A review by emmalong
Intermezzo by Sally Rooney

5.0

Intermezzo called out to me, telling me that i would love it. with themes of sibling-ship, grief from a loss of someone very close to you, and figuring yourself out despite the constant waves of insecurity and doubt, i was bound to love this. and i’m happy to report that i did. my one gripe comes from Ivan’s odd views of women when he was younger and his apparent “change” from those views being sort of glossed over. but the rest of this book was phenomenal. at first, i hated Peter’s pov and the staccato and trite way his chapters were written. then i came to realize that Rooney’s stylistic choices conveyed more about his character than any exposition or dialogue could have done.
this book was overflowing with humanity. real, flawed, raw and true characters are intertwined throughout this book flawlessly. dialogue felt meaningful and purposeful. the idea that we are all just trying our best in a world that none of us are truly cut out for and our desire to cling to people and our shared humanity - simply beautiful. i will finish my Rooney reading and possibly revisit normal people if i get bullied enough. five stars.