Intermezzo

"This book was so weird. I feel like it would have been more enjoyable if it weren't for the odd writing style. There were no quotation marks, extremely long paragraphs, and particular POVs were more stream of consciousness and fragmented thoughts/sentences than rational thoughts. None of the characters were particularly lovable, or even likeable at times for that matter, but they were all complex and realistically written. I enjoyed the complexity of their varying relationships, and the overall plot wasn't terrible, but I just wasn't wowed by anything about this book. Definitely not something I'll ever reread, and I doubt I'll ever check out another Sally Rooney book. I just don't think she's the author for me. "

"very sally rooney. flat at times. but beautifully human characters "

"Life is complicated and Rooney captures that perfectly in here characters. The book tugged at my heartstrings from the first to last page. It does get a little tedious and the stream of consciousness is difficult at times. I still loved this book that essentially is about life and it is so relatable. "

"I’m not ashamed to admit that President Obama’s book list pushed me to pick up Sally Rooney’s Intermezzo. This will be the second (and last) Rooney novel for me. Rooney does an incredible job describing everything and everyone in painstaking detail and sets a scene like no other. Unfortunately, I just couldn’t get on board with the entire plot of Intermezzo. The characters fell flat for me and their actions didn’t resonate. I was hopeful that Rooney might delve into polyamory (that seemed to be where the plot was headed) but it felt as though she stopped right before she even got started. Overall, very much going to be avoiding Rooney from now on. "

"I love Sally Rooney and how she writes novels. This book is about a relationship between two brothers and their complicated love lives. It is about grief, love, acceptance of yourself, and more. I enjoyed this book but am giving 4 stars because 1. It’s not my favorite by Rooney and 2. It felt much more difficult to reach than her other writing and didn’t have quite the same flow as her other books. "

"So good! Highly recommend "

"The beautiful chessboard on <i>Intermezzo</i>'s cover shows shadows of people, hinting that the novel explores relationships-- a suggestion that Rooney abundantly fulfills. However, problems could start if the reader internalizes the image on the cover of the book too much, maybe anticipating some of the sexy drama and strategy that typically go into a game of chess.<br/><br/>Even if the cover isn't meant to be taken literally, one might imagine that, since the title suggests that the story explores something akin to an intervening or interruptive period or event, that the characters (as shown in the cover art) are in various positions on the board, in a half-played-out state. Now that the stage is set, where will they go next, what will they do?<br/><br/>While the answer is "not much"-- they may ruminate, they may aimlessly wander around a plane of black and white squares-- that's ok, because there are plenty of spans in a game of chess where it feels like not a lot happens, or it's hard to follow what its going on. Plus, it's possible to appreciate the movements of the pieces for their own sake, as they dance around the board. Rooney has managed to capture the sense that we are following people who are doing the same thing that we are, focusing on the present moment and living our lives in the only way we know how.<br/><br/>So, what if Rooney is tongue-in-cheekly trying to convey that life and chess, both complicated as they are, are actually nothing like each other? The likely response from Rooney die-hards: "don't judge the book by its cover." Understandable-- with <i>Intermezzo</i>, Rooney is just doing more of what she has done successfully in her past novels, blending all the the likely ingredients of literary fiction and the human condition (grief, romance, mental health) into an interesting scenario. <br/></p>"