Intermezzo by Sally Rooney
Sally Rooney has studied the chessboard of life and is something of a grandmaster at putting it into words. Her dialogue is gripping and so brilliantly frustrating, as her characters never quite say exactly what they feel. Among the many relationships woven into this story, the central one for readers to unravel is the fraternal connection—or lack thereof—between Ivan and Peter Koubek. Ivan, a socially awkward chess prodigy, contrasts sharply with his older brother Peter, a successful lawyer living in Dublin. Following their father's passing after a long battle with cancer, the brothers' already strained relationship faces new trials.
| Intermezzo by Sally Rooney | |
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| Category: General Fiction | |
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Reviewer: Heather Magee
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| Summary: The compelling story of two brothers dealing with grief, romantic attachment and adult life in very interrelated ways. Sally Rooney writes so evocatively, writes such detail into each moment that the story adopts a verisimilitude which makes the whole thing irresistible. | |
| Buy? yes | Borrow? yes |
| Pages: 448 | Date: September 2024 |
| Publisher: Faber & Faber | |
| External links: Author's website | |
| ISBN: 978-0571365463 | |
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The uncomfortable moments in which Peter admits the low regard in which he holds Ivan were also some of the most effective in mining through to the core of their fractured relationship. However, this is not the only relationship portrayed in the book. Peter, still in love with his ex-girlfriend Sylvia after a life-altering accident, also finds himself entangled with Naomi, a younger, financially dependent woman whose volatility contrasts with Sylvia's steady influence.
Meanwhile, Ivan, who has never had a long-term relationship, becomes involved with Margaret, an older woman recently separated from her alcoholic husband, though still legally married. Through these various entanglements, the way that each brother thinks and behaves is exposed in not always endearing ways, though sympathy is somewhat maintained due to the obvious weight of bereavement they are both dealing with. I found it clever how Ivan's thoughts were very methodically delivered whereas Peter's are jotted down almost like flashes of emotion, as the shift in writing style echoes their distinct approaches to life.
The women in the story are largely constructed through the perspectives of Ivan and Peter. Naomi and Sylvia are very different, and they are described in terms of what they bring to the table for Peter, considering that his main dilemma is who to choose of the two. As is the nature of a dilemma, the issue is complicated and so the reader receives the full pros and cons list, resulting in a portrait of both women that feels complete and accurate. Margaret, on the other hand, is lionised (I think, by Ivan and not by Sally Rooney), and especially towards the end of the book escapes all judgement from the reader, which hardly seems fair to Naomi and Sylvia, who I admittedly disliked at several points. It could be that Margaret's perfect demeanour is not simply a rose-tinted projection of Ivan's adoration for her, but rather a reflection of her own shielded, middle-aged life, carefully constructed to avoid societal judgement.
Rooney's themes—age-gap relationships, grief, chronic illness, existentialism, alcoholism, and economic injustice—are richly layered and seamlessly woven into the story, creating a prism through which we view these two complex lives. However, despite the novel's complexity, the resolution felt unexpectedly tidy, perhaps even a bit detached. Still, it provided a satisfying conclusion to characters whose lives invite both harsh judgement and deep sympathy throughout.
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