Illustration: Normal People

Like 99% of the world’s population I was totally captivated by the TV adaptation of Sally Rooney’s novel Normal People. It was perfect lockdown viewing as we were all hiding out in our homes. I feel like the reason it resonated so much is because it reminds us of that total intoxication of first love and all of our need and desire for someone to really get us. It also normalises the imperfections of relationships, how difficult it is to communicate sometimes and how life’s circumstances often get in the way of a perfect ending.

During lockdown I was also drawing hugs to bring myself a little comfort. And I couldn’t resist drawing a picture of Connell and Marianne hugging in the episode that takes place in Tuscany. If you look really closely you’ll even be able to spot Connell’s chain.