History Literature / NormalPeople

* AdaptedOut: Both Joanna and Niall have partner's in the book that are absent in the series. Connell's 58-year-old grandma also has a short passage at the beginning of the book that was not adapted into the show.

* StacysMom: In the book, Connell's friends tease him about his mom being attractive.

* AdaptationalContextChange: In the show, Lukas initially seems interested in having a normal, loving relationship with Marianne, but she's not into the affection and asks Lukas to degrade her instead. He complies, but she ultimately changes her mind when her self worth hits rock bottom. In the book, this scene doesn't exist; Lukas was into it from the start and she's the one who complies because she has no self worth anyway. She breaks up with Lukas when he says he loves her, which repulses her.

* BondageIsBad: Downplayed. Connell certainly thinks the particular way in which Marianne engages with BDSM is unhealthy, unsafe, and comes from a lack of self worth, and that in her desire to submit to men, she allows them to hurt and take advantage of her. She also seems to have some backwards ideas about what it means to be submissive, that it's doings things you don't enjoy to please your partner. However, at the same time, Connell isn't necessarily right to pathologise her, and a history of abuse doesn't mean Marianne is incapable of SafeSaneAndConsensual BDSM.

* BondageIsBad: Downplayed. Connell certainly thinks the particular way in which Marianne engages with BDSM is unhealthy, unsafe, and comes from a lack of self worth, and that in her desire to submit to men, she allows them to hurt and take advantage of her. Jamie and Lukas are definitely portrayed as abusive. She also seems to have some backwards ideas about what it means to be submissive, that it's doings things you don't enjoy to please your partner. However, at the same time, Connell isn't necessarily right to pathologise her, and a history of abuse doesn't mean Marianne is incapable of SafeSaneAndConsensual BDSM.

** Peggy however DoesNotLikeMen, delights when a man is put in his place and seems to delight in humiliating awkward men.

* WalkingShirtlessScene: Connell is often shirtless or even [[MaleFrontalNudity completely naked]]. The series turned Paul Mescal into a sex symbol.

* BadBoss: Marianne's mother Denise, despite being a wealthy lawyer who has a mansion and can afford to send her daughter to Trinity, barely pays Lorraine to be her maid.
* BigBrotherBully: Marianne's older brother Alan is mean to outright abusive towards her. He forces her to walk outside in the rain to school when his friend asks him for a ride ''while he is already dropping Marianne off''.
* CainAndAbel: Alan towards Marianne. His behavior gradually escalates into full on abuse, culminating in him slamming Marianne's door into her head, which is the point where Connell finally intervenes.

* FirstNameBasis: Connell often calls his mother by her given name Lorraine.

* InnocentBetaBitch: Karen, AlphaBitch Rachel's FieryRedHead friend. She's the one who invited Marianne to join the fundraiser, dances with Marianne at the fundraiser, and is the only person to tell off the guy who sexually assaults Marianne for refusing to dance with him at the fundraiser. She's also the first person to go to her side and even defends Marianne against Rachel and Eric trying to brush off the whole incident as "just being funny." Marianne explicitly thanks her for being so kind to her when few others would.

* NeverMyFault: Alan has a habit of knocking on Marianne's bedroom door the day after a fight so that she can apologize to ''him''. He throws a bottle at her, missing her completely, and insists "he didn't do anything," and when he accidentally slams her bedroom door into her head and induces severe bleeding, his only reaction is "are you going to blame me for this one, too?"
* ParentsAsPeople: Marianne's mom is a bit cold and reserved, but she doesn't fall into full on ParentalNeglect as she shows interest in Marianne's academic success. She may not dish out lots of verbal support, but she does show Marianne she cares by giving her the flat near Trinity to use when she's in college. That said, Marianne's mom refuses to stand up for Marianne against her brother who is controlling, spiteful, and abusive, allowing him to take the reins of the house whenever he pleases to torment Marianne.

* HotMom: In the book, Connell's friends tease him about his mom being attractive.

* AdaptationalAlternateEnding: Both the book and the series end with Connell getting a scholarship to attend a university in New York, but the ending (and presumed future) in the book is much more ambiguous than in the show. We don't even know if he accepts it or not in the book.

%%* CainAndAbel: Alan towards Marianne.

* CollegeIsHighSchoolPart2: Averted. In school, Connelly is the BigManOnCampus, while Marianne is seen as [[LonersAreFreaks a bit of a weird loner]]. When they go to Trinity, she becomes one of the popular gang, while he has trouble fitting in.

The book was adapted into a 12-episode series that aired on [[Creator/TheBBC BBC Three]] and Creator/{{Hulu}} in April 2020. It stars Daisy Edgar-Jones as Marianne and Paul Mescal as Connell.