Normal People: Differences Between the Book and the TV Show
5 Noteworthy Differences Between the BBC's Normal People and the Original Novel
5
Marianne's in a more stable place in her life at the end of both versions, still friends with Joanna and in a functional relationship with Connell. The book ends in February with Connell telling Marianne about how he's been offered a place in an MFA creative writing program in New York. In the series, Connell gives her more of a heads up before the holidays. After the holidays, she tells him that she's been thinking about New York. He expresses to her that he has second thoughts about New York and asks her to come with him. She doesn't want to leave but urges him to go anyway. Connell overtly says that he'll go, and Marianne tells him that she'll stay and that they'll be okay — cut to the credits and cue the heavy sobbing to soft music!