Sally Rooney Intermezzo

Intermezzo by Sally Rooney is an exquisitely moving story about grief, love, and family from the global literary phenomenon.

Though they are brothers, Peter and Ivan Koubek seem to have little in common. Peter, a Dublin lawyer in his thirties, is successful, competent, and seemingly unassailable. But after their father’s death, he finds himself struggling to manage his relationships—torn between Sylvia, his steadfast first love, and Naomi, a carefree college student.

Meanwhile, Ivan, a 22-year-old competitive chess player, considers himself a loner, the opposite of his confident older brother.

Yet, in the wake of their shared loss, he forms an intense connection with Margaret, an older woman also emerging from a turbulent past.

Intermezzo by Sally Rooney delves into the lives of two grieving brothers as they navigate a fragile period of desire, despair, and possibility—a chance to see how much life can hold without breaking.

In this new interlude, Rooney’s masterful storytelling invites readers into a world of intimate connections, emotional complexity, and the search for resilience amid loss.