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Aside from the fact that they are brothers, Peter and Ivan Koubek seem to have little in common.
Peter is a Dublin lawyer in his thirties—successful, competent, and apparently unassailable. But in the wake of their father’s death, he’s medicating himself to sleep and struggling to manage his relationships with two very different women—his enduring first love, Sylvia, and Naomi, a college student for whom life is one long joke.
Ivan is a twenty-two-year-old competitive chess player. He has always seen himself as socially awkward, a loner, the antithesis of his glib elder brother. Now, in the early weeks of his bereavement, Ivan meets Margaret, an older woman emerging from her own turbulent past, and their lives become rapidly and intensely intertwined.
For two grieving brothers and the people they love, this is a new interlude—a period of desire, despair, and possibility; a chance to find out how much one life might hold inside itself without breaking.
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I just finished Intermezzo, and yeah… I have thoughts.First of all, I’ve read Normal People and Beautiful World, Where Are You before this, and honestly, I wasn’t a big fan of Beautiful World…, but Normal People hit hard. So, I was a bit unsure going into this. But I actually ended up enjoying Intermezzo way more than I expected — way more than her last book for sure.The writing? Classic Rooney. That quiet, deep, sometimes frustrating style where you’re not totally sure who’s talking or if they’re even talking out loud — but it just works. She knows how to create a mood, an atmosphere, and make everyday thoughts feel huge. Her characters feel real, like people you actually know or could bump into somewhere.The story isn’t big or explosive. It’s very much focused on the characters and how they’re feeling and thinking — which is something I really enjoy. The relationship between the brothers is probably my favorite part of the book. It felt honest and sad in a way that sticks with you. Also, the way she writes about grief and memory is done so subtly and quietly that it hits harder.But let’s be honest — it’s not perfect. The Margaret POV felt unnecessary to me. She’s the least developed character and yet somehow has her own perspective? Didn’t work for me. There were other characters that would’ve been way more interesting to hear from. Also, even though the book is kinda long, the ending felt rushed. Like, all that emotional buildup and then… boom, it’s done? I needed more.And yeah, one thing about Rooney that I’ve noticed across all her books — she won’t go all the way. She builds up all these complicated, messy emotions but then pulls back instead of really letting something break. I wish she took more risks with the ending.Still, it was a good read. Very Rooney. Very emotionally dense. If you like her writing style, you’ll like this. For me, it’s a 3.5 out of 5 — could’ve been more, but the rushed ending and that one off POV held it back.