Highly anticipated by readers worldwide, “Intermezzo,” Sally Rooney’s fourth novel, was released internationally on Sept. 24, 2024. 

Prior to release, “Intermezzo” was expected to have similarities to Rooney’s previous works, “Conversations with Friends” (2017) and “Normal People” (2018). Both book-to-television series adaptations look closely at the intensity and complexity of relationships between friends, family members, lovers — as well as both political and philosophical observations about the state of the world.

However, some readers felt wary about Rooney’s mundane, repetitive style of writing. It’s true that Rooney’s novels could be referred to as plotless, as a story that seems to be looking for the story. Conversations around Rooney’s work – including in Dwight Garner’s book review for the New York Times – accuse her of “white-washing” as thus far, her novels have been centered around white millennials located in or west of Dublin. 

Despite the array of feelings displayed prior to the release of the novel, the book has averaged an over four-star rating (out of five stars) on the book-logging social media platform Goodreads.

With that being said, “Intermezzo” doesn’t stray from Rooney’s usual themes of love and its complexities. It focuses on two brothers, Peter and Ivan, who have just lost their father. Through grief, they deal with a tumultuous relationship as well as the highs and lows of their own private relationships with others. Peter, a 32-year-old Dublin lawyer, finds himself torn between a professor that he’s loved for years and a much younger college student. In contrast, Ivan, a braces-wearing competitive chess player and a decade younger than his brother, is involved with a woman older than Peter. 

Rooney dissects the factor of age in a relationship and considers its importance. She interprets emotion carefully, showcasing the confusion of anger and the despair of grief. Through switching point-of-views, Rooney artistically paints a picture of each character as they are perceived by others and how each character perceives themselves. Ivan thinks in long wordy paragraphs full of contemplation, while Peter’s thoughts are short and often cut off mid-sentence.

These relationships can create frustration as all are messy, even when both parties want the other to be happy. However, it seems that in this novel, no one can ever seem to say what they really mean as Rooney strays far from the easy path when it comes to communication and love. 

So, who cares? Despite the fact that I had read and enjoyed Rooney’s previous novels, I was leery of “Intermezzo.” It was over a hundred pages longer than Rooney’s other novels (with a length of 464 pages), meaning more of an investment of time, and I am no chess enthusiast (Intermezzo – an unexpected move that poses a severe threat and forces an immediate response in chess). I was concerned this book had the potential to be too out-of-touch for a jack-of-all-trades reader like me. 

Dwight Garner wrote in his New York Times review of the novel that “Intermezzo” could be classified as “Sally Rooney with a bit more butter and cream” – to me, it’s still her, and taking the time to indulge results in a deeper connection to the story she has to tell. 

After finishing “Intermezzo” in my childhood bedroom over Thanksgiving break, I sat at my family’s dining table (logging the novel in Goodreads as five stars) and contemplating if it is my favorite Sally Rooney read yet. Rooney successfully identifies very real human connections — between family members, friends, romantic interests — that I found to be universal. 

I am a sucker for finding myself in a character, digging for realness in a novel. To me, Rooney has pinned down the specialty of the mundane parts of life – and fighting through the hard parts, too.

Rooney ends the novel: “It doesn’t always work, but I do my best. See what happens. Go on in any case living.”

Edited by Alyssa Royston | aroyston@themaneater.com

Copyedited by Jayden Bates-Bland and Hannah Taylor | htaylor@theamaneater.com 

Edited by Emily Skidmore | eskidmore@themaneater.com