that won Rooney epithets like “the first
great millennial novelist” and “Salinger
for the Snapchat generation” after her
2017 debut, Conversations With Friends,
when she was 26. The publication of Nor-
mal People in the U.S. earlier this year has
only increased the Irish author’s momen-
tum: Her fan base includes Zadie Smith
and Taylor Swift, her books spawn dozens
of think pieces, and her readings sell out
not only bookstores but also concert halls.
For the TV adaptation of Normal People,
Rooney cowrote episodes, and Lenny
Abrahamson and Hettie Macdonalddirected. The series, like the book, spans
from 2011 to 2015, tracing the ever-shifting
dynamics between Connell, played by
Paul Mescal in his television debut, and
Marianne, as they move from high school
through Trinity College Dublin.
“My favourite scenes from the book
generally took the form of conversations
between the two protagonists—in aban-
doned houses, in apartment kitchens,
in cars, and in bed,” Rooney wrote in an
email. (Newly arrived from Ireland for a
Cullman Center Fellowship at the New
York Public Library, where she’s workingon a new novel, she has yet to get a phone.)
“I’m excited to see those dynamics begin-
ning to unfold in a new way on the screen.”
Normal People is a complex portrait of
modern love, touching on class and poli-
tics, the lasting effects of trauma, and the
limits of communication, whether digital
or face-to-face. “During the stretches that
they’re apart, you long for them to be back
in each other’s lives,” says Mescal. “I don’t
know if they are necessarily always best
for each other,” Edgar-Jones adds, “but
there’s something about their relationship
that they can’t let go of.” —KEZIAH WEIR“My favorite scenes took the form of
conversations between the two protagonists—
in abandoned houses, in kitchens,
in cars, and in bed,” says Sally Rooney.
102 VANITY FAIR DECEMBER 2019PHOTOGRAPHS BY ENDA BOWE/HULU