I am perpetually entranced by the writing of Sally Rooney. Her prose is simple and sad, poetic and deeply honest. Each of her novels feels like a gift: an intimate experience of authentic humanity that almost feel as if they could be occurring within your own mind.
I read Beautiful World, Where Are You? three times back-to-back and cover-to-cover. I read Normal People in one sitting and am unsure if I’ll ever be brave enough to read it again. I have yet to experience Conversations with Friends, but I trust it will be moving and insightful and devastating in a way I could never anticipate.
Intermezzo (in chess):: An unexpected move that is played in the middle of a combination. Causes severe threat and forces an immediate response, designed to frustrate the opponent.
(at least this is what the ol’ google tells me)
In the case of the narrative, the Intermezzo is the death of Peter and Ivan’s father, before the story begins. Peter is a human rights lawyer in his thirties and Ivan, a young twenties chess savant who peaked early and is on the decline in the Ireland chess circuit. The novel delves into the sometimes-volatile relationship between the two of them as well as the romantic connections they become entangled in all while they’re processing the grief of their father’s death.
But describing the plot isn’t going to convince you to read this book. What happens in a Sally Rooney book is the least important thing about it, in my opinion. It is the writing itself that is valuable. The unique perspective she pulls you into – forcing you deep inside the head of the character, understanding what is happening, and at the same time examining every line of thought that occurs to them in real time. She takes her time in some moments, luxuriating in her careful command of language, and in others skims over the things that don’t matter, pulling out only a word or two here and there to convey the passage of time, or events occurring. It is the most fascinating thing, and it reminds me of my favorite writer of all time: Hemingway.
Intermezzo is a masterpiece.
Read it. Savor it. Adore.
Details
Title:: Intermezzo
Author:: Sally Rooney
Genre:: Literary Fiction
Publisher:: Farrar, Straus, and Giroux
Length:: 454 pages
Audio Length:: 16h 29m
Audiobook Narrator:: Eanna Hardwicke
Audiobook Publisher:: Macmillan Audio
Published:: September 24, 2024
The Litertarian Rating:: 5-Stars
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