Intense grief, brotherhood, and sex

Intermezzo, the fourth novel by critically acclaimed Irish author Sally Rooney, is an absolute triumph that explores the impact of grief, family conflict, and unconventional relationships.

Having never read a novel by Sally Rooney before, I therefore came to it with little preconceived ideas about what to expect. Sure, I had heard bits about how her much celebrated Normal People was rather raunchy etc, but that was about it. All I knew was that Intermezzo was about two grieving brothers (Peter and Ivan Koubek) trying to recover from the recent loss of their much beloved 65 year old father.

This intrigued me immensely because I lost my father when I was 21 years old, just one year younger than Ivan. Back in 1998, my dad was 66 when he died. I therefore wanted to see if I could identify with some of Rooney’s fictional prose.  

Without spoiling any of the vital plot for you, I now want to include a short passage from near the end. It is one that moved me to tears because it touches upon my same experience after losing my dad.

‘But now that the event has come and gone, the funeral, the various rituals, only the loss remains, which can never be recuperated. The event is over, the event has been overcome, and yet the loss is only beginning … And nothing will ever bring his father back from the realm of memory into the reassuringly concrete world of material fact … how is it possible to accept this.’ (Rooney, Intermezzo, p379).

Rooney is thus unquestionably a wordsmith of unbelievable talent. That said, you have to get used to her individualistic style. At first, I found it quite jarring if I am honest, that much that I nearly gave-up on this supreme piece of work very early on.

There are no character speech marks for example. This meant at times I was not initially sure whether the prose was a character talking, or internal character dialogue taking place. Once I got used to her writing style I then proceeded with greater satisfaction.

Peter Koubek is aged 32 and a lawyer based in Dublin. Ivan is 22, and a former chess prodigy. Whereas Peter is confident, extroverted and a womaniser, Ivan is shy yet emotional, and has this endearing naivety to him. Their grief is shared, yet their differing personalities and life stories are what makes this such a cracking read.

Grief as noted is the overarching dominant theme of this story. Yet other taboo subjects are dealt with like big age gap differences in sexual relationships, polygamy, and suicide.

I therefore found myself thinking throughout this book. I state this as a big compliment to the author because not every novel out there deals with such profound topics. Yes, as I have already stated, I did find her style tricky at times to comprehend, but beneath all this I felt like I was reading something worthy and important.

I cannot complete this review without discussing the explicit nature of the depicted sex. Initially, I guess I was rather shocked and taken aback by it. My first reaction was to think thank God I never bought my mum this book for Christmas! I jest of course and one could argue this joke is a bit of a cheap shot and does not do Rooney’s highly skilled writing any sort of justice.

By the end my view about all the sex had come full circle somewhat. By this, I mean that none of it was gratuitous in any way. It does indeed give you a deeper and more intrinsic understanding of the characters and plot.

I guess the greatest compliment I can pay to Intermezzo, is that I found it a very cathartic read. As noted earlier on, it moved me immensely.

The originality and unconventionality of some of the resolved plot strands is another aspect of the writing that needs to be celebrated. It is never predictable and so this gives it a refreshing feel. Many times, I thought I know what is going to happen next here, only then to have been gleefully surprised that I was wrong.

An absolute must-read for those who want to read an author at the peak of their powers. Read more of Sally Rooney you say? Thank you, I shall be doing so soon! 4/5.