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challenging
dark
emotional
hopeful
sad
tense
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Content Warnings
Graphic: Animal cruelty, Chronic illness, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Infidelity, Misogyny, Sexual content, Suicidal thoughts, Terminal illness, Toxic relationship, Violence, Grief, Medical trauma, Death of parent, Gaslighting, Alcohol
challenging
emotional
informative
reflective
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:
Complicated
There is nothing more quintessential Sally Rooney than her book being called “Intermezzo”—an interlude or brief composition—as that’s what Rooney does best: stories about ordinary people during short intervals of their lives.
I have always liked “slice of life” fiction and perhaps that’s what has always drawn me to Rooney’s works. They’re not trying to be some epic tale of woe or romance or adventure. They’re human, they’re impassive at times but still multidimensional, they’re extraordinary in the ordinary. They’re passionate but not in a way that feels overdone. They’re full of love and desire, but that’s not the entire point.
More than ever before, “Intermezzo” brings to the forefront the complexities, intricacies, simplicities and extremities of existence, this time following the reflective but not parallel lives of brothers Peter and Ivan whose father has recently died.
Though separated by a decade and differing personalities, they both look for the same things in a partner. They don’t get along, they don’t see eye to eye and yet—they care for people in similar ways. Ivan, a stellar chess player and the younger of the two, wants to make Margaret happy and to feel safe despite her being older than his brother. Peter wants to take care of both Sylvia and Naomi, one the love of his life and the other his current girlfriend. Ivan is an overthinker, humble in his overly capable abilities, funny in simple ways, if a little socially awkward. While Peter is an addict but often the more adept and sensical of the two. They clash in their feelings toward each other and each other’s romantic relationships as they make their way through their grief, not always acknowledging it in healthy ways. It’s messy and real. You’ll root for one brother over the other, and the next moment desperately wish for resolve. Family is complicated, and even more so when you bring outside romantic interests into the equation. Such is life.
While long winded in its paragraphs and the lengthiest of Rooney’s books to date, “Intermezzo” is essential reading if you are looking for a novel about the interpersonal complexities of the average millennial amidst the backdrop of modern day Ireland. Or really if you’re looking for any book that takes a deep dive into sibling relationships and how they change and take shape over time.
I feel like I have a lot more to say about this one but I’m unsure how to express it in a way that makes sense, so I’ll just leave you with some favorite lines:
“Peter naturally unable to be thirsty on main, he has a career to think about.” (Rooney is so funny and I think people forget that since her books are supposed to be serious and melancholic)
“But say if you take the example of a teacher, they go into work every day and like, teach children to read. The school isn't making any profit, obviously, because it's free to go there. But I think we all agree, the children should learn to read, so we better pay someone to teach them. Since that person needs to eat, and so on. If we organise everything in view of profit, we get things happening in the economy that make no sense. Like in this example, no one has a direct profit motive for teaching children, but the whole economy will collapse if people can't read. You get the same problem with infrastructure, and all kinds of things.”
“You know, life can be sad. It’s no good pretending to be happy all the time.”
“They were both embarrassed, he thinks, but happy at the same time, and there was a pleasant feeling of foolishness between them that made them want to laugh even though nothing was funny.”
“And what if life is just a collection of essentially unrelated experiences? Why does one thing have to follow meaningfully from another?”
“… mutual attraction - which even makes sense from the evolutionary perspective - is simply the strongest reason to do anything, overriding all the contrary principles and making them fall away into nothing.”
“—life, which is now the most painful ordeal conceivable—“
“Go on in any case living.”
God, I love Sally Rooney!!!
I have always liked “slice of life” fiction and perhaps that’s what has always drawn me to Rooney’s works. They’re not trying to be some epic tale of woe or romance or adventure. They’re human, they’re impassive at times but still multidimensional, they’re extraordinary in the ordinary. They’re passionate but not in a way that feels overdone. They’re full of love and desire, but that’s not the entire point.
More than ever before, “Intermezzo” brings to the forefront the complexities, intricacies, simplicities and extremities of existence, this time following the reflective but not parallel lives of brothers Peter and Ivan whose father has recently died.
Though separated by a decade and differing personalities, they both look for the same things in a partner. They don’t get along, they don’t see eye to eye and yet—they care for people in similar ways. Ivan, a stellar chess player and the younger of the two, wants to make Margaret happy and to feel safe despite her being older than his brother. Peter wants to take care of both Sylvia and Naomi, one the love of his life and the other his current girlfriend. Ivan is an overthinker, humble in his overly capable abilities, funny in simple ways, if a little socially awkward. While Peter is an addict but often the more adept and sensical of the two. They clash in their feelings toward each other and each other’s romantic relationships as they make their way through their grief, not always acknowledging it in healthy ways. It’s messy and real. You’ll root for one brother over the other, and the next moment desperately wish for resolve. Family is complicated, and even more so when you bring outside romantic interests into the equation. Such is life.
While long winded in its paragraphs and the lengthiest of Rooney’s books to date, “Intermezzo” is essential reading if you are looking for a novel about the interpersonal complexities of the average millennial amidst the backdrop of modern day Ireland. Or really if you’re looking for any book that takes a deep dive into sibling relationships and how they change and take shape over time.
I feel like I have a lot more to say about this one but I’m unsure how to express it in a way that makes sense, so I’ll just leave you with some favorite lines:
“Peter naturally unable to be thirsty on main, he has a career to think about.” (Rooney is so funny and I think people forget that since her books are supposed to be serious and melancholic)
“But say if you take the example of a teacher, they go into work every day and like, teach children to read. The school isn't making any profit, obviously, because it's free to go there. But I think we all agree, the children should learn to read, so we better pay someone to teach them. Since that person needs to eat, and so on. If we organise everything in view of profit, we get things happening in the economy that make no sense. Like in this example, no one has a direct profit motive for teaching children, but the whole economy will collapse if people can't read. You get the same problem with infrastructure, and all kinds of things.”
“You know, life can be sad. It’s no good pretending to be happy all the time.”
“They were both embarrassed, he thinks, but happy at the same time, and there was a pleasant feeling of foolishness between them that made them want to laugh even though nothing was funny.”
“And what if life is just a collection of essentially unrelated experiences? Why does one thing have to follow meaningfully from another?”
“… mutual attraction - which even makes sense from the evolutionary perspective - is simply the strongest reason to do anything, overriding all the contrary principles and making them fall away into nothing.”
“—life, which is now the most painful ordeal conceivable—“
“Go on in any case living.”
God, I love Sally Rooney!!!
Content Warnings
Graphic: Addiction, Alcoholism, Bullying, Chronic illness, Cursing, Death, Drug abuse, Drug use, Mental illness, Sexual content, Suicidal thoughts, Grief, Death of parent, Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Cancer, Infidelity, Misogyny, Physical abuse, Terminal illness, Toxic relationship, Gaslighting
Minor: Pandemic/Epidemic