Normal People

[Idris2002]

We were too tired for telly last night, and anyway, I didn't feel like watching BDSM scenes with my mum in the room.

 

[Idris2002]

One thing that strikes me about the series is the utter and complete absence of religion in any form, for any of the characters. The school the protagonists go to, for example, would likely in Ireland still be under some sort of religious patronage.

Now, I'm not saying this is either a good thing or a bad thing, but it's definitely a significant difference between this narrative and its predecessors (Joyce, Edna O'Brien, etc.)

 

[Kevbad the Bad]

One thing that strikes me about the series is the utter and complete absence of religion in any form, for any of the characters. The school the protagonists go to, for example, would likely in Ireland still be under some sort of religious patronage.

Now, I'm not saying this is either a good thing or a bad thing, but it's definitely a significant difference between this narrative and its predecessors (Joyce, Edna O'Brien, etc.)

There has been some religion, a bit of confession, a commemoration service and a funeral, but much of the later stuff has been away from home. Who in their right minds would give religion any time when the influence of the local priest/teacher/parent is absent?

 

[belboid]

Another thing I wondered on finally working out just how posh and rich Marianne actually was (ie really very very rich indeed) was would she really have been going to that school? It seemed to be the equivalent of a English state comp, and not a particularly good one. Wouldn’t her folks have found a way to get her into a much ‘better’ school?

 

[oryx]

One thing that strikes me about the series is the utter and complete absence of religion in any form, for any of the characters. The school the protagonists go to, for example, would likely in Ireland still be under some sort of religious patronage.

Now, I'm not saying this is either a good thing or a bad thing, but it's definitely a significant difference between this narrative and its predecessors (Joyce, Edna O'Brien, etc.)

That's an interesting point. I wonder if it's a reflection of Ireland these days being less in the grip of religion than in Joyce & O'Brien's day.

Disclaimer: I'm neither Irish nor have visited Ireland since 1990, so may be talking bullshit.

 

[Aladdin]

One thing that strikes me about the series is the utter and complete absence of religion in any form, for any of the characters. The school the protagonists go to, for example, would likely in Ireland still be under some sort of religious patronage.

Now, I'm not saying this is either a good thing or a bad thing, but it's definitely a significant difference between this narrative and its predecessors (Joyce, Edna O'Brien, etc.)

It's pretty true to modern Ireland in that sense. And there still is the odd religious event. The friend's funeral. Mariannes father's anniversary mass. It's just not an everyday thing which is the way of modern Ireland.

 

[Aladdin]

Another thing I wondered on finally working out just how posh and rich Marianne actually was (ie really very very rich indeed) was would she really have been going to that school? It seemed to be the equivalent of a English state comp, and not a particularly good one. Wouldn’t her folks have found a way to get her into a much ‘better’ school?

Yeah..over here there isn't that much of a push for private schools? Although there are independent colleges that offer Leaving Cert or the final 2 years of school .
There are a few posh boarding schools left. But many secondary schools not based in cities have enrolments very from a wide range of backgrounds.
There are some fee paying private secondary schools. They are not a guarantee of a higher quality education though.

 

[Idris2002]

Another thing I wondered on finally working out just how posh and rich Marianne actually was (ie really very very rich indeed) was would she really have been going to that school? It seemed to be the equivalent of a English state comp, and not a particularly good one. Wouldn’t her folks have found a way to get her into a much ‘better’ school?

Put it like this, it's certainly not inherently implausible, as it would be in UK (or Dublin).

 

[belboid]

cheers both. fair play to her then

 

[Thora]

Another thing I wondered on finally working out just how posh and rich Marianne actually was (ie really very very rich indeed) was would she really have been going to that school? It seemed to be the equivalent of a English state comp, and not a particularly good one. Wouldn’t her folks have found a way to get her into a much ‘better’ school?

Her mum's a solicitor and her absent father has a holiday home in Italy, but I didn't get the impression she was super rich.

 

[belboid]

Her mum's a solicitor and her absent father has a holiday home in Italy, but I didn't get the impression she was super rich.

did you see the size of that 'holiday home'? It wasn't a small bijou flat, it was a massive pad in (what was implied to be) an expensive part of the country.

 

[Idris2002]

Her mum's a solicitor and her absent father has a holiday home in Italy, but I didn't get the impression she was super rich.

They might be at a level where it was a choice between that lifestyle and the fancy fee paying private school.

That said, I used to know someone who went to the same private school as Dominic McGlinchey's sons. They were both demented as a result of things like the murder of their mother.

 

[Idris2002]

did you see the size of that 'holiday home'? It wasn't a small bijou flat, it was a massive pad in (what was implied to be) an expensive part of the country.

Was it spelled out that they own it, though? Maybe it was and I just missed it.

Also factor for n the aspirational angle: a lot of Irish Times readers would dream of that lifestyle, even if they couldn't afford it.

 

[Thora]

I don't know, I don't really know anyone who went to or sent their kids to a private school.
I did go to a (catholic) comprehensive school though and there were definitely kids there with big houses and parents who were doctors or lawyers, but I suppose there is less choice of private education out of the cities.

Anyway, I loved the series. Thought it was a very satisfying ending. Their complete lack of any ability to actually say what they want/think to each other was incredibly frustrating but also very accurate of what I remember of being that age.

 

[little_legs]

Another thing I wondered on finally working out just how posh and rich Marianne actually was (ie really very very rich indeed) was would she really have been going to that school? It seemed to be the equivalent of a English state comp, and not a particularly good one. Wouldn’t her folks have found a way to get her into a much ‘better’ school?

I suspect that if you are from a well to do family living in rural Ireland, where the story is set, your choice may be limited to either a far away boarding school or local not so posh school.

In both the book and TV adaptation, even Connell says: Where will I study English in Galway? I guess the implication here is that one's educational choices in Ireland can be pretty limited depending on where they live.

But then again I could be talking BS, I am not from Ireland.

 

[rekil]

About 7% of children attend private schools in Ireland which is the around same proportion as the UK i think. Free secondary education is relatively recent and is not free anyway. I have not seen this show.

 

[Reno]

did you see the size of that 'holiday home'? It wasn't a small bijou flat, it was a massive pad in (what was implied to be) an expensive part of the country.

I also think Marianne's family were well off rather than very rich.

Even now in a pretty small town or rural part of Italy, you pay for a villa what you'd pay for a poxy flat in London. If it had been in the family for a few decades, they would have gotten a bargain, especially if they did it up themselves. My parents had friends who bought a place not much smaller in Italy in the 70s, we stayed for a holiday once. They were better off than my family, but they'd still be considered middle class rather than rich.

You can stay in Marianne's idyllic Italian villa from 'Normal People' for just $30 a night

The villa is introduced in episode eight of the series, where Marianne, her boyfriend Jamie, Connell, and their friends take a trip to Trieste.

www.insider.com

 

[Badgers]

Watched the first couple of episodes last night.

It is oddly compelling to watch but not sure why the characters are interesting in some ways but I don't really care about any of them. Will watch another episode or two maybe.

 

[Red Cat]

I loved this, it was brilliantly done, and didn't feel to me like a young adult drama - the struggle to love and be loved isn't restricted to young adulthood, it's a life long thing. I thought it was really beautiful.

 

[porp]

I felt Connell was a bit too physically mature to be a school student even for Leaving Cert. I mean I know you see 16 year olds with moustaches and all but he was bulging out of that uniform. In that sense, it reminded me of 70s classic Please Sir but that had less BDSM

 

[Reno]

I felt Connell was a bit too physically mature to be a school student even for Leaving Cert. I mean I know you see 16 year olds with moustaches and all but he was bulging out of that uniform. In that sense, it reminded me of 70s classic Please Sir but that had less BDSM

The story follows them over several years, so they cast actors who are older but who look reasonably young, so they can play those characters as they mature into the age the actors were. Had they cast teenagers then they wouldn't have looked credible as young adults and they also couldn't have had the sex scenes, which are important to understanding the characters.

 

[Winot]

The description of Marianne’s family properties in the book isn’t as lavish as in the TV adaptation.

 

[belboid]

The story follows them over several years, so they cast actors who are older but who look reasonably young, so they can play those characters as they mature into the age the actors were. Had they cast teenagers then they wouldn't have looked credible as young adults and they also couldn't have had the sex scenes, which are important to understanding the characters.

Have you any insights into egg sucking?

 

[Reno]

Looks like the ceasefire is over.

 

[belboid]

Come on, man. Do you really think you actually imparted any new information there? We all know why it gets done, but sometimes it jars. Connel looked too old early on, whereas they got Marianne perfectly, just on a edge between being a child and a young woman.

 

[Poot]

I am enjoying this a great deal and I think the characters are very carefully drawn. There are a lot of very familiar emotions in there that I couldn't even name. Really, it's very well done. But I hate to say it but there is just too much sex! It felt too intimate seeing sixth formers in that way. Also my kids probably think I'm basically watching porn while I'm cooking tea. Yes I am Mary Whitehouse, apparently.

 

[Idris2002]

The description of Marianne’s family properties in the book isn’t as lavish as in the TV adaptation.

The house in the series is apparently the (former?) family home of independent senator Shane Ross, political gadfly and right wing man about town. Eamonn McCann had a story about him trying to canvass in Ballymun, only to find that his plummy bray did not go down so well with the residents of that staunch working class locale. . .

 

[Idris2002]

Come on, man. Do you really think you actually imparted any new information there? We all know why it gets done, but sometimes it jars. Connel looked too old early on, whereas they got Marianne perfectly, just on a edge between being a child and a young woman.

There was a lad in my school who was nicknamed "the Fridge" after an American football player of the same era who was also a huge fucker. This was back when all good Irish people dreamed of going to America when they died.

 

[Idris2002]

I am enjoying this a great deal and I think the characters are very carefully drawn. There are a lot of very familiar emotions in there that I couldn't even name. Really, it's very well done. But I hate to say it but there is just too much sex! It felt too intimate seeing sixth formers in that way. Also my kids probably think I'm basically watching porn while I'm cooking tea. Yes I am Mary Whitehouse, apparently.

Watching the penultimate ep, my mum happened to enter the room just as the titular pair were having their latest meeting of the Junior Pro-Sex League.

 

[Clair De Lune]

Come on, man. Do you really think you actually imparted any new information there? We all know why it gets done, but sometimes it jars. Connel looked too old early on, whereas they got Marianne perfectly, just on a edge between being a child and a young woman.

It is rare but sometimes I do meet 16 or 17 year olds that look in their twenties. Some folks bloom very early. I mistook one client for a teacher one day cos he was such a huge lad. He wasn't allowed to play in his age group in rugby.