I was gifted the book “Normal People” in December 2019 by a friend living in London. “I thought I might give you something talked about at the moment,” she said, handing me a novel with an intense orange cover and words on its top: THE SUNDAY TIMES NUMBER ONE BESTSELLER. Sometime later, back in Poland, I spotted Sally Rooney’s “Normal People” in a popular bookstore chain on the bestseller’s bookshelf. By that time it had already been translated into Polish. Only the cover was different. Vivid blue.
The abundancy of laudable citations on its cover, as well as inside on the first couple of pages, made me decide I should read it. Such high praises, as: “At last, a gifted literary voice for a generation” or “Timeless… A classic coming-of-age love story” made me believe I’m holding a masterpiece. Finally, I read “Normal People” and can now form an opinion of my own.