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challenging
tense
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
I just finished this book and I can't even describe what it was about. This book is written like a stream-of-consciousness from 2 brothers' perspectives after the loss of their father. Ivan is a self-centred, naiive, brutally honest man-child, and Peter is a self-centred, emotionally distant, performative, hypocritical man-child who blames everyone else for his choices & issues and uses people without considering how it affects them. The best part was the ending, because it felt like they were finally experiencing an emotion and recognising some of their own flaws.
Favourite quote:
[Naomi to Peter] "You tell me you love me and then it's alright, goodbye, I never want to see you again. Just so you can delude yourself that you're normal, everything is normal. You're so fucking sick in the head you dont even see what you're doing to yourself. Trying to put everyone in their little box. And if we would all just stay there, then there wouldn't be any problems."
Favourite quote:
[Naomi to Peter] "You tell me you love me and then it's alright, goodbye, I never want to see you again. Just so you can delude yourself that you're normal, everything is normal. You're so fucking sick in the head you dont even see what you're doing to yourself. Trying to put everyone in their little box. And if we would all just stay there, then there wouldn't be any problems."
Content Warnings
Moderate: Alcoholism, Death, Drug abuse, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Mental illness, Misogyny, Sexism, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Suicidal thoughts, Terminal illness, Toxic relationship, Violence, Vomit, Grief, Death of parent, Gaslighting, Alcohol
challenging
dark
emotional
funny
hopeful
mysterious
reflective
sad
tense
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Content Warnings
Graphic: Alcoholism, Cursing, Death, Drug abuse, Drug use, Infidelity, Mental illness, Panic attacks/disorders, Sexism, Sexual content, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Terminal illness, Toxic relationship, Grief, Medical trauma, Car accident, Death of parent, Gaslighting, Toxic friendship, Alcohol
Moderate: Suicide attempt
emotional
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:
Yes
This is embarrassing to admit but before this, I had been actively avoiding any and ALL of Sally Rooney’s works because of her well-known no use of quotation marks + hit or miss writing style and I feel really stupid for that now.
I thought it was absolutely horrendous in Peter’s POV. Genuinely, I was shocked and thought the rest of the book would be that way. In the span of only 16 or so pages, I debated on sending it through the sky or just giving it away. When I got to Ivan’s POV, however, things slowly began to make more sense.
Flawed and realistic characters in a realistic setting, and writing that feels unique and immersive!
I thought it was absolutely horrendous in Peter’s POV. Genuinely, I was shocked and thought the rest of the book would be that way. In the span of only 16 or so pages, I debated on sending it through the sky or just giving it away. When I got to Ivan’s POV, however, things slowly began to make more sense.
Flawed and realistic characters in a realistic setting, and writing that feels unique and immersive!
Content Warnings
Graphic: Sexual content, Suicidal thoughts, Grief, Death of parent
Moderate: Alcoholism, Drug use, Infidelity
Minor: Cancer, Misogyny, Sexism, Violence, Car accident
dark
emotional
reflective
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
Graphic: Addiction, Alcoholism, Cursing, Drug abuse, Drug use, Mental illness, Panic attacks/disorders, Sexism, Death of parent, Alcohol
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.
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
Graphic: Cancer, Mental illness, Sexual content, Suicidal thoughts, Grief, Death of parent
Moderate: Alcohol
Minor: Sexism
dark
emotional
hopeful
reflective
sad
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Content Warnings
Moderate: Alcoholism, Sexism, Sexual content, Suicidal thoughts
emotional
reflective
sad
slow-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
Now I truly like the conclusion of this book, the point that it is making, the picture it created. But the way it got there... It was not pleasant. I would even say it was actively not enjoyable. Never have I read a book that was so entirely filled with sex scenes. Completely unnecessarily as well. Ivan, especially, was the most obnoxious and unlikeable character to me. The way Peter's perspective was written was scattered and confusing and it didn't even match with the substances he was taking. Benzos don't exactly make your thoughts a hurried staccato. And why on earth did the author decide not to differentiate the characters speaking from the rest of the text? There is a very good reason that this is commonly done. So no, this wasn't a good read. The idea was good. The picture created as well. But the book, in my opinion, was not.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Sexism, Sexual content, Grief
emotional
funny
hopeful
reflective
sad
slow-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
Graphic: Grief
Moderate: Cancer, Chronic illness, Death, Violence, Medical content, Car accident, Death of parent
Minor: Alcoholism, Drug abuse, Drug use, Sexism, Suicidal thoughts, Violence, Alcohol
emotional
hopeful
reflective
medium-paced
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
My favorite Sally Rooney to date. She beautifully captures the messy business of life and human relationships, with characters that are complex, flawed, and real.
Loved the themes of societal norms, pressure to conform and fear of other people's perceptions, age gaps and polyamory, grief and mental health, family dysfunction and strained relationships. There was a lot going on but everything was explored enough to satisfy.
Ivan was such a sweet, neurodivergent coded character--far from perfect but I loved him instantly. Peter took a bit more time/effort to connect with but he got to me eventually.
The audiobook was perfectly narrated.
Loved the themes of societal norms, pressure to conform and fear of other people's perceptions, age gaps and polyamory, grief and mental health, family dysfunction and strained relationships. There was a lot going on but everything was explored enough to satisfy.
Ivan was such a sweet, neurodivergent coded character--far from perfect but I loved him instantly. Peter took a bit more time/effort to connect with but he got to me eventually.
The audiobook was perfectly narrated.
"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."
Content Warnings
Moderate: Ableism, Cancer, Chronic illness, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Mental illness, Sexual content, Suicidal thoughts, Toxic relationship, Violence, Grief, Death of parent, Gaslighting, Alcohol
Minor: Addiction, Animal cruelty, Bullying, Infidelity, Sexism
challenging
emotional
reflective
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
This sibling love story has elegant descriptions and world building that is paired with messy human dialogue that mirrors life. It was fascinating to read paragraphs and pages of dialogue and thought interwoven into one, blending the line between the spoken and unspoken.
The book mainly follows Ivan and Peter but we also learn a lot of Sylvia, Margaret, and Namoi. A bit disappointed in the development of the women characters who always seem to be more mature then the two men and who by the end of the book become ornaments to Peter and Ivan's lives. It seemed like every happy moment between the partners ended with a sex scene and also every fight or deep emotional scene ended with a sex scene. Rooney does a great job of providing insight into the three women's stories and how they impact the two main characters but this depth is quickly negated when Peter and Ivan's view of the women seems to be focused on ownership, sex, and protection. All reinforcing a very masculine often unhealthy idea of love.
I truly enjoyed the end of this book and recognize life is messy and a lot of relationships are unhealthy and confusing like Intermezzo shows but the only relationship that seemed to be on a path to more stability was the two brothers. After 400+ pages a lot of issues could be solved if Peter and Ivan went to therapy.
The book mainly follows Ivan and Peter but we also learn a lot of Sylvia, Margaret, and Namoi. A bit disappointed in the development of the women characters who always seem to be more mature then the two men and who by the end of the book become ornaments to Peter and Ivan's lives. It seemed like every happy moment between the partners ended with a sex scene and also every fight or deep emotional scene ended with a sex scene. Rooney does a great job of providing insight into the three women's stories and how they impact the two main characters but this depth is quickly negated when Peter and Ivan's view of the women seems to be focused on ownership, sex, and protection. All reinforcing a very masculine often unhealthy idea of love.
I truly enjoyed the end of this book and recognize life is messy and a lot of relationships are unhealthy and confusing like Intermezzo shows but the only relationship that seemed to be on a path to more stability was the two brothers. After 400+ pages a lot of issues could be solved if Peter and Ivan went to therapy.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Sexism, Violence
Minor: Suicidal thoughts, Xenophobia