Ordinary People Mirrors the Mundanity of Life in a Similar Way to Rooney’s Normal People

I say mundanity, yet there is a lot to be unpacked within this story. Nothing really happens in terms of plot, but you’re still drawn to the way these characters are changing.

Ordinary People follows the lives of two couples who find themselves falling out of love. Each have kids, each have made sacrifices and each are yearning for a taste of their previous lives together, when eye contact was exciting and date nights didn’t end at 10pm.

I must admit, it took me a while to fall into this story, mainly because of the lack of drama or plot in its entirety. I soon realised, however, that this is what makes Ordinary People so beautiful: it is ordinary in every way.

Evans perfectly captures moments of irritation, scenes of internal heartbreak and effortless dialogue between friends. There is nothing to be said about a man enjoying a cigarette on the porch, until you realise his wife has threatened to leave if she catches him one more time. Evans constantly leaves you on a ledge of ‘what now?’. You’re gripping on tightly without the promise of being pulled up, because maybe there isn’t a next step, maybe this is how life goes. You can threaten to leave but familiarity, security and a fondness of the past will keep you rooted.

It is awkward, sad and authentic. There are moments of light relief and quick laughs but, at the heart of the book, there is an unsettling narrative of so, this is how my life has ended up, is this it?

I would thoroughly recommend picking this up and giving it a read. The story is real, the characters are frustrating and Evans seamlessly reflects everyday life.