I have read all three of Rooney’s previous novels. I adored Normal People (I read it in one sitting), and did really enjoy the other two, although I wouldn’t not put them in my all-time favourites. So, I was unsure of what to expect here, and my expectations were at a controlled level.

Intermezzo tells the story of two brothers grieving the loss of their father. It’s about their relationships with each other and the three major women in their life. It deals with grief, perceptions, age gaps, siblings, and human nature.

It is told in a very ‘Rooneyesque’ fashion with no dialogue quotation marks, and multiple points of view. The writing is very dense but whip smart with the tone of each character being distinct. There is also this reverse sentence structure, that can take a little adjusting to but I loved by the end.

Rooney’s insights into human nature, relationships, grief and simply living in general, are astute. It’s like she peels back the character’s minds and spreads them out on the page for us all to see. I felt like I got to know these characters better than I know lots of the real people in my life.

Intermezzo blew me away. Believe the hype. Five stars from me!

Reviewed by Sarah Krause