Getty ImagesIntermezzo – a chess move, a musical composition, and now Sally Rooney’s latest novel, which critics have called “utter perfection”.
The Irish author’s fourth book swaps out her usual female protagonist and instead follows the relationship between two grieving brothers, both separated by a wide age gap and believing they have little in common.
Ivan is a 22-year-old chess player who, according to his brother Peter, an eloquent barrister, is “a complete weirdo.”
Anthony Cummins of The Guardian says The book is “really wonderful – a tender, funny, engaging book about the confusion of grief and Rooney’s richest treatment of the messy romantic entanglements”.
Rooney is no stranger to writing about relationships – her 2018 novel Ordinary People made her a global phenomenon, selling more than 1 million copies in the UK.
Although intimacy, communication, and desire are central themes in all her novels, critics generally consider Intermezzo to be more “confident” than the other novels.
In a five-star review, The Independent’s Johamiya says Rooney “finally discovered her full potential”.
“For those who are patient enough to wait, the rewards are extraordinary.”
“Best book yet”
Added Anna Bonet of i The Intermezzo “is mature and profound and feels like a culmination of everything she’s done before.”
Although Burnett described it as a “miracle” and “Rooney’s best book to date”, he also added that it was “not a perfect novel”.
Like Rooney’s other novels, chapters alternate from the perspective of different characters, but one person whose point of view is not written about is Naomi, one of Peter’s love interests.
“Naomi isn’t as fleshed out as other characters,” Bonet points out.
Shahidha Bari, Financial Times Agrees and says the novel’s weakness is “the depiction of minor female characters.”
“Saint Sylvia feels like a Looney-esque heroine, while happy Naomi, who wears a nose stud and runs a sleazy social media account, is a little too close to a Gen Z manic pixie dream girl. “
But Barry added that the writing was “more impressionistic” compared to Rooney’s usual “concise style”, with the characters not having much dialogue.
“Don’t care about my career”
Interviewed by The New York TimesRooney said she didn’t feel she “had to write a book centered on a male voice.”
“When I met these characters, I was just feeling my way through the stories that seemed to emerge.”
When asked if she felt her books were too similar, Rooney said: “I don’t care about my career.
“I thought, how can I make this book the perfect version it can be? I never thought about how it related to my other work, and I never thought about what people would say about it in relation to my work. How close or far.
Although most agree that “Intermezzo” is more progressive than her other novels, Lora Seaton in the New Statesman It “lacks the nervous confidence that comes with talking to friends and ordinary people.”
Still, she added, it was “a glorious, tenacious and not unsuccessful attempt to transcend them and leave – indeed, get away from – her formal comfort zone”.
Two of Rooney’s novels have been adapted into TV series – her debut “Conversations with Friends” airs in 2022, while “Normal People” starring Paul Mescal and Daisy Edgar-Jones is in A huge hit during the 2020 lockdown.
