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brifal_ 's review for:
Intermezzo
by Sally Rooney
challenging
dark
emotional
reflective
sad
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
I really enjoyed reading this book. I thought of the characters often, wondered what they were doing and what would happen in their story next.
When I heard this book was about two siblings dealing with the death of their father from cancer, I knew it would probably be a hard read for me personally. I thought I was in a place where I could handle it, and for the most part, I did. Honestly, the dad was not a character we spent much time with, so there wasn’t that reliving of the cancer for me. I do wish for the story’s sake, we could’ve had more of a glimpse into their father’s life, but I also understand why. Because this book is not about the death of their father. It is about their brotherhood. Their childhood and how their environments informed the very different people they grew up to be. The conflict that arose from that fact. It’s about their love and hatred and respect and envy of one another. And *that* was what moved me to tears more than anything.
Rooney’s descriptions of locations, people, animals, feelings- unmatched. Her style of writing is frustrating (lack of quotation marks, half-formed sentence to symbolize stream of consciousness monologuing of the characters) but also so perfect for the characters she creates. For you to become a tenant in each of their brains, for the fact that life is happening to them so quickly that they cannot even finish a fully formed thought, the sentence just needs to be thought in whatever way it comes out so we can get to the next one, it’s incredible. Impressive honestly. It heightened the urgency and the confusion of their realities. I said this in one of my journal entries early on but I have never read a book where every character thought so much about everything and had such obvious anxiety and again, it was infuriating, but it was also so real!! Because yes that is my brain!!!
Listen! loved Margaret. And Ivan. And I loved Margaret and Ivan together. Sorry I’m not sorry!! Their relationship felt so sweet and pure and after everything Margaret had been through, she deserved to be worshipped in the way Ivan seems to. And he deserves to be loved back!!! idk about the age gap that’s none of my business!!!!
Peter, however, pissed me the fuck OFF a lot of the time. He just seemed such a mess that it was hard to feel sympathetic towards him. And maybe I’m not remembering well but I don’t really feel I saw a lot of moments where Peter was taking care of their father. Looking out for Ivan, yes, but I missed understanding more about their relationship.
AND THEN THE END WHERE SYLVIA IS LIKE “we could just have an arrangement, the three of us.” NO HE DOESN’T DESERVE YOU! I understand, the poor guy has been through a lot and by the actual end of the book I was able to negotiate my feelings with it a little bit but I just didn’t think it was fair, to anyone honestly. They both need to move on, and Naomi deserves to be loved by one person and to feel safe enough to love back. I just didn’t feel that was a satisfying end for my poor girl Sylvia. She deserved better.
This was my first Sally Rooney novel and I was entrenched into the world of this book from start to finish. Because of the disjointed sentences and the lack of punctuation, it takes a bit longer to get through than a usual book this length, but it’s still an exquisite read. It has inspired me to maybe take on reading Normal People next…. Oh god help me
When I heard this book was about
Rooney’s descriptions of locations, people, animals, feelings- unmatched. Her style of writing is frustrating (lack of quotation marks, half-formed sentence to symbolize stream of consciousness monologuing of the characters) but also so perfect for the characters she creates. For you to become a tenant in each of their brains, for the fact that life is happening to them so quickly that they cannot even finish a fully formed thought, the sentence just needs to be thought in whatever way it comes out so we can get to the next one, it’s incredible. Impressive honestly. It heightened the urgency and the confusion of their realities. I said this in one of my journal entries early on but I have never read a book where every character thought so much about everything and had such obvious anxiety and again, it was infuriating, but it was also so real!! Because yes that is my brain!!!
Peter, however, pissed me the fuck OFF a lot of the time. He just seemed such a mess that it was hard to feel sympathetic towards him. And maybe I’m not remembering well but I don’t really feel I saw a lot of moments where Peter was taking care of their father. Looking out for Ivan, yes, but I missed understanding more about their relationship.
AND THEN THE END WHERE SYLVIA IS LIKE “we could just have an arrangement, the three of us.” NO HE DOESN’T DESERVE YOU! I understand, the poor guy has been through a lot and by the actual end of the book I was able to negotiate my feelings with it a little bit but I just didn’t think it was fair, to anyone honestly. They both need to move on, and Naomi deserves to be loved by one person and to feel safe enough to love back. I just didn’t feel that was a satisfying end for my poor girl Sylvia. She deserved better.
This was my first Sally Rooney novel and I was entrenched into the world of this book from start to finish. Because of the disjointed sentences and the lack of punctuation, it takes a bit longer to get through than a usual book this length, but it’s still an exquisite read. It has inspired me to maybe take on reading Normal People next…. Oh god help me
Content Warnings
Graphic: Drug abuse, Physical abuse, Suicidal thoughts
Moderate: Cancer, Death, Death of parent
Minor: Car accident, Pandemic/Epidemic