What to read, watch, and listen to if you lovedNormal People
Series · 2020
If you loved Normal People, start with Normal People (Sally Rooney, 2020) — a book from the same story. Below: 4 books, 4 films and 2 podcasts, each matched to Normal People across media.
What hooked you in Normal People was the way the characters’ inability to communicate creates an exquisite, lingering ache of emotional intimacy.
Start with the source
Books on the same thread
Beautiful World, Where Are You
Sally Rooney · Book · 2021
Explores: existential dread, modern intimacy, class disparity.
If the complex relationship dynamics in Normal People resonated with you, this novel offers a deeper exploration of modern intimacy and the intellectual friction between people from different worlds.
People Watching
Hannah Bonam-Young · Book
Shares a thread with Normal People: emotional intimacy.
You will appreciate the slow-burn emotional intimacy here, which mirrors the tender and often painful process of self-discovery and connection that defined the central relationship in Normal People.
Norwegian Wood (ノルウェイの森)
Haruki Murakami · Book · 1987
Explores: Loss, Grief, Nostalgia.
The profound sense of nostalgia and the weight of grief depicted here echo the internal isolation and psychological vulnerability that Marianne and Connell navigate throughout Normal People.
A Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man
James Joyce · Book · 2022
Explores: artistic awakening, religious disillusionment, Irish nationalism.
This classic Irish bildungsroman provides the intellectual and cultural foundation for the themes of artistic awakening and social development that underpin the characters’ journeys in Normal People.
Films on the same thread
Ordinary People
Robert Redford · Film · 1980
Explores: Grief, Guilt, Suicide Attempt.
The raw portrayal of family dysfunction and the lingering effects of guilt will strike a chord if you were moved by the characters’ struggles with mental health in Normal People.
Scenes from a Marriage
Film · 1974
Shares 2 threads with Normal People: Emotional intimacy, Relationship drama.
This exploration of communication breakdown and marital dissolution captures the same intense, uncomfortable honesty about human relationships that made the central dynamic of Normal People so compelling.
Call Me by Your Name
Film · 2017
Shares a thread with Normal People: First love.
The summer-long intellectual and physical awakening shared by the leads here mirrors the transformative, once-in-a-lifetime intensity of the first love found between the protagonists of Normal People.
Moonlight
Barry Jenkins · Film · 2016
Shares a thread with Normal People: first love.
This story of identity and self-discovery across defining life chapters captures the same tender, painful, and deeply intimate growth that you witnessed between the leads in Normal People.
Podcasts on the same thread
Conan O’Brien Needs A Friend
Team Coco & Earwolf · Podcast · 2026
Explores: parasocial relationships, professional intimacy, self-deprecating humor.
While comedic, this podcast examines the nature of professional intimacy and the desire for genuine connection, reflecting the same searching for companionship found in the characters of Normal People.
The Archers
Podcast
Explores: family life, community, farming.
The focus on long-term relationship development and the complexities of community life provides a grounded, serialized look at human bonds similar to the shifting lives of Normal People.
Keep exploring
Common questions
Is Normal People based on a book?
Yes, the 2020 television series Normal People is based on the 2020 book of the same name. Both versions follow the complex relationship between Marianne and Connell as they navigate their lives, exploring themes of power, intimacy, and the fundamental human desire to love and be loved.
Should I read the book or watch Normal People first?
You can choose either order as both the 2020 book and the 2020 television series explore the same narrative of Marianne and Connell. The story focuses on their shifting connection, examining the dynamics of sex and power regardless of whether you experience the adaptation or the source material first.
What is the main theme of Normal People?
The core of Normal People is an exploration of sex, power, and the complex desire to love and be loved. Whether through the 2020 book or the television adaptation, the story tracks how the lives of Marianne and Connell weave in and out of each other over time.
Is the Normal People television series a faithful adaptation?
The 2020 television series Normal People is a direct adaptation of the 2020 book. It maintains the original focus on Marianne and Connell as they weave in and out of each other's lives, centering the narrative on the exploration of sex, power, and the desire to love and be loved.