Intermezzo

by Sally Rooney
Intermezzo cover
Good Books rating 3.56
Literary Fiction
Technical:
  • ID: 433
  • Added: 2025-09-11
  • Updated: 2025-09-18
  • ISBN: 9780735281820
  • Publisher: Random House
  • Published: 2024-09-24
  • Formats: 14
  • Reviews: 4
Buy online
Waterstones
Paperback • £9.99 Hardback • £20.00

Intermezzo, the fourth novel by Sally Rooney, centers on Peter and Ivan Koubek, two brothers coping with the death of their father. Peter, a successful Dublin lawyer in his thirties, struggles with substance use and complicated romantic entanglements, while Ivan, a socially awkward 22-year-old chess player, embarks on an intense relationship with Margaret, an older woman with a turbulent past. The novel delves deeply into themes of grief, identity, and the evolving nature of love and family bonds in the wake of loss. Set against the backdrop of Dublin and rural Ireland, Rooney’s narrative style alternates between the brothers’ perspectives, contrasting Peter’s fragmented, staccato reflections with Ivan’s more measured voice. The story examines sibling dynamics, age-gap relationships, and power structures in romance, presenting a nuanced and philosophically ambitious meditation on how people endure and grow through desire, despair, and possibility. Intermezzo has been widely praised for its mature treatment of emotional complexity and became the fastest-selling book in Ireland in 2024.

Reviews
The Phoenix · 2025-09-12
thoughtful 3.75

Intermezzo demands a more focused and slower reading due to its dense and abstract style, but ultimately delivers stylistic innovation and emotional depth, especially around family and romantic relationships.

The reviewer notes that unlike Rooney's previous novels, which were more quickly devoured, Intermezzo requires patience and concentration, especially in its early, denser chapters. The stylistic variation, particularly in the chapters from Peter's point of view, is praised for its craftsmanship, though it initially made grounding oneself in the story challenging. Over time, the book improves, offering a rewarding experience with its exploration of complicated family dynamics and romantic ties. The review recommends savoring this novel rather than reading it quickly, highlighting it as a must-read for those interested in nuanced portrayals of sibling and romantic relationships.

Quick quotes

    This book requires a bit of savoring rather than binging.

    Intermezzo delivers on the excellence that audiences have come to expect from Sally Rooney.

    It’s a must-read for people with complicated sibling relationships, complicated romantic relationships, or those owning chess boards.

The Kenyon Collegian · 2025-09-12
disappointing 3.25

The book shows stylistic growth and strong character writing, but ultimately leaves its characters unchanged, resulting in a disappointing conclusion despite its atmospheric and varied prose.

This review highlights Sally Rooney's stylistic evolution in Intermezzo, noting the denser, more varied prose and unique narrative styles for the two brothers, Peter and Ivan. It praises the atmospheric depiction of Ireland and the intelligent character portrayals, especially the distinct writing styles that reflect each brother's personality. However, the reviewer expresses disappointment with the book's ending, which they feel fails to develop the characters beyond their initial states, making the conclusion feel deceptively happy yet profoundly unsatisfying. They suggest that this lack of character progression detracts from what could have been Rooney's best work.

Quick quotes

    Intermezzo would have been her best work yet.

    Rooney’s latest release shows real improvement in her prose and continued strength in her character writing.

    Rooney leaves her characters just as they began — and this is a real shame.

Bookish Delights · 2024-10-10
mixed 3.00

The novel elicits mixed feelings, spotlighting the brothers' grief and complicated relationships, but the reviewer finds the emotional tone uneven and the story sometimes frustrating.

The reviewer was highly anticipating Intermezzo but ended up with mixed feelings about the book. They found the exploration of grief and familial bonds compelling but felt that some emotional moments were either too precious or lacked depth. The complicated romantic relationships and character dynamics sometimes felt frustrating rather than fully satisfying. Despite these critiques, the book’s focus on the brothers’ relationship and the portrayal of their inner lives was appreciated as a meaningful and ambitious evolution of Rooney’s style.

Quick quotes

    Intermezzo was one of my most anticipated reads of the year, but I'm having mixed feelings

    The emotional tone sometimes feels uneven and frustrating

    A meaningful and ambitious evolution of Rooney’s style

Chicago Review of Books · 2024-10-01
intriguing 4.25

Intermezzo is praised for its nuanced depiction of grief and loneliness, with a controlled prose style that distinguishes the perspectives of the two brothers and their complex emotional lives.

This review appreciates how Intermezzo intertwines themes of loss, loneliness, and complicated relationships through the lives of two very different brothers. The reviewer notes the skillful use of prose, where the narrative style shifts to reflect each brother’s personality—staccato and fragmented for Peter, more structured for Ivan—enhancing the emotional impact. The relationship between Ivan and Margaret is seen as a poignant meeting of mutual loneliness, and the novel’s treatment of grief is described as carefully crafted and emotionally resonant. Overall, the reviewer finds this to be Sally Rooney at her finest, demonstrating a mature and controlled narrative voice.

Quick quotes

    A meeting of mutual loneliness—in the other, they each feel seen

    On a construction level, it’s Sally Rooney at her finest and most controlled

    The scant punctuation coupled with extensive dialogue propel scenes forward with ease

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