GUEST WRITER ELLIE BREWER RECOMMENDS INTERMEZZO BY SALLY ROONEY
“And now, as if waking from a nonsensical dream, he surveys in terror the disorder of his life.”
Sally Rooney’s fourth novel “Intermezzo” is a fever dream of grief, longing, disdain, and depression. Spiraling, raw, tragic – with paragraphs that go on for pages and few breaks for dialogue – Intermezzo is far from an easy read, but a great one nonetheless.
Ivan and Peter Koubek are brothers. With ten years and a lifetime of mutual resentment in between them, they don’t share much other than their last name. Ivan is 22, a successful chess prodigy and lonely university student in their hometown of Kildare. Peter is ten years older and a seemingly competent lawyer living in Dublin. The pair rarely speak, and when they do it quickly devolves into argument. Throughout the book, readers learn that Peter and Ivan are intertwined, too similarly insecure, refusing to see the good in one another because that would force them to also see the good in themselves.
Following the death of their father, both brothers find themselves in toxic romantic relationships: Peter juggling between longtime lover and college student Sylvia and Ivan pining after Margaret, a woman ten years his senior. The novel explores the complexities of their relationships and how deeply grief impacts their capacity for love.
Intermezzo is a unique portrayal of loss, longing, and hope. This is a great read for sad eldest daughters and people who thought too hard about the ending of Aftersun.
Eleanor Brewer is an eleventh-grade student at Leo Hayes High School. Reading and writing have always been a huge part of her life, and as she approaches her final year of high school, she is incredibly grateful to have opportunities to share her writing online.