Listen free for 30 days
-
Normal People
- Narrated by: Aoife McMahon
- Length: 7 hrs and 36 mins
- Categories: Literature & Fiction, Genre Fiction
People who bought this also bought...
-
Conversations with Friends
- By: Sally Rooney
- Narrated by: Aoife McMahon
- Length: 8 hrs and 33 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Frances is a 21-year-old college student in Dublin; she performs at spoken word events with her best friend and ex-lover, Bobbi. When they are profiled by journalist Melissa, they enter an orbit of beautiful houses and raucous dinner parties. Initially unimpressed, Frances begins an affair with Nick, Melissa's husband, which gives way to an unexpected intimacy.
-
-
Great performance of a not so great novel
- By Benry on 25-10-18
-
The Summer of Impossible Things
- By: Rowan Coleman
- Narrated by: Imogen Church
- Length: 12 hrs and 18 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Thirty years ago something terrible happened to Luna's mother. Something she's prepared to reveal only after her death. In settling her mother's affairs, Luna finds more questions than answers until something impossible and magical happens.... Luna meets her mother as a young woman back in the summer of 1977. If she can truly travel back in time, she can change things. But in order to save her mother's life, will she have to sacrifice her own?
-
-
So lovely
- By Emma on 02-09-17
-
The Color Purple
- By: Alice Walker
- Narrated by: Alice Walker
- Length: 7 hrs and 58 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Celie has grown up poor in rural Georgia, despised by society and abused by her own family. She strives to protect her sister, Nettie, from a similar fate, and while Nettie escapes to a new life as a missionary in Africa, Celie is left behind without her best friend and confidante, married off to an older suitor, and sentenced to a life alone with a harsh and brutal husband. In an attempt to transcend a life that often seems too much to bear, Celie begins writing letters to God. The letters, spanning 20 years, record a journey of self-discovery and empowerment guided by the light of a few strong women.
-
-
Even better as an audiobook
- By OSR on 13-12-19
-
Americanah
- By: Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie
- Narrated by: Adjoa Andoh
- Length: 17 hrs and 28 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
As teenagers, Ifemelu and Obinze fall in love in a Nigeria under military dictatorship. The self-assured Ifemelu departs for America, where Obinze hopes to join her, but post-9/11 America will not let him in, and he plunges into a dangerous, undocumented life in London. Fifteen years later, after so long apart and so many changes, will they find the courage to meet again, face to face?
-
-
Life-changing
- By Diana John on 02-06-13
-
Bridget Jones's Diary
- By: Helen Fielding
- Narrated by: Imogen Church
- Length: 8 hrs and 27 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
A dazzling urban satire of modern human relations? An ironic, tragic insight into the demise of the nuclear family? Or the confused ramblings of a pissed thirty-something? The third installment in Bridget Jones' journey, Mad About the Boy, will be out in October 2013.
-
-
Classic book
- By Miss on 06-11-13
-
Pachinko
- By: Min Jin Lee
- Narrated by: Allison Hiroto
- Length: 18 hrs and 14 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Yeongdo, Korea - 1911. In a small fishing village on the banks of the East Sea, a club-footed, cleft-lipped man marries a 15-year-old girl. The couple have one child: their beloved daughter, Sunja. When Sunja falls pregnant by a married yakuza, the family face ruin. But then, Isak, a Christian minister, offers her a chance of salvation: a new life in Japan as his wife. Following a man she barely knows to a hostile country in which she has no friends and no home, and whose language she cannot speak, Sunja's salvation is just the beginning of her story.
-
-
Elaborate, beautifully written historical fiction
- By Tsundoko and Tea on 12-06-19
-
Conversations with Friends
- By: Sally Rooney
- Narrated by: Aoife McMahon
- Length: 8 hrs and 33 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Frances is a 21-year-old college student in Dublin; she performs at spoken word events with her best friend and ex-lover, Bobbi. When they are profiled by journalist Melissa, they enter an orbit of beautiful houses and raucous dinner parties. Initially unimpressed, Frances begins an affair with Nick, Melissa's husband, which gives way to an unexpected intimacy.
-
-
Great performance of a not so great novel
- By Benry on 25-10-18
-
The Summer of Impossible Things
- By: Rowan Coleman
- Narrated by: Imogen Church
- Length: 12 hrs and 18 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Thirty years ago something terrible happened to Luna's mother. Something she's prepared to reveal only after her death. In settling her mother's affairs, Luna finds more questions than answers until something impossible and magical happens.... Luna meets her mother as a young woman back in the summer of 1977. If she can truly travel back in time, she can change things. But in order to save her mother's life, will she have to sacrifice her own?
-
-
So lovely
- By Emma on 02-09-17
-
The Color Purple
- By: Alice Walker
- Narrated by: Alice Walker
- Length: 7 hrs and 58 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Celie has grown up poor in rural Georgia, despised by society and abused by her own family. She strives to protect her sister, Nettie, from a similar fate, and while Nettie escapes to a new life as a missionary in Africa, Celie is left behind without her best friend and confidante, married off to an older suitor, and sentenced to a life alone with a harsh and brutal husband. In an attempt to transcend a life that often seems too much to bear, Celie begins writing letters to God. The letters, spanning 20 years, record a journey of self-discovery and empowerment guided by the light of a few strong women.
-
-
Even better as an audiobook
- By OSR on 13-12-19
-
Americanah
- By: Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie
- Narrated by: Adjoa Andoh
- Length: 17 hrs and 28 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
As teenagers, Ifemelu and Obinze fall in love in a Nigeria under military dictatorship. The self-assured Ifemelu departs for America, where Obinze hopes to join her, but post-9/11 America will not let him in, and he plunges into a dangerous, undocumented life in London. Fifteen years later, after so long apart and so many changes, will they find the courage to meet again, face to face?
-
-
Life-changing
- By Diana John on 02-06-13
-
Bridget Jones's Diary
- By: Helen Fielding
- Narrated by: Imogen Church
- Length: 8 hrs and 27 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
A dazzling urban satire of modern human relations? An ironic, tragic insight into the demise of the nuclear family? Or the confused ramblings of a pissed thirty-something? The third installment in Bridget Jones' journey, Mad About the Boy, will be out in October 2013.
-
-
Classic book
- By Miss on 06-11-13
-
Pachinko
- By: Min Jin Lee
- Narrated by: Allison Hiroto
- Length: 18 hrs and 14 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Yeongdo, Korea - 1911. In a small fishing village on the banks of the East Sea, a club-footed, cleft-lipped man marries a 15-year-old girl. The couple have one child: their beloved daughter, Sunja. When Sunja falls pregnant by a married yakuza, the family face ruin. But then, Isak, a Christian minister, offers her a chance of salvation: a new life in Japan as his wife. Following a man she barely knows to a hostile country in which she has no friends and no home, and whose language she cannot speak, Sunja's salvation is just the beginning of her story.
-
-
Elaborate, beautifully written historical fiction
- By Tsundoko and Tea on 12-06-19
-
My Sh*t Therapist
- And Other Mental Health Stories
- By: Michelle Thomas
- Narrated by: Michelle Thomas
- Length: 7 hrs and 8 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
When Michelle Thomas suffered her first major depressive episode six years ago, she read and watched and listened to everything about mental health she could get her hands on in an effort to fix herself. God, it was tedious. And, quite frankly, depressing. Which is the last thing she needed. What she did need was a therapist who would listen and offer a wellness strategy catered to her specific needs. What she got was advice to watch a few YouTube videos and a cheerful reminder that 'it could be worse'.
-
-
Flipping Incredible
- By Amelia martin on 15-02-20
-
I Thought I Knew You
- By: Penny Hancock
- Narrated by: Laura Kirman
- Length: 12 hrs and 2 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Jules and Holly have been best friends since university. They tell each other everything, trading revelations and confessions and sharing both the big moments and the small details of their lives: Holly is the only person who knows about Jules’ affair; Jules was there for Holly when her husband died. And their two children - just three years apart - have grown up together. So when Jules’ daughter, Saffie, makes a rape allegation against Holly’s son, Saul, neither woman is prepared for the devastating impact this will have on their friendship or their families.
-
-
Fantastic
- By I'm all ears on 15-04-19
-
Yellow Crocus
- By: Laila Ibrahim
- Narrated by: Bahni Turpin
- Length: 8 hrs and 21 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Moments after Lisbeth is born, she’s taken from her mother and handed over to an enslaved wet nurse, Mattie, a young mother separated from her own infant son in order to care for her tiny charge. Thus begins an intense relationship that will shape both of their lives for decades to come. Though Lisbeth leads a life of privilege, she finds nothing but loneliness in the company of her overwhelmed mother and her distant, slave-owning father.
-
-
Fantastic, loved it!
- By Ann D on 07-02-15
-
The Thing Around Your Neck
- By: Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie
- Narrated by: Adjoa Andoh
- Length: 6 hrs and 52 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
From Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie, the Orange Prize-winning author of Half of a Yellow Sun, come 12 dazzling stories in which she turns her penetrating eye on the ties that bind men and women, parents and children, Nigeria and the West. Searing and profound, suffused with beauty, sorrow and longing, this collection is a resounding confirmation of Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie's prodigious storytelling powers.
-
-
A wonderful collection of stories.
- By MaryAnne on 12-10-11
-
Foreign Fruit
- By: Jojo Moyes
- Narrated by: Judith Boyd
- Length: 15 hrs and 45 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Merham is a well-ordered 50s seaside town - the kind of town where everyone knows their place (and those who don't are promptly put in it). Lottie Swift is an evacuee who has grown up with the respectable Holden family and loves Merham. The Holden's daughter Celia, however, chafes against the constraints on the town and longs to escape....
-
-
Slow burner but stick with it!!!
- By bronagh on 16-11-17
-
American Psycho
- By: Bret Easton Ellis
- Narrated by: Nick Landrum
- Length: 17 hrs and 5 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Patrick Bateman is 26 and works on Wall Street. He is handsome, sophisticated, charming, and intelligent. He is also a psychopath. And he is taking us to a head-on collision with America's greatest dream - and its worst nightmare...
-
-
a challanging but good listen
- By Mr on 13-04-13
-
A Dangerous Fortune
- By: Ken Follett
- Narrated by: Michael Page
- Length: 16 hrs and 21 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
In 1866, tragedy strikes the exclusive Windfield School when a young student drowns in a mysterious accident. His death and its aftermath initiate a spiraling circle of treachery that will span three decades and entwine many lives. From the exclusive men’s clubs and brothels that cater to every dark desire of London’s upper class to the dazzling ballrooms and mahogany-paneled suites of the manipulators of the world’s wealth, one family is splintered by a shared legacy.
-
-
A splendid melodrama
- By Kirstine on 22-05-14
-
Paper Aeroplanes
- By: Dawn O'Porter
- Narrated by: Imogen Comrie, Helen Vine
- Length: 6 hrs and 26 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
It's the mid-1990s, and 15-year-old Guernsey schoolgirls Renée and Flo are not really meant to be friends. Thoughtful, introspective and studious Flo couldn't be more different to ambitious, extroverted and sexually curious Renée. But Renée and Flo are united by loneliness and their dysfunctional families, and an intense bond is formed. Although there are obstacles to their friendship (namely Flo's jealous ex-best friend and Renée's growing infatuation with Flo's brother), 15 is an age where anything can happen.
-
-
A Must Read
- By henri k on 10-10-19
-
The Graveyard Book
- By: Neil Gaiman
- Narrated by: Neil Gaiman
- Length: 7 hrs and 43 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
When a baby escapes a murderer intent on killing the entire family, who would have thought it would find safety and security in the local graveyard? Brought up by the resident ghosts, ghouls and spectres, Bod has an eccentric childhood learning about life from the dead. But for Bod there is also the danger of the murderer still looking for him - after all, he is the last remaining member of the family.
-
-
I loved this
- By J Roberts on 25-11-08
-
The Child
- An Audible Drama
- By: Sebastian Fitzek
- Narrated by: Rupert Penry-Jones, Jack Boulter, Emilia Fox, and others
- Length: 6 hrs and 55 mins
- Original Recording
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
My name is Simon. I’m 10 years old. I’m a serial killer. Robert Stern (Rupert Penry-Jones), a successful defense attorney, doesn’t know what lies in store for him when he agrees to meet a new client in a derelict estate on the outskirts of Berlin. Stern is more than surprised, when his old love interest and professional nurse Carina (Emilia Fox) presents him a ten year old boy as his new client. Simon (Jack Boulter), a terminally ill child, who is convinced he has murdered many men in a previous life.
-
-
DREADFUL
- By Graham on 24-01-20
-
Dubliners
- By: James Joyce
- Narrated by: Connor Sheridan
- Length: 6 hrs and 46 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
These vivid, tightly focused observations about the life of Dublin's poorer classes originally made publishers uneasy: the stories contain unconventional themes and coarse language, and they mention actual people and places. Today, however, the stories are admired. They are considered to be masterful representations of Dublin done with economy and grace - representations, as Joyce himself once explained, of a chapter in the moral history of Ireland that give the Irish a good look at themselves.
-
-
Dubliners
- By colin monteith on 02-08-18
-
The Penelopiad
- By: Margaret Atwood
- Narrated by: Laural Merlington
- Length: 3 hrs and 20 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
For Penelope, wife of Odysseus, maintaining a kingdom while her husband was off fighting the Trojan War was not a simple business. Already aggrieved that he had been lured away due to the shocking behaviour of her beautiful cousin Helen, Penelope must bring up her wayward son, face down scandalous rumours, and keep over 100 lustful, greedy, and bloodthirsty suitors at bay.... And then, when Odysseus finally returns and slaughters the murderous suitors, he hangs Penelope's 12 maids.
-
-
Interesting concept, not enough depth
- By Miss Z Cook on 25-11-16
Summary
Now a major TV series.
Winner of the Costa Novel Award.
Winner of the an Post Irish Book Awards Novel of the Year.
Winner of Novel of the Year and Book of the Year at the British Book Awards.
Winner of the Specsavers National Book Awards International Author of the Year.
Nominated for the Man Booker Prize.
Nominated for the Women's Prize for Fiction.
Connell and Marianne grow up in the same small town in the west of Ireland, but the similarities end there. In school, Connell is popular and well-liked, while Marianne is a loner. But when the two strike up a conversation - awkward but electrifying - something life-changing begins. Normal People is a story of mutual fascination, friendship and love. It takes us from that first conversation to the years beyond, in the company of two people who try to stay apart but find they can't.
Critic reviews
"The literary phenomenon of the decade." (Guardian)
"The most enjoyable novel of the year." (Daily Telegraph)
"Quite astonishing." (Independent)
More from the same
What listeners say about Normal People
Reviews - Please select the tabs below to change the source of reviews.
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
- Andrea
- 06-09-19
Utterly Tedious. Vapid Bonkfest.
I don't know what I expected but I had the impression that this would be a good read. It wasn't. I cannot finish it.
The narrator's depiction of Connell is unbearably monotone, lacking in ANY character or modulation.
This book does nothing to dispel the stereotype of millennials being a self-absorbed, vapid generation.
And whilst I appreciate that sex is a big deal when you're young, I don't think the multiple sex scenes per chapter add anything to the story.
That said, I've no idea what the 'story' is either... Dull. Dull. DULL! Return Title (thank you, Audible, for that option, this was not worth a credit)
61 people found this helpful
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
- Rix Pyke
- 31-08-19
Bleak and disheartening
Horrifically negative depiction of what ‘normal’ is. Bleak portrayal of humanity. Weak and unbelievable characters
33 people found this helpful
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
- JJ
- 13-08-19
Boring
I found this very boring and couldn’t finish it . Obviously not for me but maybe for a younger audience . Narration ok but found the male voices very wooden.
21 people found this helpful
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
- Amazon Customer
- 20-04-19
Nothing happens. Should have been a short story
Tedious book and struggling to understand why it was written or published. Says nothing interesting
14 people found this helpful
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
- Wras
- 18-10-18
It plunges under your skin and invades you.
There is nothing normal about this book; it is more than it should be, deep, turbulent, complex, still and full of subtleties that are furthermore making me think, making me worried for both of the main characters.
A beautiful exploration of human frailty and the mystery of love and dependency, grief and misunderstanding, happiness and acceptance of that good when you feel undeserving of it.
A fantastic read that has left me full of melancholic fillings; absolute magic.
53 people found this helpful
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
- AJ
- 02-10-18
Loved it
I loved the characters (I’m missing them already) the story and the excellent narration. Beautiful.
42 people found this helpful
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
- sean O'halloran
- 27-06-19
Maybe I missed the point
I wondered at the end - was it worth so many hours listening?
I found the voice of Connell particularly irritating and thought the character name choices a little odd. Coming from an Irish family I was surprised at names like Eric, Helen, Lorraine and Denise. I found it hard to remember who they were.
7 people found this helpful
-
Overall
- Mrs Hilary Letch
- 19-06-19
Disappointing
This started out so well and I was really engaged with the characters.
Sadly, half way through, it all went to 'pot'
The story lost it's way and became full and confusing
The first time ever that I have skipped to the last chapter, just in case the end was thrilling but it wasn't
Well narrated but I bet even Sally Rooney was glad when it was over.
7 people found this helpful
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
- Amazon Customer
- 15-02-19
Wonderful
Beautifully observed, I found the characters believable and compelling. The use of language is wonderful, thoughtful, vivid description, not a word wasted. The narration is excellent throughout. This novel held my attention right to the end.
14 people found this helpful
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
- Prof
- 28-01-19
Beautiful novel
Exquisitely written, beautifully narrated. Came to this on a friends recommendation and thoroughly enjoyed the whole experience- thanks to Audible for making my commute such a pleasure. This is a modern, honest, insightful, mature exploration of love, dependence and the ability to grow and help others grow. It’s not wrapped up with a bow. But it’s a great novel. And that narration is close to perfection. Highly recommended
14 people found this helpful
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story

- Lynne
- 20-12-18
Simply sublime
Bear with it. Just when you despair that there’s going to be another misstep, it turns. Entrancing.
2 people found this helpful
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story

- Donncha
- 05-05-20
Tashte.
This book is tashte.
A review requires 15 words to be accepted. Cat. Dog. Mouse.
1 person found this helpful
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story

- E. D. Saxon
- 14-02-20
What is normal, anyway?
I really enjoyed this book. As a Trinity graduate I felt connected to one of the stories main locations, like I was spying on the affairs of people in a place I knew so well. Yet their narratives brought out the sense that we all feel a part of that unfamiliar and foreign, like freaks. In the end that push and pull of normal and abnormal becomes routine experience, even in new contexts. Looking forward to reading more from Rooney.
1 person found this helpful
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story

- Janice Windt
- 11-09-19
Magnificent journey for the reader
Normal People utterly absorbs the reader from the first page. What a privilege to journey with your wonderful characters in this way. Thank-you Sally! Can’t wait for your next book!
1 person found this helpful
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story

- Anthea
- 17-06-19
Get comfortable
I enjoyed this book most when I was cosy and comfortable - to better deal with the discomfort and emotional turmoil of the characters. A thought provoking story about what shapes a person, from their economic circumstances to the people they’re surrounded by. I felt quite introspective over the course of the narrative, but most enjoyed the scenes of more physical observation which gave some much needed “real world” context to the lives of the protagonists.
Certainly not your average chick-lit but I think completely appropriate for the same audience. I’d recommend it.
1 person found this helpful
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story

- Anonymous User
- 07-02-19
Beautifully honest and compelling.
What a truly beautifully-honest read. Rooney highlights the intricacies of relationships in such a compelling way.
1 person found this helpful