Review By Sunaina Luthra | Rating: 4/5

Human relationships are like a live breathing entity constantly evolving and growing. They often emerge victorious through unwavering support, inscrutable intimacy and non-judgmental loyalty, and not often so through casuistry and culpable perfidy. If sailed through the virtue of belongingness, these connections pile up as hard bricks cemented to form an unbreakable bond but don’t they face moments of reckoning at life’s crossroads? Let’s ask ourselves; do these hard crusted relationships survive, or do they fade in memory where beginning and end have no conjunction?
One of the relationships to ponder on is the sibling ties; partners in crime, many that gradually unfold or the fluctuating laughter that folds many secrets decoded through anguish or rivalry.
Isn’t it true that siblings often find themselves navigating this delightful and sometimes frustrating dilemma? This essence has been poignantly penned by Sally Rooney in her book ‘Intermezzo’.
She masterfully captures the complexities of modern relationships in her book by delving deep into the lives of Koubek brothers; Peter who is 32, a successful barrister and Evan who is 22, a chess prodigy and a loner. Peter, in his youth served as Ivan’s shield but a harrowing incident in Peter’s life warped that bond, leaving their relationship fractured and unrecognizable. Despite sharing the same bloodline they remain strangers in many ways and their differences widen after their father’s demise. Peter struggles with panic attacks, while Evan faces the decline of his chess career, finding it increasingly difficult to accept his fading success.
However, their paths align in the tracery of love. Peter’s feelings oscillate between his first love Sylvia and an ebullient college student, Naomi who is much younger than Peter. Meanwhile, Evan finds himself entangled with Margaret, a divorcee in her 40’s, an older woman with a turbulent past. Then begins a new chapter! Peter is confused about his feelings for both women and Evan, smitten with Margaret, keeps his relationship a secret. The sibling bond is now a palisade between the two brothers, a barricade that leaves both of them enmeshed in personal predicaments
What fate awaits the Koubek brothers? Will they manage to unravel their tangled differences and navigate the labyrinth toward a semblance of love, or will their fractured paths keep them forever estranged, with only brief intermezzos of understanding or reconciliation along the way?
‘Intermezzo’ navigates a spectrum of profound emotions; heart-break, age-gap dynamics to the complexities of fractured family bonds. The struggles faced by each character in the book can at times feel overwhelming. The writing style is distinctive with the absence of speech marks creating a seamless reading experience where dialogues flow naturally with the narrative.
TAKEAWAY
You can’t afford to miss this compelling tale of emotions from the illustrious Sally Rooney!