Intermezzo by Sally Rooney “I just want to say, I’m on your side. I know I’ve never done anything to help you, Ivan, but in principle, in spirit. I’ve been on your side all along.“ I started this book a while ago. Read the first chapter. Couldn’t get into the choppiness of the syntax. Returned it to the library. Checked it back out. Returned it again. And then, wound up borrowing my manager’s paperback version. It was the cover, in International Klein Blue, that convinced me to carry on. The first few chapters didn’t grab me. I had the seemingly popularized notion stuck in my brain about the unlikeability of the characters and the difficult-to-follow syntax. It made it hard to want to read. But then, a few chapters in, I was hooked. I learned the nuances of each character’s voice, so similar yet quite distinct. Peter’s chapters took more getting used to than Ivan’s. Rooney addresses a lot in the novel: a parent’s death, regret, an absent parent, brothers with a big age gap, a successful older brother whose personal life is unraveling, grief, a younger brother’s dissent for his older brother, relationships with age gaps, unconventional relationships, love, financial insecurity, wealth—and I’m not sure that even covers it all. Overall, I enjoyed it, characters included. Life and relationships are nuanced, and I think the sooner we all realize that—and began to forgive one another for happenings or words or effects we didn’t intend—the sooner we’d veil life in love.