I hate myself because how could I not read from Sally Rooney until now? I have heard a lot of people say how intricate and different her books are and I decided to read her latest release Intermezzo. Let me tell you I was not at all disappointed by her, I admire this book so much. I just finished the book and wrote the review because I can’t hold back talking about how much I learned. So this book follows two brothers, a 32-year-old Peter and a 22-year-old Ivan, who had just lost their father. Peter is a lawyer, torn between two women he loves equally. Ivan, a chess prodigy, sees himself fall for a woman who is 14 years older than him. The book shows their life and how they are coping after their father’s death and also, the women in their life. It is said from three perspectives Peter, Ivan and Margaret.
First of all, let’s talk about the different things in the book. The highly controversial thing people hated was the absence of quotation marks in the dialogue. To be honest I did not know about this however I got used to it quickly. At first, it might be really hard but when I got used to it I loved the book. Sally very intelligently uses different writing techniques between Peter and Ivan’s chapters. In Peter’s chapters, the writing style is incomplete, choppy, and hard to understand while Ivan’s is straightforward, direct, and easy to understand. The book focuses on the grief of two brothers who do not share a great bond and after their father passed away how hard it was for them to connect.
Peter, his character might be my favourite and very hard to understand. He according to his brother is very social, good-looking, decisive, and a perfect person to live life. But in reality, from my perspective, Peter was a man who struggled a lot and never had anyone to share his feelings with because he was the oldest. Initially, it was hard for me to connect with Peter but as he opened up about his feelings, I sympathised with him. It is truly said that grief is that feeling that will never go away and a person who is grieving will fall in the big hole of regret and guilt. It was the same with Peter, first of all, he can’t seem to move on and let go of the situation that he is in. He is torn between two women and can’t let go of either of them because people in his life have made him confused.
Ivan is someone who lost his father at the age of 22 which is very early and he is the one who was closest to his father. Ivan is someone whose character is shown as rebellious and has a strong opinion about life. It is easy to understand Ivan because of his strong views and straightforwardness. The thing I would salute Sally for is that she has shown Ivan as a character who is young and prone to mistakes. His frustrations, fears, doubts, awkwardness and regrets felt so personal. I definitely connected with Ivan first because he thinks very intensely which is actually kind of scary. After all, being 22 and thinking so deeply about life is scariest.
The relationship between Peter and Ivan as brothers brings tears to my eyes. Ivan already created his thinking about Peter but in reality, he never asked Peter how he was doing in life. While Peter does not think before sharing his opinion on Ivan’s decision. I loved the confrontation scene that screamed that they were real brothers. I loved it when Ivan realised his mistakes and understood why Peter changed and apologised. Their relationship and this book taught me how awkward I am feeling, and how much I dislike someone but if I see someone I will always ask how they are doing.
I love books which show flawed characters because they’re highly relatable. It is a slow-paced book so if you want to read it you need to have an open mind and be ready to meet the flawed characters. I recommend this book at least once because it’s legit literary fiction that made me feel so many emotions and I loved every emotion I went through when I read.
Rating: 4.5/5
Till we meet again, Be Happy, Be Grateful, and Keep Smiling – a girl who likes to write.
A girl who likes to write 