Reviews with content warning for Cancer - Intermezzo

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Reviews tagging 'Cancer'

Intermezzo by Sally Rooney

106 reviews

shan_lawinger's review against another edition

3.5

emotional reflective sad medium-paced

Plot or Character Driven: Character

Strong character development: Yes

Loveable characters: Complicated

Diverse cast of characters: No

Flaws of characters a main focus: Yes

Content Warnings

cinnamonsweetpotatofries's review against another edition

4.0

challenging emotional reflective tense medium-paced

Plot or Character Driven: Character

Strong character development: Complicated

Loveable characters: Complicated

Diverse cast of characters: No

Flaws of characters a main focus: Yes

Content Warnings

savvyrosereads's review against another edition

2.5

reflective slow-paced

Plot or Character Driven: Character

Strong character development: No

Loveable characters: No

Diverse cast of characters: No

Flaws of characters a main focus: Yes

Rating: 2.5/5 stars

Paul and Ivan are brothers grappling with the recent death of their father and their own emotional turmoil.

I’m not a Sally Rooney fan. This is not news to me, and I should have accepted this reality after NORMAL PEOPLE and not read this one, but I tried it anyway and immediately regretted it and two weeks later here we are. I don’t DNF, so I had to suffer through, but I did not have any fun reading this book.

I read the last 250 or so pages all in on sitting, and my rating did go up half a star by the end, but I think this may have been the result of whatever the literary equivalent of Stockholm Syndrome is called. The characters did grow on me a bit as I read, but it would be a stretch to say I actually liked or cared about any of them. I enjoy some literary fiction, even some literary fiction where “nothing happens,” but this plot (or lack thereof) combined with this writing style (which just does not click for me) equalled something I simply did not enjoy.

Needless to say, this author is beloved by a lot of people. I am truly, genuinely, so very pleased if you’re one of those people. You should go and read all of her books, so I never have to do so again.

CW: Death of parent/grief; terminal illness; chronic illness; suicidal thoughts

Content Warnings

katlynkatt's review against another edition

4.0

emotional reflective sad tense slow-paced

Plot or Character Driven: Character

Strong character development: Yes

Loveable characters: Complicated

Diverse cast of characters: No

Flaws of characters a main focus: Yes

It was an honest depiction of grief. Being that I lost my dad recently, it definitely got me with a few moments. I think what got me the most was the guilt of living a life without considering them constantly- rather, the knowing that your life as it is will never be touched by them again. The guilt of a left behind dog you both loved. The guilt of a life lost and the inability to constantly grieve. The fissures caused in a family because the structure that held it together has splintered. It was a hard book to read continuously due to that, but very good nonetheless.

The format was a bit rough at times, but I really enjoyed it as an audiobook.

Unrelated note, this book was advertised to me in a Book of the Month email titled "Dad died, now what?" about a month after my dad died, so there was that.

Content Warnings