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Intermezzo
Win a free print copy of this book!
5 days and 02:28:59
10 copies available
Canada only
An exquisitely moving story about grief, love, and family, from the global phenomenon Sally Rooney.
Aside from the fact that they are brothers, Peter and Ivan Koubek seem to have little in common.
Peter is a Dublin lawyer in his thirties—successful, competent, and apparently unassailable. But in the wake of their father’s death, he’s medicating himself to sleep and struggling to manage his relationships with two very different women—his enduring first love, Sylvia, and Naomi, a college student for whom life is one long joke.
Ivan is a twenty-two-year-old competitive chess player. He has always seen himself as socially awkward, a loner, the antithesis of his glib elder brother. Now, in the early weeks of his bereavement, Ivan meets Margaret, an older woman emerging from her own turbulent past, and their lives become rapidly and intensely intertwined.
For two grieving brothers and the people they love, this is a new interlude—a period of desire, despair, and possibility; a chance to find out how much one life might hold inside itself without breaking.
Aside from the fact that they are brothers, Peter and Ivan Koubek seem to have little in common.
Peter is a Dublin lawyer in his thirties—successful, competent, and apparently unassailable. But in the wake of their father’s death, he’s medicating himself to sleep and struggling to manage his relationships with two very different women—his enduring first love, Sylvia, and Naomi, a college student for whom life is one long joke.
Ivan is a twenty-two-year-old competitive chess player. He has always seen himself as socially awkward, a loner, the antithesis of his glib elder brother. Now, in the early weeks of his bereavement, Ivan meets Margaret, an older woman emerging from her own turbulent past, and their lives become rapidly and intensely intertwined.
For two grieving brothers and the people they love, this is a new interlude—a period of desire, despair, and possibility; a chance to find out how much one life might hold inside itself without breaking.
464 pages, Hardcover
First published September 24, 2024
About the author
Sally Rooney
41 books54.4k followersSally Rooney was born in 1991 and lives in Dublin, where she graduated from Trinity College. Her work has appeared in Granta, The Dublin Review, The White Review, The Stinging Fly, and the Winter Pages anthology.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 1,094 reviews
September 26, 2024
"what if life is just a collection of essentially unrelated experiences? why does one thing have to follow meaningfully from another?"
rating: ⭑⭑⭑⭑⭑
i am still processing this book after a month, so please bear with me. i will have a full review up on my substack (https://postcardsbyelle.substack.com/) in a week or so. i am so so grateful i had the privilege of reading this as an advanced copy…the dream of a lifetime.
sally rooney is my favorite author, and one of the reasons why i love her is that she is able to inspect any relationship—romantic or platonic—at a microscopic level. she takes mundane moments, day in and day out, and creates a bigger picture that is worthy of reading; when you are finished, it will imperceptibly but surely change the way you view the world.
intermezzo felt reminiscent of beautiful world where are you, with the way two characters' alternating perspectives diverged and mirrored the way they felt about life and each other.
the heart of intermezzo is about two brothers—peter and ivan. peter, the older brother, is a successful lawyer, and ivan, the younger brother, a competitive chess player. grief for their father pervades them, mourning him looms over them like a shadow, and thus causes them to question both how they have spent their lives and the future. they grieve alone, mostly, unable to be vulnerable to each other for a large portion of the book.
what happens when you finally look in the mirror after something life changing, and the reflection that you see is unrecognizable? how do you come back from that? how do you approach intimacy and vulnerability when those feelings are completely foreign to you? how do you reconcile with and concede to love and human connection?
while peter and ivan both have complicated relationships of their own, much of the book is bereft of the romantic aspect that is often present in her other books. instead, rooney takes the time and care to vigilantly flesh out the two brothers’ personalities, and by extension their strained relationship. both brothers have distinctly unlikeable traits of their own, but she never lets go of the authorial kindness and grace she offers to her characters.
in a book that is, at its core, about love and grief and regrets, i think that is the most wonderful thing she could have done.
thank you so much to fsg for the arc! you truly made my year
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mini review
i put off reading the last ten pages for as long as i could because i knew how absolutely empty i'd feel after i finished it. i took two months reading this—a chapter every few days with emma—and it was the best decision ever. it made me appreciate rooney's words so much more, and this book is one that should be read slowly and analytically.
i'll post another review soon, but all i have to say is: be excited!!!!! this lives up to every expectation ever.
i'm literally buddy reading a sally rooney ARC with my best girl emma??? this is what our dreams are made of
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brothers??? one is a loner??? one is in love with two women??? grief?? despair??
welcome back dostoyevsky
September 24, 2024
this book was the most exciting news of my year and i got engaged the week it was announced.
https://www.instagram.com/p/DATULQKpt...
somehow, it still exceeded my life-altering, world-centering, unrealistic-to-the-point-of-being-annoying expectations.
with every book, sally rooney seems to challenge herself in a new way, showing that in the years since her last release while we've all been pining and watching paul mescal fan edits she's been ever (somehow! still!) building on her craft. in beautiful world, where are you, for example, she displayed a totally new and mesmerizing use of visual language and natural motif that i fell in love with.
here, her use of perspective is stunning. i'm a multi-pov hater, but this manages to feel like something entirely different even as it follows the interiority of three characters. it seamlessly transitions between the three while still being vividly distinct: peter's staccato trains of thought, margaret's quiet self-reflection, ivan's anxious rambling. i've never read anything like it.
decisions like the little we see from within the two female characters in peter's orbit, and are immersed in the world of ivan's, feels so true to their characters and to their stories — and such an interesting facet to the characteristic sociopolitical explorations that are the true gem of rooney's writing.
rooney also challenges herself to create characters who are simultaneously unlikable and real, making decisions that threaten to get you to put the book down and sigh while being mercilessly relatable and easy to understand.
that's what we're working with here. a novel in which every choice is so thoughtful that you can spend a minute reading a page, then pause for five minutes just to consider it. which is basically what i did (read: make myself spend a month reading this because i so dreaded not having any more of it to draw out).
peter and ivan each represent a shade of misogyny, of straight-white-man-ism in modern society, that doesn't forgive itself even while it refuses to let you ignore their own humanity and histories.
peter's perspective, made up of brief ulyssean phrases and stunning descriptions, varies as much from ivan's terminally introspective one as the two brothers do from each other.
rooney's past books have focused on waxing and waning romantic (and semi-romantic) relationships; beautiful world also features a platonic one at its core. this one takes as its subject siblings, at first nearly estranged, as they struggle toward each other.
anyway. i often hate multiple perspectives because it always feels there's one the author is more comfortable with, that the choice to distinguish the two is because they have to be different because they're different characters. rooney's decision is deliberate, each perspective difference thought out, and because of that both are wildly impressive.
i loved this book.
bottom line: all the it girls love intermezzo and all the it girls are right.
(thank you from the bottom of my heart to the publisher for the arc)
(buddy read of a lifetime with my favorite girl elle)
https://www.instagram.com/p/DATULQKpt...
somehow, it still exceeded my life-altering, world-centering, unrealistic-to-the-point-of-being-annoying expectations.
with every book, sally rooney seems to challenge herself in a new way, showing that in the years since her last release while we've all been pining and watching paul mescal fan edits she's been ever (somehow! still!) building on her craft. in beautiful world, where are you, for example, she displayed a totally new and mesmerizing use of visual language and natural motif that i fell in love with.
here, her use of perspective is stunning. i'm a multi-pov hater, but this manages to feel like something entirely different even as it follows the interiority of three characters. it seamlessly transitions between the three while still being vividly distinct: peter's staccato trains of thought, margaret's quiet self-reflection, ivan's anxious rambling. i've never read anything like it.
decisions like the little we see from within the two female characters in peter's orbit, and are immersed in the world of ivan's, feels so true to their characters and to their stories — and such an interesting facet to the characteristic sociopolitical explorations that are the true gem of rooney's writing.
rooney also challenges herself to create characters who are simultaneously unlikable and real, making decisions that threaten to get you to put the book down and sigh while being mercilessly relatable and easy to understand.
that's what we're working with here. a novel in which every choice is so thoughtful that you can spend a minute reading a page, then pause for five minutes just to consider it. which is basically what i did (read: make myself spend a month reading this because i so dreaded not having any more of it to draw out).
peter and ivan each represent a shade of misogyny, of straight-white-man-ism in modern society, that doesn't forgive itself even while it refuses to let you ignore their own humanity and histories.
peter's perspective, made up of brief ulyssean phrases and stunning descriptions, varies as much from ivan's terminally introspective one as the two brothers do from each other.
rooney's past books have focused on waxing and waning romantic (and semi-romantic) relationships; beautiful world also features a platonic one at its core. this one takes as its subject siblings, at first nearly estranged, as they struggle toward each other.
anyway. i often hate multiple perspectives because it always feels there's one the author is more comfortable with, that the choice to distinguish the two is because they have to be different because they're different characters. rooney's decision is deliberate, each perspective difference thought out, and because of that both are wildly impressive.
i loved this book.
bottom line: all the it girls love intermezzo and all the it girls are right.
(thank you from the bottom of my heart to the publisher for the arc)
(buddy read of a lifetime with my favorite girl elle)
September 24, 2024
4.5. WOW. sally rooney has such a talent for writing about interpersonal relationships and human connection, and it’s something i’ll never tire of reading.
intermezzo is the story of two brothers: peter, a successful lawyer in his thirties who is juggling relationships with two different women, and his younger brother ivan, a competitive chess player in his early twenties who begins a relationship with an older woman he meets at one of his tournaments.
it’s hard to talk in depth about this book for fear of spoiling it, but it definitely feels like a step forwards for sally rooney as a literary fiction author. intermezzo contains a much deeper character study into its two protagonists, exploring their family dynamics and how they grapple with navigating their brotherhood in the shadow of their father’s recent death. the scope of the novel feels wider; you really feel like you know these characters and why they are the way they are, why they act the way they do.
intermezzo also has rooney’s trademark political zest: commentary on wage labour, the housing crisis in dublin, monetary power dynamics, religion, existentialism, and discussions of chronic pain (to name a few). another thing i’ve always liked about sally rooney’s novels is how she talks about the internet / social media. it’s present in her books, as it needs to be when writing about young characters navigating the contemporary world, but it’s never too much. her awareness of social media, coupled with her lack of (public) personal accounts, conjures the image of rooney lurking on the periphery of the internet somewhere. she is also a master of dialogue, perfectly weaving in all the intricacies and subtleties of human conversation.
all this to say, it’s another hit from sally rooney & further cements her as my favourite author! (but who’s surprised). thank you SO much @faberbooks for the advanced copy, i’m forever indebted. intermezzo is out on 24 sept 2024!
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update: i got the arc!!! i will be devouring it asap so stay tuned
sally rooney hive we are so back
intermezzo is the story of two brothers: peter, a successful lawyer in his thirties who is juggling relationships with two different women, and his younger brother ivan, a competitive chess player in his early twenties who begins a relationship with an older woman he meets at one of his tournaments.
it’s hard to talk in depth about this book for fear of spoiling it, but it definitely feels like a step forwards for sally rooney as a literary fiction author. intermezzo contains a much deeper character study into its two protagonists, exploring their family dynamics and how they grapple with navigating their brotherhood in the shadow of their father’s recent death. the scope of the novel feels wider; you really feel like you know these characters and why they are the way they are, why they act the way they do.
intermezzo also has rooney’s trademark political zest: commentary on wage labour, the housing crisis in dublin, monetary power dynamics, religion, existentialism, and discussions of chronic pain (to name a few). another thing i’ve always liked about sally rooney’s novels is how she talks about the internet / social media. it’s present in her books, as it needs to be when writing about young characters navigating the contemporary world, but it’s never too much. her awareness of social media, coupled with her lack of (public) personal accounts, conjures the image of rooney lurking on the periphery of the internet somewhere. she is also a master of dialogue, perfectly weaving in all the intricacies and subtleties of human conversation.
all this to say, it’s another hit from sally rooney & further cements her as my favourite author! (but who’s surprised). thank you SO much @faberbooks for the advanced copy, i’m forever indebted. intermezzo is out on 24 sept 2024!
—————————
update: i got the arc!!! i will be devouring it asap so stay tuned
sally rooney hive we are so back
September 29, 2024
i would literally die for ivan. review to come
it's gonna be a sad girl september. thanks sally babes
it's gonna be a sad girl september. thanks sally babes
Currently reading
September 23, 2024More like Sally Ruin-Me am I right!?!?
*screaming crying feeling alive*
*screaming crying feeling alive*
Currently reading
February 29, 2024usually depressive episodes hit me by surprise but i'm glad to know that i can plan one for september
September 5, 2024
TLDR: This is the first time I've given Sally Rooney 5 stars. I really think this is her best, most complex and compelling book to date. It's mature in themes and writing. She explores a new, more stream of consciousness style, while balancing that with her excellent dialogue (nobody writes dialogue like Sally!) and expertly crafted characters.
The story follows brothers, Peter and Ivan, who have just lost their father to a years-long battle with cancer. Their mother, who had been divorced from their father years prior to his passing, is around but not particularly involved in their lives as she lives with her new husband and stepchildren.
Peter, in his early 30s, is a lawyer with a cool demeanor and juggling two relationships—one with Sylvia, his first love with whom he's stayed close though not physically intimate after an accident years ago left her with chronic pain; and Naomi, a college student with a more carefree attitude who makes money on the side, when not relying on Peter, from her online following.
Ivan, on the other hand, is in his early 20s and a chess 'prodigy' who has plateaued after a few years of dealing with his father's illness and struggling to find success, both personally and professionally. He's socially awkward and seemingly a complete foil of his suave older brother. His unlikely romance with an older woman, Margaret, who is dealing with a divorce and unsure how to proceed with this less-than-conventional romantic fling she finds with Ivan after he competes in a chess exhibition at the events center she manages.
The crux of the story revolves around the two brothers and their respective inner lives, especially their inability to connect with each other after the loss of their father, and the compounding grief that causes. Peter, usually unassailable, overmedicates himself and plays games with the women in his life, while Ivan seeks solace in his old friend, chess, and his newfound love, something with which he's had little experience. Both in over their heads, they misfire and hurt themselves and each other as they attempt to avoid facing the painful space their father's absence leaves in their lives.
Rooney blew me away from the very start with how real these characters felt. Though you don't necessarily get handed their entire backstories, you can feel the full scope of their lives behind them as the story unfolds in front of you. And Rooney masterfully doles out information, as well as shows you *who* these people are, through the conversations and conflicts they face on the page.
Peter's chapters are written in a much more fragmented and stream of consciousness style than I've ever seen Rooney attempt before. At first it was a bit jarring and took a second to get used to; especially when paired with her signature lack of quotation marks which is even more noticeable in his chapters that include large blocks of text weaving together inner monologue and actual character dialogue. But, it's masterfully done. Some of the best I've read in recent years and extremely effective at putting you in his headspace.
In contrast, Ivan's chapters reflect a more structured, methodical mindset. He's not just a chess player, but younger and more concerned with logic and reason, using proofs and points to cover up the insurmountable emotion he's feeling after his dad's death. As the story goes on we get to see how he grows as not just a character but a human being learning to embrace the grey areas in life, and the writing perfectly reflects that.
I loved this book, simply put. It was heart-wrenching, complicated, realistic, and beautiful. I love stories about brothers and was so impressed with Rooney's take on the subject matter, as well as weaving in themes of mortality, belief, conditioning, performance, wants/desires, and more. Absolutely her best book, in my opinion, and one I can see myself revisiting in the future. I can't wait for everyone to read this when it comes out in a few weeks!
The story follows brothers, Peter and Ivan, who have just lost their father to a years-long battle with cancer. Their mother, who had been divorced from their father years prior to his passing, is around but not particularly involved in their lives as she lives with her new husband and stepchildren.
Peter, in his early 30s, is a lawyer with a cool demeanor and juggling two relationships—one with Sylvia, his first love with whom he's stayed close though not physically intimate after an accident years ago left her with chronic pain; and Naomi, a college student with a more carefree attitude who makes money on the side, when not relying on Peter, from her online following.
Ivan, on the other hand, is in his early 20s and a chess 'prodigy' who has plateaued after a few years of dealing with his father's illness and struggling to find success, both personally and professionally. He's socially awkward and seemingly a complete foil of his suave older brother. His unlikely romance with an older woman, Margaret, who is dealing with a divorce and unsure how to proceed with this less-than-conventional romantic fling she finds with Ivan after he competes in a chess exhibition at the events center she manages.
The crux of the story revolves around the two brothers and their respective inner lives, especially their inability to connect with each other after the loss of their father, and the compounding grief that causes. Peter, usually unassailable, overmedicates himself and plays games with the women in his life, while Ivan seeks solace in his old friend, chess, and his newfound love, something with which he's had little experience. Both in over their heads, they misfire and hurt themselves and each other as they attempt to avoid facing the painful space their father's absence leaves in their lives.
Rooney blew me away from the very start with how real these characters felt. Though you don't necessarily get handed their entire backstories, you can feel the full scope of their lives behind them as the story unfolds in front of you. And Rooney masterfully doles out information, as well as shows you *who* these people are, through the conversations and conflicts they face on the page.
Peter's chapters are written in a much more fragmented and stream of consciousness style than I've ever seen Rooney attempt before. At first it was a bit jarring and took a second to get used to; especially when paired with her signature lack of quotation marks which is even more noticeable in his chapters that include large blocks of text weaving together inner monologue and actual character dialogue. But, it's masterfully done. Some of the best I've read in recent years and extremely effective at putting you in his headspace.
In contrast, Ivan's chapters reflect a more structured, methodical mindset. He's not just a chess player, but younger and more concerned with logic and reason, using proofs and points to cover up the insurmountable emotion he's feeling after his dad's death. As the story goes on we get to see how he grows as not just a character but a human being learning to embrace the grey areas in life, and the writing perfectly reflects that.
I loved this book, simply put. It was heart-wrenching, complicated, realistic, and beautiful. I love stories about brothers and was so impressed with Rooney's take on the subject matter, as well as weaving in themes of mortality, belief, conditioning, performance, wants/desires, and more. Absolutely her best book, in my opinion, and one I can see myself revisiting in the future. I can't wait for everyone to read this when it comes out in a few weeks!
September 24, 2024
I felt too many things - and I loved them all. And it was raining all day. Went for a walk to decompress, and then poured over the final 200 pages right before bed because I couldn’t let it sit for another night. It was raining all day and I’m emotional and I’m happy. 5/5
Want to read
March 7, 2024NEW SALLY ROONEY BOOK !! this will break me and i’m so ready for it (the blurb looks devastating and i’m happy ? about that)
August 12, 2024
I've been wondering for quite some time why we aren't seeing more fiction from men questioning and interrogating what masculinity is and what it should be. So much fiction has been grappling with questions of identity, it's strange that male authors--especially the straight white cis ones--have not been doing the same. But if they're not ready to do it, Sally Rooney is.
The men in question are Ivan and Peter, two brothers separated in age by ten years. Ivan is 22, a washed up chess prodigy, socially awkward, a former incel. Peter has a job as a civil rights lawyer and outwardly presents himself as smart, successful, and great with women, and absolutely must be right about everything. Neither of these men is very well acquainted with their own feelings. Not feeling them or expressing them or communicating about them. Certainly not going to therapy for them or making sure their feelings are not everyone else's problem. They are both their own particular shade of asshole, and they have never gotten along.
We find them both in flux. Their father has just died after a long illness. Ivan falls in love with Margaret, an older, not-yet-divorced woman. Peter can't seem to tear himself away from his new, much younger girlfriend Naomi who he insists is not in any way suitable for him. Peter also can't seem to tear himself away from his ex Sylvia, who might as well be Naomi's opposite. These relationships aren't the ones they're supposed to have and neither of them really understands why. Ivan gently opens himself up to the world, finding a sense of direction and a deeper investment in others. Peter shuts down more and more, going confidently one way and then setting it aside completely to confidently do the opposite, unable to define what he wants.
This book feels both very much the same and very different from her other work. She is still grappling with romantic love, how it intertwines with sexual desire and platonic affection. She is deeply interested in the ways people act the way they are supposed to act and what makes them willing to break from expectation and explore the nontraditional. She narrates in a close third person similar to Normal People. There is an optimism and a sweetness that you find in her work and her characters that comes right up to cloying but never quite goes there because she's so willing to dive deep into her characters' flaws.
What's different? Well, to start, this book is about 80% or so focused on Ivan and Peter, it's much more male than her previous work and the relationship between the two men is not the focus but it is the narrative thread that pulls it all together. She certainly seems to be trying new things with prose again, Peter's sections have a choppy narration: short, very clipped sentences, almost the opposite of a Joycean flowing stream of consciousness and yet strangely similar. You always know when you're reading about Peter vs Ivan. It took me a while to get the hang of Peter sections, they don't have that readable quality she often has. And all through the book there can be long paragraphs that go on and on, sentence after sentence. I did not find the prose friendly, exactly, but it is clearly purposeful.
Ultimately I liked it a lot even if it took me a while to get my bearings. I loved Ivan and Margaret's sections, the emotional intimacy she can bring to falling in love, plus a few beautiful sex scenes. Love just happens, and we can see why the two of them make no sense but also why they do. And it's a book about self-awareness, gaining understanding and emotional intelligence. Both of them at some point have to acknowledge, "Oh yes, that is grief that made me like this. Even though I kept saying it wasn't." And sure, Ivan and Peter are not as emotionally intelligent as the women around them, but we do see them make strides. And the longer we go the more we understand why they have such a strong dislike of each other and how the same difficult childhood led to such very different people.
I can't tell if Rooney is correcting a bit from Beautiful World (the things I didn't love there are nowhere to be found here) or if she's just continuing to try things, mixing old and new. Either way, there's a lot of what I like best about her work here. Yes she often returns to similar themes, but they're themes I enjoy. And her observation of her characters remains so precise. She is a pleasure to read.
The men in question are Ivan and Peter, two brothers separated in age by ten years. Ivan is 22, a washed up chess prodigy, socially awkward, a former incel. Peter has a job as a civil rights lawyer and outwardly presents himself as smart, successful, and great with women, and absolutely must be right about everything. Neither of these men is very well acquainted with their own feelings. Not feeling them or expressing them or communicating about them. Certainly not going to therapy for them or making sure their feelings are not everyone else's problem. They are both their own particular shade of asshole, and they have never gotten along.
We find them both in flux. Their father has just died after a long illness. Ivan falls in love with Margaret, an older, not-yet-divorced woman. Peter can't seem to tear himself away from his new, much younger girlfriend Naomi who he insists is not in any way suitable for him. Peter also can't seem to tear himself away from his ex Sylvia, who might as well be Naomi's opposite. These relationships aren't the ones they're supposed to have and neither of them really understands why. Ivan gently opens himself up to the world, finding a sense of direction and a deeper investment in others. Peter shuts down more and more, going confidently one way and then setting it aside completely to confidently do the opposite, unable to define what he wants.
This book feels both very much the same and very different from her other work. She is still grappling with romantic love, how it intertwines with sexual desire and platonic affection. She is deeply interested in the ways people act the way they are supposed to act and what makes them willing to break from expectation and explore the nontraditional. She narrates in a close third person similar to Normal People. There is an optimism and a sweetness that you find in her work and her characters that comes right up to cloying but never quite goes there because she's so willing to dive deep into her characters' flaws.
What's different? Well, to start, this book is about 80% or so focused on Ivan and Peter, it's much more male than her previous work and the relationship between the two men is not the focus but it is the narrative thread that pulls it all together. She certainly seems to be trying new things with prose again, Peter's sections have a choppy narration: short, very clipped sentences, almost the opposite of a Joycean flowing stream of consciousness and yet strangely similar. You always know when you're reading about Peter vs Ivan. It took me a while to get the hang of Peter sections, they don't have that readable quality she often has. And all through the book there can be long paragraphs that go on and on, sentence after sentence. I did not find the prose friendly, exactly, but it is clearly purposeful.
Ultimately I liked it a lot even if it took me a while to get my bearings. I loved Ivan and Margaret's sections, the emotional intimacy she can bring to falling in love, plus a few beautiful sex scenes. Love just happens, and we can see why the two of them make no sense but also why they do. And it's a book about self-awareness, gaining understanding and emotional intelligence. Both of them at some point have to acknowledge, "Oh yes, that is grief that made me like this. Even though I kept saying it wasn't." And sure, Ivan and Peter are not as emotionally intelligent as the women around them, but we do see them make strides. And the longer we go the more we understand why they have such a strong dislike of each other and how the same difficult childhood led to such very different people.
I can't tell if Rooney is correcting a bit from Beautiful World (the things I didn't love there are nowhere to be found here) or if she's just continuing to try things, mixing old and new. Either way, there's a lot of what I like best about her work here. Yes she often returns to similar themes, but they're themes I enjoy. And her observation of her characters remains so precise. She is a pleasure to read.
Want to read
March 20, 2024I would like to pre-emptively apologize to my friends and followers for how insufferable I will be once this comes out.
September 23, 2024
: ̗̀➛ 5 stars
Intermezzo by Sally Rooney is a captivating exploration of complex family and romantic relationships, grief, and personal growth. Following the lives of two brothers, Peter and Ivan, the novel dives deep into their family dynamics and the impact of their father’s death. Rooney’s signature style shines through, with sharp dialogue and insightful commentary on modern issues like wage labor, the housing crisis, and social media. Intermezzo feels like a step forward for Rooney, offering a rich, character-driven narrative that will leave readers both challenged and deeply moved.
I’ll be first in line to get a physical copy tomorrow at my local bookstore (even though I’ve already preordered a signed copy). I’m convinced Sally Rooney can do no wrong—I’m obsessed with all her work, and this is just another masterpiece. Forever grateful to Faber for providing an ARC, I’m indebted!
Thank you so much to NetGalley and Faber for an advanced digital copy of this book.
“Just the feeling, memory of a feeling, which was nothing in reality”
Intermezzo by Sally Rooney is a captivating exploration of complex family and romantic relationships, grief, and personal growth. Following the lives of two brothers, Peter and Ivan, the novel dives deep into their family dynamics and the impact of their father’s death. Rooney’s signature style shines through, with sharp dialogue and insightful commentary on modern issues like wage labor, the housing crisis, and social media. Intermezzo feels like a step forward for Rooney, offering a rich, character-driven narrative that will leave readers both challenged and deeply moved.
I’ll be first in line to get a physical copy tomorrow at my local bookstore (even though I’ve already preordered a signed copy). I’m convinced Sally Rooney can do no wrong—I’m obsessed with all her work, and this is just another masterpiece. Forever grateful to Faber for providing an ARC, I’m indebted!
Thank you so much to NetGalley and Faber for an advanced digital copy of this book.
Want to read
May 23, 2024i was planning on being a Depressed Unemployed Postgrad in september, but now i will be a Depressed Unemployed Postgrad WITH a new Sally Rooney book.
September 28, 2024
Mining topics as grief, self-doubt, unknowability of others (including family), societal pressure and existential loneliness, Rooney offers us an intelligent novel which didn't really touch me as I had hoped on an emotional level
Difficult feelings, everyone was doing their best. He was a good person, he tried. No one is perfect. Sometimes you need people to be perfect and they can’t be and you hate them forever for not being even though it isn’t their fault and it’s not yours either. You just needed something they didn’t have in them to give you. And then in other people’s lives you do the same thing, you’re the person who lets everyone down, who fails to make anything better, and you hate yourself so much you wish you were dead.
General
In three parts Sally Rooney lets us experience the world of Peter, Ivan, Margaret, Sylvie and Naomi. Starting off with a quote from Ludwig Wittgenstein, the meaning of language (and the myriad ways it can be misinterpreted) is definitely an important theme in Intermezzo. The title of the novel is drawn from chess, wherein Ivan excels, and relates to an unexpected move that poses a severe threat and forces an immediate response.
In the case of the novel the dying of the father of Peter (elder brother, barrister, 32) and Ivan (10 years younger, semi-professional chess player and freelance data analyst) is the catalyst, leading the characters to question their live till now and their relationships. The level of contempt Peter expresses for Ivan in the first two pages of the novel sets the tone for the tumultuous interpersonal relationships between the characters. The characters, as always with Rooney, are very lifelike, and at various times I was annoyed with almost of them, in how messy, inconsiderate, hypocritical and real they were portrayed.
Below my thoughts are included per section of the book, but I strongly had, despite the modernist overtures (with James Joyce being quoted as inspiration in the credits at the end of the book) that Intermezzo in a sense is very much more like a 19th century novel, a la Jane Austen. Everyone is afraid what the outside world, their friends, people from work will think about their amorous relationship, and everyone (with the exception perhaps of Margaret, who then again is very therapeutic in her manner of speaking) has trouble expressing themselves and is afraid that everyone hates them. I’m good is being used as a kevlar vest, preventing any intimacy or real human contact. Someone even thinks he'll be the talk of whole Dublin and that he'll experience social death, which had me laughing out loud in terms of self absorption and level of delusion on how important and interesting one is to others.
Maybe, with especially Peter being around my age, I expected to connect more with this book, but due to the above I remained distanced, and felt the narrative was more constructed than in the other books of Rooney.
Part 1
He is alone, she says.
Aren’t we all?
We meet the two brothers. Ivan seems very sincere and innocent, even though he is a good kisser apparently. His social awkwardness doesn’t seem overly excessive, initially I found (and feared) his tone almost like an adult version of Oscar from Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close, but soon we see him in more adult interactions as he meets Margaret, a woman in her thirties who is divorced. Peter meanwhile is a human rights lawyer. It is so interesting to me how Rooney always depicts white collar workers being incredibly rich and well off, while I dare to wager that no-one in his thirties on one income in the centre of Dublin would be overly comfortable without family money. With a youth sweetheart in Sylvie. She had some kind of accidents that makes penetrative sex no longer an option. He is also seeing a younger woman, Naomi, nearly the age of Ivan who has an OnlyFans but seemingly no money?
Here there are interesting dynamics in terms of who exploits who.
Ivan hating Peter for his smoothness (while thinking about himself He has his good qualities, kind of, but none of them have to do with living in the world he lives in, the only world that can be said in a fairly real way to exist), while Peter himself is medicating and has thoughts of wanting to die.
The book moves between the world of the two brothers, and is not innovative in terms of time jumps or structure. The themes Rooney takes on are however more complex and layered than in her other books. Both brothers are used to contexts where they can clearly win, either chess or court cases, while life doesn't offer such an easy script.
Ivan being unmoored not just from his father who died of cancer, but also falling from chess as a professional pursuit, and a recalibration of his own talent in this field.
Peter being unmoored as well, not just in how he lost on the opportunity for a live with Sylvie in his 20s, but also on the intrinsically positive impact of his work, while still enjoying winning court cases.
In this section we have almost transcendence like (but also very sensual) sex scenes, where the interpersonal relations between characters sometimes shift significantly. For instance Naomi, maybe manipulative, moved me with her vulnerability.
Rooney in general does sensual scenes in my opinion very well and effectively.
I miss some kind of background on the brothers relationship growing up in this part of the book, which is almost 200 pages, to more texture their interactions. On the other hand this makes the response of Ivan during a diner with Peter interesting, indicating significant history between them.
I enjoy Ivan, who moves in my perception from precious, touching, to overly sincere, preachy (with Rooney’s typical commentary on capitalism) and back again. An example of how Ivan thinks about himself is included below:
How often in life he has found himself a frustrated observer of apparently impenetrable systems, watching other people participate effortlessly in structures he can find no way to enter or even understand. So often that it’s practically baseline, just normal existence for him. And this is not only due to the irrational nature of other people, and the consequent irrationality of the rules and processes they devise; it’s due to Ivan himself, his fundamental unsuitedness to life. He knows this. He feels himself to have been formed, somehow, with something other than life in mind
Peter in that sense gave me less of a feeling of interiority and complexity, even though he makes overtures to connect with his brother, despite him saying this is all rather Propriety rather than affection.
Very immersive and reads so smooth, while not much fundamentally happens one could argue.
Part 2
Judgement, disapproval , disappointment, conflict; these are the means with which people remain connected with each other.
After completing this section I was wondering what part 2 adds to the dynamics already set up in part 1. I mean in, part 3 everything and everyone comes together, but this section suffers a bit from a middle book curse in a sense.
We get to see Ivan being all self righteous but visiting his dog for the first time in months, and meet his mother and stepbrother. Ivan is quite judgemental, calling a working from home corporate lawyer not contributing anything to society, funny verdict from the perspective of a jobless person, or someone in the words of Margaret A boy with braces on his teeth, mumbling in her ear Oh fuck.
Small town life is rather hard with everyone knowing everyone and being under surveillance f0r Margaret. She is being all therapeutic in her responses, I would get freaked out if my partner would say such things to me to be fair.
Meanwhile we have Naomi and Peter hurting each other by their feigned indifference for each other, while Peter is in a sense unravelling as he notes himself even: Whole thing getting out of hand. His life, widening black emptiness from which he could only avert his eyes.
This heteronormative fear of polyamory is interesting, in a sense we are not further societal than 19th century novels here with fear for scandal and judgement about age difference:
Discretion, he thinks, can render almost any eccentricity acceptable, at least for a limited time
He has no true friends to really speak and share true feelings with, very existential loneliness even though Peter has enough people to hang out with at Temple Bar.
His imagined reactions on his relationship(s) are hilarious.
We also have the flap text from the back of the book coming back here:
The demands of other people do not dissolve: they only multiply. More and more complex, more difficult. Which is another way, she thinks, of saying: more life and more life.
I like Naomi, she is quite cool even though we don't get to know more about her, with her making a casserole dish for your rich lawyer boyfriend, very trad wife.
Meanwhile he is drinking and having imaginary conversations in his mind: She’s great, says Gary.
Wordlessly Peter contemplates the remark. Great, yes. Also very expensive and probably insane.
Ivan has an epiphany that kind of sums up the whole relationship between the two brothers:
He hates me because he thinks I am an arrogant prick. And I look down on him because I think he is a fucking loser.
And we end with the realisation that drunken decisions are never a good plan.
Part 3
Things annoy him easily. Like, if they’re out of place.
Naomi makes a face then which is like a private smile to herself. So true, she says. People included.
I could tell you stories - Well Naomi, please do so! But no, the focus is very, almost Cain and Abel like on the brothers. Male masculinity preventing them both to go to therapy.
We have a whole “My life is ruined, I don’t want your life to be ruined vibe”, so 19th century like, how does she think for him? And very ableist as well in a sense.
Epic takedowns: And you’re looking back on how things were when you and I were together, how easy everything was, and everyone was jealous of us, and you just want that back again. For life to be easy.
And even:
You can’t use me like that. I am a human being
Peter his coping strategies, I can’t imagine how he survives in corporate life when he responds to mental stress in this manner: Sick with guilt thinking: then don’t think.
The hardness of having real conversations between people who know each other, with the texture in the past relationship between the brothers offering some very painful, 3 AM fridge scenes.
These arguments in chapter 15 would have me running away 5 times already before there is even a climax, definitely more than 10 years ago since I’ve had such extreme confrontations.
Family feuds and resentments are finally coming out.
It is definitely impressive how Sally Rooney sketches both perspectives here, you can understand both brothers here, including even reflective observations like: I see myself very effected by his actions but not the other way around.
We even get to know the parents a bit more: A mother is not an endless thing and Conduct is more important than beliefs.
Why think about the cruelty of time? is mentioned somewhere near the end of the book, which in a sense is a very genuine question with the characters at most being in their mid 30s.
In general they all the time think that everyone hates them and that they are in the centre of attention for other people, including the whole of Dublin.
The conclusion is a bit too hopeful in my view and not as ambiguous as I would have like maybe, but still the level of interiority and existential angst, that in a sense is very relatable, is impressive.
Difficult feelings, everyone was doing their best. He was a good person, he tried. No one is perfect. Sometimes you need people to be perfect and they can’t be and you hate them forever for not being even though it isn’t their fault and it’s not yours either. You just needed something they didn’t have in them to give you. And then in other people’s lives you do the same thing, you’re the person who lets everyone down, who fails to make anything better, and you hate yourself so much you wish you were dead.
General
In three parts Sally Rooney lets us experience the world of Peter, Ivan, Margaret, Sylvie and Naomi. Starting off with a quote from Ludwig Wittgenstein, the meaning of language (and the myriad ways it can be misinterpreted) is definitely an important theme in Intermezzo. The title of the novel is drawn from chess, wherein Ivan excels, and relates to an unexpected move that poses a severe threat and forces an immediate response.
In the case of the novel the dying of the father of Peter (elder brother, barrister, 32) and Ivan (10 years younger, semi-professional chess player and freelance data analyst) is the catalyst, leading the characters to question their live till now and their relationships. The level of contempt Peter expresses for Ivan in the first two pages of the novel sets the tone for the tumultuous interpersonal relationships between the characters. The characters, as always with Rooney, are very lifelike, and at various times I was annoyed with almost of them, in how messy, inconsiderate, hypocritical and real they were portrayed.
Below my thoughts are included per section of the book, but I strongly had, despite the modernist overtures (with James Joyce being quoted as inspiration in the credits at the end of the book) that Intermezzo in a sense is very much more like a 19th century novel, a la Jane Austen. Everyone is afraid what the outside world, their friends, people from work will think about their amorous relationship, and everyone (with the exception perhaps of Margaret, who then again is very therapeutic in her manner of speaking) has trouble expressing themselves and is afraid that everyone hates them. I’m good is being used as a kevlar vest, preventing any intimacy or real human contact. Someone even thinks he'll be the talk of whole Dublin and that he'll experience social death, which had me laughing out loud in terms of self absorption and level of delusion on how important and interesting one is to others.
Maybe, with especially Peter being around my age, I expected to connect more with this book, but due to the above I remained distanced, and felt the narrative was more constructed than in the other books of Rooney.
Part 1
He is alone, she says.
Aren’t we all?
We meet the two brothers. Ivan seems very sincere and innocent, even though he is a good kisser apparently. His social awkwardness doesn’t seem overly excessive, initially I found (and feared) his tone almost like an adult version of Oscar from Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close, but soon we see him in more adult interactions as he meets Margaret, a woman in her thirties who is divorced. Peter meanwhile is a human rights lawyer. It is so interesting to me how Rooney always depicts white collar workers being incredibly rich and well off, while I dare to wager that no-one in his thirties on one income in the centre of Dublin would be overly comfortable without family money. With a youth sweetheart in Sylvie. She had some kind of accidents that makes penetrative sex no longer an option. He is also seeing a younger woman, Naomi, nearly the age of Ivan who has an OnlyFans but seemingly no money?
Here there are interesting dynamics in terms of who exploits who.
Ivan hating Peter for his smoothness (while thinking about himself He has his good qualities, kind of, but none of them have to do with living in the world he lives in, the only world that can be said in a fairly real way to exist), while Peter himself is medicating and has thoughts of wanting to die.
The book moves between the world of the two brothers, and is not innovative in terms of time jumps or structure. The themes Rooney takes on are however more complex and layered than in her other books. Both brothers are used to contexts where they can clearly win, either chess or court cases, while life doesn't offer such an easy script.
Ivan being unmoored not just from his father who died of cancer, but also falling from chess as a professional pursuit, and a recalibration of his own talent in this field.
Peter being unmoored as well, not just in how he lost on the opportunity for a live with Sylvie in his 20s, but also on the intrinsically positive impact of his work, while still enjoying winning court cases.
In this section we have almost transcendence like (but also very sensual) sex scenes, where the interpersonal relations between characters sometimes shift significantly. For instance Naomi, maybe manipulative, moved me with her vulnerability.
Rooney in general does sensual scenes in my opinion very well and effectively.
I miss some kind of background on the brothers relationship growing up in this part of the book, which is almost 200 pages, to more texture their interactions. On the other hand this makes the response of Ivan during a diner with Peter interesting, indicating significant history between them.
I enjoy Ivan, who moves in my perception from precious, touching, to overly sincere, preachy (with Rooney’s typical commentary on capitalism) and back again. An example of how Ivan thinks about himself is included below:
How often in life he has found himself a frustrated observer of apparently impenetrable systems, watching other people participate effortlessly in structures he can find no way to enter or even understand. So often that it’s practically baseline, just normal existence for him. And this is not only due to the irrational nature of other people, and the consequent irrationality of the rules and processes they devise; it’s due to Ivan himself, his fundamental unsuitedness to life. He knows this. He feels himself to have been formed, somehow, with something other than life in mind
Peter in that sense gave me less of a feeling of interiority and complexity, even though he makes overtures to connect with his brother, despite him saying this is all rather Propriety rather than affection.
Very immersive and reads so smooth, while not much fundamentally happens one could argue.
Part 2
Judgement, disapproval , disappointment, conflict; these are the means with which people remain connected with each other.
After completing this section I was wondering what part 2 adds to the dynamics already set up in part 1. I mean in, part 3 everything and everyone comes together, but this section suffers a bit from a middle book curse in a sense.
We get to see Ivan being all self righteous but visiting his dog for the first time in months, and meet his mother and stepbrother. Ivan is quite judgemental, calling a working from home corporate lawyer not contributing anything to society, funny verdict from the perspective of a jobless person, or someone in the words of Margaret A boy with braces on his teeth, mumbling in her ear Oh fuck.
Small town life is rather hard with everyone knowing everyone and being under surveillance f0r Margaret. She is being all therapeutic in her responses, I would get freaked out if my partner would say such things to me to be fair.
Meanwhile we have Naomi and Peter hurting each other by their feigned indifference for each other, while Peter is in a sense unravelling as he notes himself even: Whole thing getting out of hand. His life, widening black emptiness from which he could only avert his eyes.
This heteronormative fear of polyamory is interesting, in a sense we are not further societal than 19th century novels here with fear for scandal and judgement about age difference:
Discretion, he thinks, can render almost any eccentricity acceptable, at least for a limited time
He has no true friends to really speak and share true feelings with, very existential loneliness even though Peter has enough people to hang out with at Temple Bar.
His imagined reactions on his relationship(s) are hilarious.
We also have the flap text from the back of the book coming back here:
The demands of other people do not dissolve: they only multiply. More and more complex, more difficult. Which is another way, she thinks, of saying: more life and more life.
I like Naomi, she is quite cool even though we don't get to know more about her, with her making a casserole dish for your rich lawyer boyfriend, very trad wife.
Meanwhile he is drinking and having imaginary conversations in his mind: She’s great, says Gary.
Wordlessly Peter contemplates the remark. Great, yes. Also very expensive and probably insane.
Ivan has an epiphany that kind of sums up the whole relationship between the two brothers:
He hates me because he thinks I am an arrogant prick. And I look down on him because I think he is a fucking loser.
And we end with the realisation that drunken decisions are never a good plan.
Part 3
Things annoy him easily. Like, if they’re out of place.
Naomi makes a face then which is like a private smile to herself. So true, she says. People included.
I could tell you stories - Well Naomi, please do so! But no, the focus is very, almost Cain and Abel like on the brothers. Male masculinity preventing them both to go to therapy.
We have a whole “My life is ruined, I don’t want your life to be ruined vibe”, so 19th century like, how does she think for him? And very ableist as well in a sense.
Epic takedowns: And you’re looking back on how things were when you and I were together, how easy everything was, and everyone was jealous of us, and you just want that back again. For life to be easy.
And even:
You can’t use me like that. I am a human being
Peter his coping strategies, I can’t imagine how he survives in corporate life when he responds to mental stress in this manner: Sick with guilt thinking: then don’t think.
The hardness of having real conversations between people who know each other, with the texture in the past relationship between the brothers offering some very painful, 3 AM fridge scenes.
These arguments in chapter 15 would have me running away 5 times already before there is even a climax, definitely more than 10 years ago since I’ve had such extreme confrontations.
Family feuds and resentments are finally coming out.
It is definitely impressive how Sally Rooney sketches both perspectives here, you can understand both brothers here, including even reflective observations like: I see myself very effected by his actions but not the other way around.
We even get to know the parents a bit more: A mother is not an endless thing and Conduct is more important than beliefs.
Why think about the cruelty of time? is mentioned somewhere near the end of the book, which in a sense is a very genuine question with the characters at most being in their mid 30s.
In general they all the time think that everyone hates them and that they are in the centre of attention for other people, including the whole of Dublin.
The conclusion is a bit too hopeful in my view and not as ambiguous as I would have like maybe, but still the level of interiority and existential angst, that in a sense is very relatable, is impressive.
September 24, 2024
life affirming
September 29, 2024
4,25 stars
'i think people aren't always nice to the people they love'
to me this quote sums up the entire book.
I've been waiting for this release for months and it didn't disappointed me. Sally Rooney always finds a way to make the ordinary feel profound.
The relationship of the two brothers with each other and with their loved ones wore me out poetically and emotionally. After all the ups and downs the journey was ultimately rewarding. And I was very satisfied about the ending. It was not rushed and well written.
I found myself relating all of the characters at different times.
'sometimes you need people to be perfect and they can't be and you hate them forever for not being even though it isn't their fault and it is not yours either.You just needed something they didn't have them to give you'the quote that made me cry 2 times
Overall,I think the book did a great job capturing the fleeting moments of life, love, and introspection.And I will be thinking about it for the next 2 weeks.
my playlist : https://open.spotify.com/playlist/2sF...
https://www.instagram.com/p/DAaKylqIm...
'i think people aren't always nice to the people they love'
to me this quote sums up the entire book.
I've been waiting for this release for months and it didn't disappointed me. Sally Rooney always finds a way to make the ordinary feel profound.
The relationship of the two brothers with each other and with their loved ones wore me out poetically and emotionally. After all the ups and downs the journey was ultimately rewarding. And I was very satisfied about the ending. It was not rushed and well written.
I found myself relating all of the characters at different times.
'sometimes you need people to be perfect and they can't be and you hate them forever for not being even though it isn't their fault and it is not yours either.You just needed something they didn't have them to give you'
Overall,I think the book did a great job capturing the fleeting moments of life, love, and introspection.And I will be thinking about it for the next 2 weeks.
my playlist : https://open.spotify.com/playlist/2sF...
https://www.instagram.com/p/DAaKylqIm...
Want to read
March 22, 2024it’s really interesting how sally just announces a book not knowing that i'd give my kidney and firstborn daughter in order to have a copy.
Read
July 2, 2024There’s rarely a time when I am more comforted and riveted by a novel than when in the hands of Rooney; INTERMEZZO is no exception. She explores new themes of brotherhood and grief with fresh stylistic choices. INTERMEZZO is an excellent addition to her oeuvre; I think it could have trumped BWWAY as my favorite of her works had it leaned further into the unique dynamic she presents.
INTERMEZZO follows two brothers, Peter and Ivan, grieving their father. Each has romantic entanglements forming the plot’s core. While the brothers’ dynamic was the most psychologically rich aspect, the novel’s 448 pages focus primarily on romance.
The novel uses close-third narration. Peter’s fragmented prose style reflects his splintered mind, while Ivan’s chapters retain Rooney’s traditional, lucid prose. Though Peter’s sections are formally ambitious, I preferred Ivan’s narrative. The fragmented prose effectively mirrors Peter’s mind and evolves, yet Ivan’s sections shine, making him one of her most compelling characters.
It reminded me of Crossroads by Franzen, in its exploration of brotherhood and use of style to reflect psychological states (shoutout to Perry!). However, Rooney avoids a family saga, rooting the narrative in the present; the recently deceased father remains almost entirely absent in characterization, adding an unconventional approach to the grief narrative, more focused on moment-to-moment character movements.
Despite my quibbles, I really enjoyed this novel. It’s a treat of ideas, at its best when exploring topics like chess, game theory, and law. When philosophy and moral inquiry take center stage, the novel soars, especially in passages about finding meaning in despair and the power of love.
BWWAY remains my favorite of her work for its self-awareness and boldness. INTERMEZZO challenged me the most, making it a rewarding read that I can’t stop thinking about. I can’t wait to discuss it with you all once it’s published in September.
INTERMEZZO follows two brothers, Peter and Ivan, grieving their father. Each has romantic entanglements forming the plot’s core. While the brothers’ dynamic was the most psychologically rich aspect, the novel’s 448 pages focus primarily on romance.
The novel uses close-third narration. Peter’s fragmented prose style reflects his splintered mind, while Ivan’s chapters retain Rooney’s traditional, lucid prose. Though Peter’s sections are formally ambitious, I preferred Ivan’s narrative. The fragmented prose effectively mirrors Peter’s mind and evolves, yet Ivan’s sections shine, making him one of her most compelling characters.
It reminded me of Crossroads by Franzen, in its exploration of brotherhood and use of style to reflect psychological states (shoutout to Perry!). However, Rooney avoids a family saga, rooting the narrative in the present; the recently deceased father remains almost entirely absent in characterization, adding an unconventional approach to the grief narrative, more focused on moment-to-moment character movements.
Despite my quibbles, I really enjoyed this novel. It’s a treat of ideas, at its best when exploring topics like chess, game theory, and law. When philosophy and moral inquiry take center stage, the novel soars, especially in passages about finding meaning in despair and the power of love.
BWWAY remains my favorite of her work for its self-awareness and boldness. INTERMEZZO challenged me the most, making it a rewarding read that I can’t stop thinking about. I can’t wait to discuss it with you all once it’s published in September.
September 28, 2024
j’annonce porter plainte contre sally rooney pour le dommage émotionnel causé par cette lecture
c’était parfait je suis en larmes
c’était parfait je suis en larmes
September 26, 2024
Intermezzo tells the tale of two brothers, Ivan and Peter, in the months following their father’s funeral. Ivan, 22, is a chess player whose ranking has been dropping steadily since his dad's cancer diagnosis. We follow his tentative steps into a relationship with Margaret, 36, a married arts director he meets at a local chess exhibition. Peter, ten years Ivan's senior, is a human rights lawyer caught between his unconventional affair with college student Naomi and his enduring love for Sylvia, his best friend and former partner who left him years ago after a life-altering car accident.
Intermezzo is ultimately a story of forgiveness. At our lowest, why do we hurt most deeply the people we love most? How do we forgive each other? And how do we go on loving one another anyways?
Over the past few months, these characters have nestled their way into the empty crevices in my heart and set up permanent residence. Ivan's awkward earnestness is immediately endearing and will inevitably capture the hearts of many readers. Peter, however, is a tougher nut to crack.
When I think about reading as an exercise in empathy, I can think of no better example than Intermezzo, and my mind goes immediately to Peter Koubek. Rooney has written this character in such a way that even when he is at his cruelest, you can’t hate him. Or at least I couldn’t. Intermezzo finds Peter in the darkest period of his life so far, but even—or perhaps especially—at his lowest point, Rooney gives us no choice but to recognize and empathize with his deepest flaws and barest humanity. Peter is our reminder to check in on the people in our lives who seemingly have it all together.
Rooney's prose in Peter’s chapters mirrors his fractured psyche—omitting words, breaking sentences. Gives his thoughts a distinct character. Took a while for me to come around. The effect it has on how we view his mental state. Everything in fragments. Broken sentences for a broken man. It's jarring at first, but as you sink into his chapters, it allows you to feel the weight of his broken world.
The novel's structure is beautifully composed, with more of an arc than Rooney’s other books. Divided into three parts, Intermezzo builds tension exquisitely, reaching its climax in the third part as characters and storylines from the two halves begin to bleed together. But then, the tension breaks and settles, leaving you with a profound sense of empathy for these flawed, deeply human characters.
Like always, Rooney invites us to grapple with questions about how we carry our material and economic realities into our interpersonal relationships. We see this with every relationship in the story, but particularly with Peter and Naomi, as well as Peter and Ivan. In a world that is so quick to label a relationship or person as toxic or problematic, Rooney calls us into nuanced conversations on the way that class, gender, and age play into our relationships.
Rooney is at her best in Intermezzo, blending her signature elements (age gap relationships, hints of Marxism, communication struggles) with new territory (male protagonists, focus on family, grief) into a beautiful story about love, family, and grief. She takes universal truths about human existence—the complexity of loving imperfect people, the struggle to be our best selves with those closest to us—and makes you feel them anew.
The biggest thank you to @fsgbooks for the ARC—my most prized possession.
Intermezzo is ultimately a story of forgiveness. At our lowest, why do we hurt most deeply the people we love most? How do we forgive each other? And how do we go on loving one another anyways?
Over the past few months, these characters have nestled their way into the empty crevices in my heart and set up permanent residence. Ivan's awkward earnestness is immediately endearing and will inevitably capture the hearts of many readers. Peter, however, is a tougher nut to crack.
When I think about reading as an exercise in empathy, I can think of no better example than Intermezzo, and my mind goes immediately to Peter Koubek. Rooney has written this character in such a way that even when he is at his cruelest, you can’t hate him. Or at least I couldn’t. Intermezzo finds Peter in the darkest period of his life so far, but even—or perhaps especially—at his lowest point, Rooney gives us no choice but to recognize and empathize with his deepest flaws and barest humanity. Peter is our reminder to check in on the people in our lives who seemingly have it all together.
Rooney's prose in Peter’s chapters mirrors his fractured psyche—omitting words, breaking sentences. Gives his thoughts a distinct character. Took a while for me to come around. The effect it has on how we view his mental state. Everything in fragments. Broken sentences for a broken man. It's jarring at first, but as you sink into his chapters, it allows you to feel the weight of his broken world.
The novel's structure is beautifully composed, with more of an arc than Rooney’s other books. Divided into three parts, Intermezzo builds tension exquisitely, reaching its climax in the third part as characters and storylines from the two halves begin to bleed together. But then, the tension breaks and settles, leaving you with a profound sense of empathy for these flawed, deeply human characters.
Like always, Rooney invites us to grapple with questions about how we carry our material and economic realities into our interpersonal relationships. We see this with every relationship in the story, but particularly with Peter and Naomi, as well as Peter and Ivan. In a world that is so quick to label a relationship or person as toxic or problematic, Rooney calls us into nuanced conversations on the way that class, gender, and age play into our relationships.
Rooney is at her best in Intermezzo, blending her signature elements (age gap relationships, hints of Marxism, communication struggles) with new territory (male protagonists, focus on family, grief) into a beautiful story about love, family, and grief. She takes universal truths about human existence—the complexity of loving imperfect people, the struggle to be our best selves with those closest to us—and makes you feel them anew.
The biggest thank you to @fsgbooks for the ARC—my most prized possession.
Want to read
February 29, 2024huuuuuge day for annoying people
June 24, 2024
absolute perfection.
dare i say sally rooney at her best???? feeling quite positive about life in general after this - thanks sally for inadvertently providing therapy in the form of this book
dare i say sally rooney at her best???? feeling quite positive about life in general after this - thanks sally for inadvertently providing therapy in the form of this book
Want to read
June 21, 2024this blurb sounds SO interesting
September 5, 2024
oh the Fleabag fans are gonna LOVE this one
rtc
rtc
September 24, 2024
edit: sept 24/24 review:
Intermezzo by sally rooney is her most ambitious —— and best —— work to date, and this is coming from someone who has rated all her books five stars and reread conversations with friends and normal people more than once (I’m due for a beautiful world, where are you reread)
buckle up, this might get long, because I have a lot of feelings about intermezzo.
in true sally fashion, intermezzo tackles complicated relationships —— between two brothers and the romantic relationships each of them are involved in. It also tackles the death of their recently deceased father, whom they are both grieving together, alone, and in very different ways.
what sally rooney continues to excel at is perfectly depicting these complicated relationships and the way she navigates them. saying the quiet parts loud. Showing, not telling, but leading us in the right direction to make our own thoughts about them.
sally rooney also continues to exceed at saying so much in so few words that lets us fill in the blanks were necessary.
what we haven’t seen before from sally is her tackling sibling relationships like this, and the anger and complicated feelings peter and Ivan have for each other feels so real, especially as they’re trying to cope with the death of their father.
in a few months it’ll be six years since my own dad died, and the way sally explores grief is perfect. grief is different for everyone, but it’s something that is universal while also being a personal experience at the same time, and the way she handled it felt similar to my own experiences with it.
sally rooney is the quintessential writer of the millennial generation, imho, and everything she says is done with purpose.
while intermezzo on its surface tackles sibling relationships and grief, it also explores romantic relationships and how they don’t need to be conventional to make it work (if that’s what people want), social class, belonging and finding your way.
intermezzo is the best book of the year, sally rooney’s best to date (even tho i will always be a softie for normal people), and a new forever favourite on my shelf.
endlessly thankful to @penguinrandomca and @knopfca for my gifted copy.
sally has done it again. the best book of the year. full review to come
(thank you to the publisher for my gifted copy)
June 9, 2024
i feel completely devastated having to leave these messy and beautifully flawed characters. sally rooney took me for an emotional loop yet again (rtc because i can’t form words rn)
September 28, 2024
Maybe it is a smart move to step away a little bit from the romantic side. Just a little. The central relationship at the heart of Intermezzo, the latest novel from Sally Rooney, is between two brothers. They also have complicated romantic relationships, but the beating heart of the novel is clearly between Ivan and Peter. Rooney says that this change happened naturally and she didn't start with the intention of writing from a male perspective, but while reading the novel, I felt a sort of pressure that I don't remember in her previous works. It is the pressure of maturity, of making sense of the world, and I do think that Rooney forces things for the first time. As clearly as she can see the complexities of the human soul, she looks too much for solutions. She is uncomfortable letting it be. And because of that, I think this is her weakest work. Still a favorite author.
September 9, 2024
"𝘏𝘢𝘥 𝘣𝘦𝘭𝘪𝘦𝘷𝘦𝘥 𝘰𝘯𝘤𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘭𝘪𝘧𝘦 𝘮𝘶𝘴𝘵 𝘭𝘦𝘢𝘥 𝘵𝘰 𝘴𝘰𝘮𝘦𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘯𝘨, 𝘢𝘭𝘭 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘶𝘯𝘳𝘦𝘴𝘰𝘭𝘷𝘦𝘥 𝘤𝘰𝘯𝘧𝘭𝘪𝘤𝘵𝘴 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘲𝘶𝘦𝘴𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯𝘴 𝘭𝘦𝘢𝘥𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘰𝘯 𝘵𝘰𝘸𝘢𝘳𝘥𝘴 𝘴𝘰𝘮𝘦 𝘨𝘳𝘦𝘢𝘵 𝘤𝘶𝘭𝘮𝘪𝘯𝘢𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯. 𝘊𝘶𝘳𝘪𝘰𝘶𝘴𝘭𝘺 𝘶𝘯𝘥𝘦𝘳𝘦𝘹𝘢𝘮𝘪𝘯𝘦𝘥 𝘣𝘦𝘭𝘪𝘦𝘧𝘴 𝘭𝘪𝘬𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵, 𝘶𝘯𝘥𝘦𝘳𝘱𝘪𝘯𝘯𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘭𝘪𝘧𝘦, 𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘱𝘦𝘳𝘴𝘰𝘯𝘢𝘭𝘪𝘵𝘺. 𝘐𝘳𝘳𝘢𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯𝘢𝘭 𝘢𝘵𝘵𝘢𝘤𝘩𝘮𝘦𝘯𝘵 𝘵𝘰 𝘮𝘦𝘢𝘯𝘪𝘯𝘨. 𝘈𝘭𝘭 𝘷𝘦𝘳𝘺 𝘸𝘦𝘭𝘭 𝘢𝘴 𝘧𝘢𝘳 𝘢𝘴 𝘪𝘵 𝘨𝘰𝘦𝘴, 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘲𝘶𝘦𝘴𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯 𝘰𝘧 𝘤𝘰𝘯𝘴𝘵𝘪𝘵𝘶𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯𝘢𝘭𝘪𝘵𝘺 𝘢𝘳𝘪𝘴𝘦𝘴, 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘴𝘰 𝘰𝘯."
Death happens. And it does something to you. Especially when that death sits close to you, comes from the same blood. And when that blood runs dry, you desperately think of your own, how it lives out the absence of lost blood, how thick it should run, how it runs in others.
Peter is left to deal with the fragmentation grief pressures in sporadic, staccato prose. While Ivan gives us breathing exercises with Rooney’s usual prose, to calm down, to keep pace.
I believe something is happening. Change. A great shift that’s occurring in literary fiction in the pinnacle of Heti, Cusk, and now Rooney: Essentialism. These are writers less concerned about voice and character. These are writers who want the story to roll out, tell it as it is, and offer us direct calls and echoes to the living of life.
With Rooney’s almost stiff Bachian approach to her usual philosophical and social inquiries on life, they move in Goldberg Variations through the novel as structure to create something invigorating. It’s musical. The way it lifts and settles. In what we want to say and what we actually say. They’re two different things: the world inside and the world out. How do we put the two in harmonious transfusion?
How do we create a seamless bond when love is matter? When that love is mattered in other people? And when grief interrupts this bonding, how do we go on?
My favorite of Rooney’s. There was something inkling in Beautiful World, Where Are You and it’s better perfected here. It’s the power of the third-person narration to aim at collectivism, to add up all the hurts of her past first-person voices, that echoes all of now’s hurt that she is saying what she needs to say, saying what needs to be said. Saying everything she wishes in lyrical variations.
"𝘛𝘩𝘦 𝘧𝘶𝘵𝘶𝘳𝘦 𝘸𝘢𝘴 𝘢 𝘮𝘺𝘴𝘵𝘦𝘳𝘺, 𝘢𝘧𝘵𝘦𝘳 𝘢𝘭𝘭, 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘸𝘢𝘴 𝘵𝘳𝘶𝘦. 𝘞𝘪𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘯 𝘪𝘯 𝘪𝘵𝘴 𝘪𝘯𝘧𝘪𝘯𝘪𝘵𝘦 𝘧𝘰𝘭𝘥𝘴 𝘪𝘵 𝘤𝘰𝘯𝘵𝘢𝘪𝘯𝘦𝘥 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘱𝘰𝘴𝘴𝘪𝘣𝘪𝘭𝘪𝘵𝘺, 𝘩𝘰𝘸𝘦𝘷𝘦𝘳 𝘳𝘦𝘮𝘰𝘵𝘦, 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘴𝘩𝘦 𝘮𝘪𝘨𝘩𝘵 𝘴𝘵𝘪𝘭𝘭 𝘣𝘦 𝘴𝘢𝘭𝘷𝘢𝘨𝘦𝘥, 𝘩𝘦𝘳 𝘣𝘰𝘥𝘺, 𝘧𝘳𝘰𝘮 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘸𝘳𝘦𝘤𝘬 𝘰𝘧 𝘢𝘭𝘭 𝘩𝘦𝘳 𝘸𝘢𝘴𝘵𝘦𝘥 𝘺𝘦𝘢𝘳𝘴. 𝘐𝘯 𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘢𝘳𝘮𝘴, 𝘵𝘰 𝘣𝘦 𝘨𝘪𝘷𝘦𝘯 𝘭𝘪𝘧𝘦, 𝘺𝘦𝘴, 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘵𝘰 𝘨𝘪𝘷𝘦 𝘭𝘪𝘧𝘦 𝘢𝘭𝘴𝘰. 𝘚𝘰𝘮𝘦𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘮𝘪𝘳𝘢𝘤𝘶𝘭𝘰𝘶𝘴, 𝘪𝘯𝘦𝘹𝘱𝘳𝘦𝘴𝘴𝘪𝘣𝘭𝘦, 𝘱𝘦𝘳𝘧𝘦𝘤𝘵. 𝘐𝘮𝘱𝘰𝘴𝘴𝘪𝘣𝘭𝘦 𝘰𝘧 𝘤𝘰𝘶𝘳𝘴𝘦 𝘵𝘰 𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘯𝘬: 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘺𝘦𝘵 𝘪𝘵 𝘩𝘢𝘱𝘱𝘦𝘯𝘦𝘥 𝘢𝘭𝘭 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘵𝘪𝘮𝘦. 𝘔𝘢𝘺 𝘩𝘢𝘷𝘦 𝘣𝘦𝘦𝘯 𝘩𝘢𝘱𝘱𝘦𝘯𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘦𝘷𝘦𝘯 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘯, 𝘤𝘰𝘯𝘤𝘦𝘢𝘭𝘦𝘥 𝘪𝘯𝘢𝘤𝘤𝘦𝘴𝘴𝘪𝘣𝘭𝘺 𝘪𝘯𝘴𝘪𝘥𝘦 𝘩𝘦𝘳 𝘣𝘳𝘦𝘢𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘣𝘰𝘥𝘺. 𝘌𝘢𝘤𝘩 𝘨𝘦𝘯𝘦𝘳𝘢𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘩𝘢𝘥 𝘨𝘰𝘯𝘦 𝘣𝘦𝘧𝘰𝘳𝘦, 𝘩𝘶𝘯𝘥𝘳𝘦𝘥𝘴, 𝘵𝘩𝘰𝘶𝘴𝘢𝘯𝘥𝘴. 𝘛𝘩𝘦 𝘰𝘯𝘭𝘺 𝘢𝘯𝘴𝘸𝘦𝘳 𝘵𝘰 𝘥𝘦𝘢𝘵𝘩, 𝘴𝘩𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘰𝘶𝘨𝘩𝘵: 𝘵𝘰 𝘦𝘤𝘩𝘰 𝘣𝘢𝘤𝘬 𝘪𝘵𝘴 𝘯𝘢𝘮𝘦 𝘪𝘯 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘸𝘢𝘺, 𝘸𝘪𝘵𝘩 𝘢𝘭𝘭 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘴𝘢𝘮𝘦 𝘪𝘯𝘵𝘦𝘯𝘴𝘪𝘵𝘺 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘴𝘦𝘯𝘴𝘦𝘭𝘦𝘴𝘴𝘯𝘦𝘴𝘴, 𝘰𝘯 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘴𝘪𝘥𝘦 𝘰𝘧 𝘭𝘪𝘧𝘦."
Death happens. And it does something to you. Especially when that death sits close to you, comes from the same blood. And when that blood runs dry, you desperately think of your own, how it lives out the absence of lost blood, how thick it should run, how it runs in others.
Peter is left to deal with the fragmentation grief pressures in sporadic, staccato prose. While Ivan gives us breathing exercises with Rooney’s usual prose, to calm down, to keep pace.
I believe something is happening. Change. A great shift that’s occurring in literary fiction in the pinnacle of Heti, Cusk, and now Rooney: Essentialism. These are writers less concerned about voice and character. These are writers who want the story to roll out, tell it as it is, and offer us direct calls and echoes to the living of life.
With Rooney’s almost stiff Bachian approach to her usual philosophical and social inquiries on life, they move in Goldberg Variations through the novel as structure to create something invigorating. It’s musical. The way it lifts and settles. In what we want to say and what we actually say. They’re two different things: the world inside and the world out. How do we put the two in harmonious transfusion?
How do we create a seamless bond when love is matter? When that love is mattered in other people? And when grief interrupts this bonding, how do we go on?
My favorite of Rooney’s. There was something inkling in Beautiful World, Where Are You and it’s better perfected here. It’s the power of the third-person narration to aim at collectivism, to add up all the hurts of her past first-person voices, that echoes all of now’s hurt that she is saying what she needs to say, saying what needs to be said. Saying everything she wishes in lyrical variations.
"𝘛𝘩𝘦 𝘧𝘶𝘵𝘶𝘳𝘦 𝘸𝘢𝘴 𝘢 𝘮𝘺𝘴𝘵𝘦𝘳𝘺, 𝘢𝘧𝘵𝘦𝘳 𝘢𝘭𝘭, 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘸𝘢𝘴 𝘵𝘳𝘶𝘦. 𝘞𝘪𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘯 𝘪𝘯 𝘪𝘵𝘴 𝘪𝘯𝘧𝘪𝘯𝘪𝘵𝘦 𝘧𝘰𝘭𝘥𝘴 𝘪𝘵 𝘤𝘰𝘯𝘵𝘢𝘪𝘯𝘦𝘥 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘱𝘰𝘴𝘴𝘪𝘣𝘪𝘭𝘪𝘵𝘺, 𝘩𝘰𝘸𝘦𝘷𝘦𝘳 𝘳𝘦𝘮𝘰𝘵𝘦, 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘴𝘩𝘦 𝘮𝘪𝘨𝘩𝘵 𝘴𝘵𝘪𝘭𝘭 𝘣𝘦 𝘴𝘢𝘭𝘷𝘢𝘨𝘦𝘥, 𝘩𝘦𝘳 𝘣𝘰𝘥𝘺, 𝘧𝘳𝘰𝘮 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘸𝘳𝘦𝘤𝘬 𝘰𝘧 𝘢𝘭𝘭 𝘩𝘦𝘳 𝘸𝘢𝘴𝘵𝘦𝘥 𝘺𝘦𝘢𝘳𝘴. 𝘐𝘯 𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘢𝘳𝘮𝘴, 𝘵𝘰 𝘣𝘦 𝘨𝘪𝘷𝘦𝘯 𝘭𝘪𝘧𝘦, 𝘺𝘦𝘴, 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘵𝘰 𝘨𝘪𝘷𝘦 𝘭𝘪𝘧𝘦 𝘢𝘭𝘴𝘰. 𝘚𝘰𝘮𝘦𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘮𝘪𝘳𝘢𝘤𝘶𝘭𝘰𝘶𝘴, 𝘪𝘯𝘦𝘹𝘱𝘳𝘦𝘴𝘴𝘪𝘣𝘭𝘦, 𝘱𝘦𝘳𝘧𝘦𝘤𝘵. 𝘐𝘮𝘱𝘰𝘴𝘴𝘪𝘣𝘭𝘦 𝘰𝘧 𝘤𝘰𝘶𝘳𝘴𝘦 𝘵𝘰 𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘯𝘬: 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘺𝘦𝘵 𝘪𝘵 𝘩𝘢𝘱𝘱𝘦𝘯𝘦𝘥 𝘢𝘭𝘭 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘵𝘪𝘮𝘦. 𝘔𝘢𝘺 𝘩𝘢𝘷𝘦 𝘣𝘦𝘦𝘯 𝘩𝘢𝘱𝘱𝘦𝘯𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘦𝘷𝘦𝘯 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘯, 𝘤𝘰𝘯𝘤𝘦𝘢𝘭𝘦𝘥 𝘪𝘯𝘢𝘤𝘤𝘦𝘴𝘴𝘪𝘣𝘭𝘺 𝘪𝘯𝘴𝘪𝘥𝘦 𝘩𝘦𝘳 𝘣𝘳𝘦𝘢𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘣𝘰𝘥𝘺. 𝘌𝘢𝘤𝘩 𝘨𝘦𝘯𝘦𝘳𝘢𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘩𝘢𝘥 𝘨𝘰𝘯𝘦 𝘣𝘦𝘧𝘰𝘳𝘦, 𝘩𝘶𝘯𝘥𝘳𝘦𝘥𝘴, 𝘵𝘩𝘰𝘶𝘴𝘢𝘯𝘥𝘴. 𝘛𝘩𝘦 𝘰𝘯𝘭𝘺 𝘢𝘯𝘴𝘸𝘦𝘳 𝘵𝘰 𝘥𝘦𝘢𝘵𝘩, 𝘴𝘩𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘰𝘶𝘨𝘩𝘵: 𝘵𝘰 𝘦𝘤𝘩𝘰 𝘣𝘢𝘤𝘬 𝘪𝘵𝘴 𝘯𝘢𝘮𝘦 𝘪𝘯 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘸𝘢𝘺, 𝘸𝘪𝘵𝘩 𝘢𝘭𝘭 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘴𝘢𝘮𝘦 𝘪𝘯𝘵𝘦𝘯𝘴𝘪𝘵𝘺 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘴𝘦𝘯𝘴𝘦𝘭𝘦𝘴𝘴𝘯𝘦𝘴𝘴, 𝘰𝘯 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘴𝘪𝘥𝘦 𝘰𝘧 𝘭𝘪𝘧𝘦."
June 6, 2024
Intermezzo does what no Sally Rooney book has done, previously. It places the romantic plots on the back-burner.
Instead, the focus is on two brothers, Ivan and Peter. With a 10 year gap between the two, this is the story of them trying to understand one another, for the first time in their lives. Both are grieving the recent loss of their father, navigating a complicated relationship with their mother, and trying to figure out what (and okay, yes, WHO) they want for themselves.
It’s incredibly emotionally complex, with an ending that manages to toe the line between being optimistic, and realistic. The romantic relationships are fraught with uncertainty, in the way that Sally Rooney fans seek out from her work—though I urge you to not go into this wanting another Normal People. Those that do, will be disappointed.
My only acknowledgment is that I found it a tiny bit too long in some areas, but there are worse things than a long Sally Rooney novel to sit with for an extra period of time.
(Thank you to the publisher for an early copy, in exchange for a review!)
Instead, the focus is on two brothers, Ivan and Peter. With a 10 year gap between the two, this is the story of them trying to understand one another, for the first time in their lives. Both are grieving the recent loss of their father, navigating a complicated relationship with their mother, and trying to figure out what (and okay, yes, WHO) they want for themselves.
It’s incredibly emotionally complex, with an ending that manages to toe the line between being optimistic, and realistic. The romantic relationships are fraught with uncertainty, in the way that Sally Rooney fans seek out from her work—though I urge you to not go into this wanting another Normal People. Those that do, will be disappointed.
My only acknowledgment is that I found it a tiny bit too long in some areas, but there are worse things than a long Sally Rooney novel to sit with for an extra period of time.
(Thank you to the publisher for an early copy, in exchange for a review!)
Shelved as 'upcoming-releases'
July 4, 2024I have read all her books (5 in total) and only gave one book 3 stars (the rest are 1 star) but you bet I'll be reading this when this comes out 😗
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