A story of grief, estrangement and the complexities of brotherhood. With a dual POV that gives us the blunt and often cold view of the older brother, coupled with the anxiety riddled rambling of the younger - it's obvious these two are a mess from the very first page. Rooney truly has a talent for so accurately depicting the mundanity of every day life, and yet gripping you the whole way through.
— Merrell
Beautiful and precise book, amazing portrait of sibling-hood and the restructuring of a bereaved family. Rooney is nothing if not wise, fastidious, brave. She wrote the dog so well! The Sally Rooney Industrial Complex is hard for me to take & I try to abstain from the hype machine, but will never let it sour the love and satisfaction I get from reading her work.
— Darcie
Some books live rent free in your head, some characters live rent free in your head, but in this new Rooney, you live rent free in the character's minds. This is a *chef's kiss* romantic stream of consciousness-style novel that left me feeling very tender and taken care of <3
— Swati
Rooney is my dream writer. She gets me and siblings and love and relationships. She knows time and she knows rain and she influenced my life while I was reading this. I enjoyed every day that I spent with these brothers in their sad grieving world. I can't wait to reread and meet them again.
— Camille
I also read Intermezzo. I also loved Intermezzo. If you've read Rooney, you'll recognize her familiar droll, very complicated characters but you'll also encounter a newish experimentation in writing style and, in my opinion, a new softness. Grief is both a monster and a gift. It can destroy. But the deep love that presupposes it can also birth beautiful new life. I enjoyed the journey.
— Genay
A story of familial and romantic love masterfully told in the form of Rooney's intelligent, sarcastic and unforgiving narration; lyrical yet conversational. More than ever Rooney encourages, even predicts a future in which humans are willing to give unconventional ways of loving each other a chance, if only because our lives are fleeting, and time for loving must not be wasted. A modern classic.
— Kate P
“Rooney’s dazzling masterpiece explores the hidden depths of our relationships to one another. Peter and Ivan grieve the recent loss of their father. Never close, they struggle to avoid estrangement while navigating their very different lives.”
— Cody Morrison, Square Books, Oxford, MS