Sally Rooney, author of “Normal People”, “Conversations with Friends”, “Beautiful World, Where Are You?,” and some short stories, has just released her highly anticipated fourth novel, “Intermezzo”. Rooney, in the past, has written novels with a focus on relationships and complicated protagonists. This new book has similar themes, but this time with the addition of the mourning process. Intermezzo compiles the stories of our two main characters, older brother Peter, a barrister in Dublin, and younger brother Ivan, a talented chess player, as they both battle with the grief of their fathers passing and struggle with their own complex relationships.
Intermezzo has a more joyful tone than Rooney’s past novels. The book as a whole is hopeful in a way that “Normal People” was not. Even though characters tackle feelings of grief, the tone remains light. The deep dive into the emotional turmoil of these two brothers creates a more intense read than her usual style. While the themes could be characterized as sad, the mood is overall uplifting.
With two of her books being made into slower TV shows, “Normal People” starring Paul Mescal and Daisy Edgar-Jones on Hulu and “Conversations With Friends” on Apple TV featuring Alison Oliver and Joe Awlyn, she has accumulated an even larger fanbase just in time for her new release. The attention that Rooney has gained made room for launch parties at bookstores around the world, “spoiler free reviews” from online “booktubers” who had advanced copies, and an overall buzz of excitement. Rooney is what you would now call a celebrity author, think J.R.R. Tolkien, who is almost a household name.
Rooney has become an almost polarizing author, you either love her or you hate her. She has often fielded critiques of her books being too autobiographical and only representative of her personal experiences. With a lack of communities being represented her books often feel very similar in topic. On the other hand, her books can be read as a longer body of work together creating a rather cohesive structure. With similar themes popping up, the books feel connected instead of disjointed.
In the novel, the structure of an awkward self aware chess prodigy juxtaposes the rambling of an aging and vulnerable older brother. These brothers are connected by the grief of their father, while they both have their own individual griefs. Peter is mourning a relationship that ended by means outside of his control while Ivan mourns the life he thought he had secured. The task of falling in love with the protagonists is easy throughout the narrative. Readers are allowed inside both brothers’ relationships, but the audience can also view their rapports as external spectators.
While her books may seem a bit “copy and paste”, Rooney is good at connecting with her readers. There is no way to tell what Rooney’s next move will be, it is essentially an elaborate chess game.