The pressure of having your life mapped out in your twenties is something students are all too familiar with. Sally Rooney’s ‘Intermezzo’ follows five individuals trapped within ordinary lives and searching for familiarity in the loneliness of the city.
Brothers, Peter and Ivan, have an ongoing rivalry after the death of their father. Grief and morality are central to the novel’s backbone and acquires a deep appreciation for fleeting encounters. Peter’s romantic interests Naomi and Sylvia, stand at the forefront of Peter’s mind when it comes to unfaithfulness and unconditional love. Naomi, a confident but blind-sighted student and Sylvia an intelligent but sensitive figure. Challenged by his mental health, Peter learns to understand that you can have everything and simultaneously have nothing. Competitive chess player Ivan has always felt his life is inaccessible to him until he meets Margaret. No longer a bystander in his own life. Margaret, recently divorced, faces an internal struggle between what is right and what she needs. One thing they all share is the desire to be in control of their life and to cherish the fragility of time. After all, it is Peter who says “Under what conditions is life endurable?”.
“Under what conditions is life endurable?”
Rooney’s, well-known Normal People, considers the one thing that everyone needs most, connection. This is carried into Intermezzo. Her characters aren’t meant to be liked. Rather, she meddles with the imperfect which makes her characters so memorable. Rooney cleverly switches from long passages to short sentences in her writing to undermine depth and give pace to the novel.
An intense and compelling read that leaves one questioning the desperation of their own lives. Head down to Exeter’s Waterstones to buy ‘Intermezzo’ and receive a free tote bag, pin, stickers and bookmark for an existential read on the crisis of modern life.
