Review: Annamia van den Heever

Intermezzo, by Sally Rooney (Faber & Faber)

Sally Rooney’s bestselling fourth novel, Intermezzo, is said to mark a significant evolution in her literary journey, philosophically focusing on themes of grief, familial relationships, language and the complexities of love.

Love wins in the end. Which is the beginning of more life for everyone concerned.

The story is about the two brainy and beautiful Koubek brothers, introvert and socially awkward chess genius Ivan, 22, and older brother Peter, 32, a successful Dublin human rights lawyer.

(Rooney, a notable Irish public intellectual, turned 33 on February 20.)

Set in 2022, the novel follows the brothers navigating their lives after the death of their father who moved to Ireland from Slovakia in the 1980s. Peter grapples with his relationships with two women: Sylvia, an English professor with whom he shares a complicated history, and Naomi, a cash-strapped 23-year-old student about to lose her home. Naomi makes ends meet with sexy online photos, drug-dealing and the odd handout from Peter.

Ivan finds solace in an unexpected romance with Margaret, a 36-year-old programme manager at the rural venue of the chess tournament at which they meet.

The novel intricatedly weaves the borthers’ stories including their messy love lives – as they confront their grief and ruminate on their past conflicts.

The title Intermezzo carries dual significance. In musical terms, it refers to a short, light composition often performed between larger pieces. In chess terminology, it suggests a strategic pause, or transition in gameplay – a threat that requires an immediate response.

The novel explores how grief affects relationships and individual identities. Each brother processes his father’s death differently, leading to tension.

The age gaps between Ivan and Margaret, as well as Peter and Naomi, challenge societal norms and traditional notions of maturity and compatibility.

The strained relationship between the brothers develops from rivalry and misunderstanding into a search for reconciliation and acceptance.

Rooney explores how intimacy can foster personal growth but also expose vulnerabilities that complicate relationships. Her descriptions of lovemaking are beautifully and sensitively written.

As the elder brother, Peter embodies traditional success but struggles with emotional vulnerability. His relationships with Sylvia and Naomi reveal his fear of commitment and his tendency to use others as crutches.

According to Peter in the beginning of the novel, Ivan is a “complete oddball”.  His youthful awkwardness evolves through his relationship with Margaret who is navigating her own tumultuous past with an alcoholic husband.

Rooney’s writing is rich in dialogue and introspection. Her style adapts to her characters’ voices.

When logistics of comings and goings (including of Alexei, the dog) become so complicated that she does not recognise her life anymore, Margaret reflects: “The demands of other people do not dissolve; they only multiply. More and more complex, more difficult. Which is another way, she thinks, of saying: more life, more and more of life.” 

Rooney incorporates references to philosophers and literary figures which she notes at the end of the book.  These serve not only as intellectual touchstones but also enrich the narrative by placing the characters’ existential dilemmas within broader philosophical milieus. For example, Wittgenstein’s ideas on language that the meaning of a word is not fixed but depends on the context in which it is used, resonate throughout the characters’ development.

The influence of James Joyce’s Ulysses is evident, for example, in the stream of consciousness style Rooney uses in Peter’s introspections.     

Intermezzo’s strength lies in its many layers. It can be interpreted as a dense, complex significant evolution in Rooney’s literary journey. At the same time it is simply a tender and compelling page turner illustrative of life’s possibilities for more life.

Rooney ends the novel with Peter thinking that nothing is fixed.  “It doesn’t always work, but I do my best. See what happens. Go on in any case living.”