.
That’s just the first example off the top of my head but there are many more such examples littered throughout both the book and the tv adaptation.
ETA - another good example is that Connell is a Gaelic football player. That’s a core part of our national identity; a sport to which many of us relate strongly. I’ve seen many (mostly American) reviewers misidentify the sport as being rugby and many authors writing with an international perspective in mind may have written Connell as a player of a much more well-known sport such as rugby. But that piece of Irishness was retained too, much to my delight.
These might not be examples of the modern issues facing Irish people which the original commenter wrote of but these little details were what made the book and tv adaption feel like home to me! 😊
@@Hello-mv3xs That's interesting. Thanks!
listening to sally rooney talk makes me so inspired to write it's insane
Sally Rooney sort of looks like how I envisioned Maryann in Normal People.
While reading the book, I got this very real sense that she was infusing some of her own personal identity into her character
@@samaugust85 I thought the same. Marianne was a very werid girl at school and Sally Rooney must have had the same problems in her teen years. An irish girl who must a different accent at her first years in school.... the re`s that
Sure me too
Yesssss
Me too
I feel so much respect for her. Such a clear, well articulated mind.
Every sentence that she so endearingly forms, every thought that she so pin-pointedly articulates, is like a gem with so many shiny internal refractions. I don't think I have ever come across: an interview that is so honest, enlightening
and an author who is so self-reflective about her work. Given her speaking skills, no wonder she was the best college debater in Europe at the age of 22! What a beautiful brain on an equally endearing personality!
So very narcissistic with the personality of a crocus bulb!
What's incredible about how she captures the normalcy of the characters is that they're so distinctly placed in time and place. What is normal in one time and place is utterly alien in another. That's the beauty of reading Jane Austin or Tolstoy, being able to compare what their lives were like then compared to our lives now, what still rings true, what's different. Through exploring what normalcy is now, she's effectively capturing a snapshot of that place and time for future readers.
this interviewer is a gem. you can see their genuine interest in the book and thought-provoking questions, not to mention the little extras only a fan would know (the short stories that were written before normal people? wow). kudos to Kishani Widyaratna!
Deleting 20000 words in one go, rewriting chapter 3 after finishing chapter 8 were something I considered as my incompetence, my lack of skills. But I guess it's just natural. Thanks Sally for sharing that. I hope you understand how incredibly your experience sharing helps another young writer like me in their hustling phase.
"I'm sure the experiences that I was having were very ordinary experiences, and if they weren't, it wouldn't be worth writing about them"
Chesterton agreed!
The way the author is exploring dynamics between people rather than setting an inflexible character traits of people feels more closer to reality and relationships and temperaments that we encounter in our day to day lives and in ourselves of how we interact with or interest other people
Rooney's gift comes from engaging us in what would otherwise be mundane characters living in ordinary circumstances. Her title, "Normal People" sets the stage for us to enter an intimate and real world, which is always more captivating than one that's deliberately dramatic or showy.
Dr Ranjan Patel, PsyD MFT Very true. Haven’t read the book, but just watched all 12 episodes. Their struggles are just normal; no real story arches or confrontations. I just wish they could have made a real go of their relationship at the end.
@@pam0626 The story arcs where very subtle. It's almost as if the characters were afraid to show their true selves. They very much end up, how they began, unable to commit and admit there are capable of love and are lovable. Which the last scene, in the series anyway, leaves that door open to propel a sequel forward.
I still think the story is mundane, I don’t get what the fuss is about sadly
She speaks so eloquently, her age blows my mind! So much wisdom spoken here 👌👏
I feel they grew more in the TV adaptation. They never seem to get over their communication issues and Marianne's jealousy/insecurity in the novel. It's a bit unrelenting that there are so few pages left and Marianne is all "blah blah the girl from the magazine has a crush on you." They come full circle and are healed and grown and ready to be their own person in the BBC version.
that's what I thought! I was reaching the end of the book and those suspicions of Marianne?? I was like oh come on, not now!
Oh yes, I completely agree!!
this is one of the reasons i've been hesitant to watch the series. the ending of the book left me so dissatisfied (it felt like they didn't care about their relationship at all, especially marianne, but that's just how it felt to me obviously; and i thought maybe they had the same approach when it comes to the series, too.
@@carmenhnsen I can see where you're coming from, the ending of the book seems rushed and I think that doesn't help. However from my perspective I think they care, they're both conflicted about Connell going, he says he doesn't want to leave her and Marianne makes that point about how they won't ever have what they have then again if he goes. I think she loves him enough to not want to constrain his dreams and potential even if it means having to let him go again for a while (or she could be resigned to them never being together because something always gets in the way... but that something is usually their own poor communication which seems improved in the last scene as they have an adult conversation about it).
The ending is less rushed, and in my opinion more poignant, in the series and I think it works better giving you more time to see them together again as the most mature they've been. I loved the series (I watched it before I read the book), it is fairly faithful but has a few differences. It adds a lot of atmosphere and emotion and for someone not from Ireland it helps with the scene setting.
Definitely recommend watching if you haven't seen it!
@@JJDoggett i agree 100% with what you’re saying here. Watched the show first and read the book just after, but I felt a lot more satisfied with the series even though it’s basically the same ending. I guess it just felt like they had grown a lot more in the series than in the book. And yeah the fact Marianne worries about Connell and that girl at the end of the book, felt very out of place for me personally.
Why do I watch this interview every day
oh my god SAME
What a book reading! I find Sally Rooney to be equally fascinating as her characters and I loved how generously and unrehearsed she responded to each question, offering insights into her writing.
As a human lucky enough to have experienced a tumultuous extremely passionate seven year first love. I know that life is not simple and clear cut. The beauty is in the unknown possibilities. I am now really happily married to my wife with two children. I don’t even know where Sera is now. It does not matter to me. The ending of the book is perfect. As is the television adaptation. The unambiguous nudge to make your own mind up treats us with a maturity that is so rare in today’s writing and film production. Please Sally, I know you have no plans to write a follow up, do not let any offer to tempt you to change your mind. It is so so rare to create with perfection. You have succeeded. Thank you 🙏 for uncovering memories that I didn’t realise I had buried.
Sutters 72 this film gave me hope in love and romance again. I’ve tried all my life with falling in and out of love and before this film believed that romance and love is fickle.The reason being is that I once loved someone and then now I could not care if she now falls off a cliff. So because of this I remain single and unable to trust anyone again because I think we are all just too fickle. But maybe there are people like Connell and Marianne in the world and not just in a romantic book/film
True unconditional love only exists with your children, I believe.
Frankiez220 it took eleven years for me to fall in love again after that first love. The trouble is nothing compares to the intensity. It’s like losing your taste and then forcing yourself to eat. I couldn’t commit I didn’t even have one night stands. I think I matured and my expectation of love shifted. Keep trying to dip your toes in the water but when you know it’s not right get out. Let go of the need for trust, give it unconditionally. If it gets broken move on again. Don’t give up on love!
I keep thinking about the term unconditional love....love between two people is always conditional. That’s what makes us treat each other well. When we forget this selfishness can creep in. A strong partner will only put up with that for a short time before the Love starts to die or their sense of self worth makes them push us away. . Even the unconditional love of a child only lasts until they develop critical thinking. Only a dog will keep coming back for more, even so some will bite when mistreated. I think Marianne and Connell had conditions to the love they shared for each other. For example Connell’s love would not have been able to allow him to mistreat her physically even when she asked for it. In meatloaf’s immortal words “ I would do anything for love...........”
That is so sweet, both your first girlfriend and now your wife are so lucky to have you. ❤️❤️
Sara Hunter Thanks, I’ve also been very lucky to have them in my life. 💔❤️
I wish I could meet Sally cause I could relate to Marianne so much that I used to ask myself why I can't be like normal people and this book made me feel normal about myself
Jane Austin yes I felt same I have forgiven and allowed people use me so I could feel better about myself
I agree!!!!
Sally Rooney wrote one of the most true love stories. She has a clear and deep understanding of what real love is and what it does to people individually and as couples. Bravo.
Vacuous and solipsistic bourgeois.
I am not the kind of person who watches 1 hr long videos on youtube but here TIME FLEW. I can listen to this woman talk forever. She's the wisest person ever. Periodt!
Sally Rooney is so intelligent and well spoken. She is Marianne. her comments about the relationships in the present are so on point, enlighten.
i enjoy the way sally speaks- makes sense why i am a fan of her book. I must say too that the interviewee has great questions and does a great job!
I just finished her newest novel--it is, I feel, her best yet. She and Rachel Cusk and Zadie Smith, Teju Cole and dozens of other younger writers insure that brilliant fiction is alive and well, and continues to speak to our condition.
it still shocks me that people think that this book is just about hooking up. there's so much more.
Nah, there isn't. Garbage.
@@louduva9849 u dumb that's it.
Absolutely amazing. Every emotion of young first love. Two completely opposite upbringings. Following them through Uni and life and relationships was so well documented.
Both Normal people and Conversations with friends are brilliantly written. And both books made me cry. Both have beautiful endings and speechless. just thinking about how masterfully she cast words and emotions. Bravo! Ms. Rooney, 👏 Bravo.
I want to spend a weekend with her and ask her so many questions even while doing mundane or trivial things. Some intense conversations about her and vice versa. Respect!
Totally disagree...they are both pretentious and awful!
This is a great interview, amazing job by Kishani Widyaratna
Really enjoyed this. I Really related to Connell in Normal People and loved hearing more about Sally’s writing process. She seems like a very warm, open person too. Thankyou!
I've never enjoyed reading really, last attempt was in early 90's a paperback called Bravo Two Zero Andy McNab while on Holiday. I've just read your Normal people in a day as I couldn't put it down, thanks so much for showing me books are what I've been missing in life Sally!
Love this comment: Bravo Two Zero to Normal People. Two books in 30 years!
I am watching the story of the two lovers on TV and it is riveting ,watchable, though I haven't read the book. I liked her answers, fresh, direct, honest. She has an overall sense of what structurally works in a novel and the dynamic of the
characters interdependence. Also her overarching Marxism to explore human relationships and beliefs,and how each generation must work out old systems, beliefs, traditions, normalcy, for itself afresh. She criticized the formality of her work as 'conservative', not formally challenging, which she'd like to go beyond. I couldn't imagine an English writer being this open, alert and smart to what the novel itself is as a form and what it can do.
Perhaps but “This Life” series written by an English writer covered some of the same issues.
I really recommend reading the novel! The way sally unfolds the whole story is just unlike any other novel I’ve read. Truly something that makes you want more, a very mysterious kinda feel to it as well.
It is a pleasure to listen to Kishani Widyaratna. She is so easy to understand.
I loved this interview. Thank you for posting it online!!
She talks very fast. I used to do that when I was younger but was told not to. And now I find her speech pattern endearing and trying at the same time.
Edit: Over the course of this Interview I found it easier and easier to listen to her and I love what she has to say. Also all the questions from the audience where questions I had asked myself while reading her novels. The answers are fascinating to me. She is really quite inspiring.
All Irish people speak quickly.
JMK Hmm, you clearly haven’t met Uncle Colum from Derry Girls!
Lisa Zoe you should revert, thoughts spilled out are true, insightful and delightful, far too much conditioning in youth to 'the norm' waters down what some of us could otherwise become, I feel. 🙃
This was a fascinating conversation. Thank you for sharing!
How is the web series?
Pretty amazing.
Thanks for sharing! Really captivating interview with such elaborate and thought-provoking answers
loved the series! I haven't read the book. It's so lovely to hear.
I wonder what Connell would think of this reading! Came across the chapter in the book where he criticises them shortly before finding this video.
He knows that a lot of the literary people in college see books primarily as a way of appearing cultured. It was culture as class performance, literature fetishised for its ability to take educated people on false emotional journeys, so that they might afterwards feel superior to the uneducated people whose emotional journeys they liked to read about. Even the writer himself was a good person, and even if his book really was insightful, all books were ultimately marketed as status symbols, and all writers participated to some degree in this marketing.
Loved the interaction. Appreciate you both! Exceptional talent ❤
Wonderful talk! Thank you, Sally...
I don't think I'll be voraciously devouring her books.
Normal people tv adaptation has the Intensity of Blue is the Warmest colour but from an Irish perspective.
veronicadredd22 and call me by your name!
Watch Portrait of a Lady on Fire ughhh so good
actually true, now that you mention it - very similarly devastating
I love Sally Rooney way of speaking, so charmingly.
During the Q&A portion of the video I started watching Kishani's facial expressions and body language. She looked so unjudgemental and deer-like. I kinda want to hug her. Anyway, great interview. Very thought provoking.
I love love love hearing about how she's imagining she'll write Beautiful World Where Are You after its been released
Amazing interview!
I love how she explains her feelings towards her characters in the Q&A part 1:12 :)
Sally Rooney is brilliant! I love her!
" I mean my own life is obviously very mundane" A well read articulate woman going places saying this is really cool❤
I want her to read the entire book to me 🥺
I am mind blown by Sally's eloquence, second to her writing
She is so beautiful💙
When Kishani at the end of SR's talk prior to the q&a says "we're all really excited about that" is she referring to her new novel or "almost certain full civilizational collapse"?
hahahah
she is absolutely brilliant and i love normal people but what i am most impressed about in this video is the shine of her hair SALLY WHAT CONDITIONER DO YOU USE?
OMG - I'm in love, Sally will you marry me ? Lol. Super interview, great book and the BBC series was done superbly.
جميل لازالت في بدايتها واصبح لها شعبية اتمنى ان تكون روايتها السابقة والمقبلة بالعربية 👍👌
Will the series continue into the second season? I wonder what happened to her realtionship with Connell after he left for New York
Who else was brought here by the TV series :-) ?
me! it's incredible
I was, and just hearing the brief extract at the beginning makes me think the book is more interesting than the TV version
Books are always more detailed, but I'm loving the series so far.
Me and since then, I've bought and am reading "Conversations with Friends", I've read the short story "At the Clinic" (seedling for "Normal People") and as soon as the TV Series is over (we are at episode 4 here in Canada), I'll buy and read NP.
The book and screenplay are very very similar. They really stayed true to the book. Reading book was like reading the screenplay. Sometimes the setting of the scene was different.
if 'de buok' of Normal People is as good as the series, you are on to a classic Sally. Cormac Lad makes good point too!
This was really lovely and thought provoking - thank you for sharing it.
Super interesting! Thanks for posting this!
Rooney is an intellectual breath of fresh air; her eloquence and ability to articulate makes other current writers sound dumb.
8:24min It is interesting, because that ghost estate would mean something different for Vladimir, and Estragon, and the tension, and violence of property relations and ghosts estates etc.
She seems on top of her game, and very willing to allow her intimate writing to be accessible and accessed. I just read a rte article that said she is the "JD Salinger of our age". After Catcher in the Rye was published Salinger went into self imposed isolation. He reclused permanently in New Hampshire. I hope Saly Rooney does not do that.
I have not read Normal People. I have read Anne Enright's The Gathering where did an excellent job on characters. How does Normal People compare to the Gathering I wonder?
@@cestkk You're right, she's 'very, very young'. Though don't you think it quite extraordinary that she's a hugely successful novelist at such a young age? She's obviously captured the zeitgeist ... note the sales figures of her two novels, and the hugely popular TV series. Let's see what Rooney's future holds rather than trying to undercut and downplay her extraordinary success as a 'very, very young' writer.
damn she called it "radical changes in the way we live" 53:00
Yep. And it’s only going to get worse
She have an amazing hair , all her head is perfect inside out
This book is beautiful, great job
My god! It's like she based the character of Marianne on herself!
I am very very happy with the result and I'm sure the author is too.
I’m excited for the Hulu series! This book looks so good
Sigh
I am obsessed with irish accent ❤
Its cool man, best accent
6:26min There is a lot of it in that final part about the shoes. Where she chose to capitonage it with. Did she understand? under suspension, but reading it as the author. Perhaps leading to a post-modern realization game-theoretical crowds are so much into.
She’s probably conceiving of a bunch of characters in isolation.
Is it just me or is Marianne the spitting image of Sally? In my mind when I was reading the book I always imagined her.
22:25 mentioning Sheila Heti
writes not a novel.in a conventional sense that Rooney is glad to be compared to
she’s very talkative and charming as well as her characters
The only thing that I would disagree with her on is that we don’t have control over our destinies because of what happens to us, or that certain relationships will impact us forever. I come from an abusive home and have worked very hard in therapy to not live the life I was “destined” to because of all the pain and suffering I was experiencing. Of course it still impacts me, but I don’t think we are doomed to whatever life contrives for us. I think we have power over who we become to a fairly large degree.
ive just watched the entire series today and I loved it,dark in places at times which was a bit surprisingthe issues portrayed I mean,and I found the roles of connel and Marianne confusing,the way they both held back in how they were really feeling,i liked the ending,even though I was surprised Marianne said no to going with connel to new York,maybe I was disappointed she said no,i loved it though,awesome series
This is the first interview I've watched of Sally's and I'm so in awe of how full her humanity is. She is just incredible.
(The hosts facial expressions during Q&A were iconic too ahaha!)
Was Rooney the hidden girl? The girl who loved a man that loved her but was ashamed of his love for her.
After watching the TV series twice I'm about to embark on reading the book at first opportunity. Any advise for me? 🐽
Probably you've now read the book by now but....
I'm not alone in reading and watching NP multiple times. I find it endlessly fascinating and get new insights on each iteration. Rewatching this interview will confirm much of what you'll work out for yourself but not everything.
For example I cannot understand why Connell perpetuates his denial of Marianne as his girlfriend after they'd just got back together following his sincere apology to Marianne for his treatment of her in school. If it's purely a generational thing then why does Niall, who is in a similar financial bracket to Connell, not get it?
Similarly he can't ask Marianne to help out temporarily with his accommodation when he can't pay his rent because it'd be too much like asking for money. Didn't stop him doing just that when he got mugged!?
Also, if you liked Daisy in NP watch Where The Crawdads Sing. There are similar themes and I can't help wonder if Delia Owens read NP beforehand.
Which is the related short story / book which the host mentioned in the interview early on, can someone suggest please ..I didn't catch that
At the Clinic I think
That tablecloth had me thinking I had the low battery notification the entire time.
She is so young
What a great introduction.
Is Sally Rooney going to play the role of Marianne in season 2? She wont have to act!!
she's as much Connell as Marianne. And as much Frances as Bobbi.
what is the essay Kishani talks about towards the end of the interview?
I guess this one tinhouse.com/how-do-we-write-now/
My replica suggested me to read her book... And my replica's literary crush is sally rooney
wonderful
Any relation to Wayne?
LOVE this interviewer
That sucks. Her comments about how the title was a very late addition is so frustrating! It seems like everyone is trying to ask Sally questions about the contrasting nature of the title rather than the substance of the actual novel.
No one lives life without connections with others at some point in their life, so that type of book can’t be written, can it?
46:09min That is fine. What did reading teach you? contributed to your human skills? given that it is called the humanities: in what way was your humanity nurtured by them? If at all. Perhaps they did not.
50:00 q and a
So interesting! In her interview articles, she almost disbands literature as an art form. She thinks readers fetishized literature.
Is there another word for 'dynamic'?
The interviewer talks way too much! I'm always stressed when Sally's answering that she will interrupt her. Maybe it's just me. Also please don't spoil the plot of another novel when discussing this novel. I know it's common practice in these panels because 'everyone' has read both books or 'everyone' is too wordly to care about the plot, but come on. Those two things are not necessarily true and you can make your point without spoiling the plot.
2:40
You know, if I was going to write a book about my life I think I would call it Abnormal People.