I used to have—or used to want to have—a rather black-and-white perception of what made a person bad. Fiction complicated this.

When I watched “Normal People,” I wondered how differently I might have felt about it if I had read the novel first. I thought I needed the visual of a character who caused harm having obvious feelings about it—when no one was around to see it—to empathize, and believe them.

But Sally Rooney doesn’t write with one set focalizer. Though I don’t know that I trust written thought as easily as expressed human emotion, it hinders readers from judging a person without knowing their truth.

Rooney’s stories are naked, and as enthralling as they are suffocating.


Thank you to Faber & Faber and NetGalley for the sample ARC! I dread and long to carry on.

Thoroughly loved this. Can’t wait to read the whole book.!!! 5 stars for sure. Salley Rooney has done it again like she always does

Reeled me in from the first line & left wanting so much more. Bring on release date. I need this in my life!

This was a sampler so please bear that in mind. I am unable to review the full book at this time as I only received a sampler.

As with all Sally Rooney's books, this was a fascinating portrait into humanity, in all its shades. Her writing as always pulls you in, effortlessly making you care about the characters and their lives. I'm looking forward to reading the rest of the book.

The first thing I thought when picking up Sally Rooney's latest novel was that I would once again experience the author's full, well-rounded storytelling. As expected, the novel features two protagonists—brothers Peter and Ivan—explored in depth, focusing on details that allow the reader to know them so well they almost become like friends. The interpersonal relationships they weave are told richly and engagingly. At the same time, the brothers' mindsets are portrayed and differentiated, making it possible for each to stand as a separate, unique entity, and feel realistic in their entirety.

Current themes are also well described, and the author’s take on the internet is well presented but never becomes the story's main focus, so the reader is never overly engulfed by it. By the end of the novel, the reader is left with the awareness of having read a complex book, characterized by an engrossing plot and intertwined with deep themes such as the relationship with mortality (stemming from the brothers having to come to terms with their father’s death from cancer), illness, faith, and many other contemporary issues that are deeply explored here. All of this, combined with Rooney's sharp and precise writing, makes this one of her most accomplished and certainly the most immersive novels she has written.

A complete review will be published on my blog (medium.com/@inabookhole) next week.

This is a sampler so not a complete story. I found it hard to get into the story as the writing is not my style as it seemed like a stream of consciousness.

Disclaimer: I'm a huge Sally Rooney fan, but was somewhat hesitant going into Intermezzo. On the surface, it doesn't really appear that captivating to me, but holy moly I was entrenched the second I started reading.

While this was only a sampler, reading Peter and then Ivan's point of views were so precise, unique, quintessentially Rooney. While Peter's read as a stream of consciousness and want for escape, Ivan's read like honest attempt at socialisation and communication mixed with desire.

As I said, I didn't really need that much convincing, but just this short snippet of Intermezzo has me waiting impatiently for the next five days to be over with so I can read the whole thing!

Thank you Netgalley for this ARC.

This is a sampler so not a complete story but enough to have be hooked and ready for me.

Sally Rooney knows how to write beautiful and complicated characters who are multi facet.

This follows the story of two grieving brothers Peter and Ivan Koubek who are now thrown together in grief while having nothing in common other than blood.

Looking forward to reading the rest of this.
Sally’s books got me back into reading a couple of years ago. I find them so well written and engaging, she has such a beautiful style that leaves you feeling like you are part of her work

unfortunately a miss for me. i found it hard to get into and it all seemed like a stream of consciousness. didn't really understand the point of anything.

Hooked, sold. This coming from someone who's not a Sally Rooney fan.

I received a sampler from NetGalley in return for my honest opinion (which was quite short, but to the point)

Sally Rooney just knows how to write poetically. The writing was GORGEOUS! I can’t wait to read the rest of this, it was gripping straight away and reminded me of exactly why I love Sally’s books in the first place. So many emotions! Hard to rate more than 4 stars with only a sample but I’m very excited for this.

Sally Rooney honestly never fails to amaze me. Her ability to write such complex characters and plots whilst making the entire book just so real is amazing!

I really enjoyed getting a little teaser into the next book ahead of its release and it makes me so so desperate to read the rest of this book! Luckily for me, it’s just one week away!

The only downside this Sampler had was its formatting. It sometimes made it incredibly hard to figure out what was speech or the plot as we know Sally doesn’t use quotation marks so my only thing was the formatting!

Rooney’s writing is sophisticated, and the characters are intriguing, complex, and suitably counterpointing/contrasting. While the stream-of-consciousness narrative and exploration of personal relationships were typical, this book offers a glimpse of a new, understated and introspective side to her writing style.

Some readers might initially find it a little slow, but it soon gathers apace and reveals a story of real emotional depth and intensity. Rooney has excelled herself with this one.

My thanks to Faber & Faber and NetGalley for granting this ARC.

I was pleasantly surprised by how much I enjoyed it, especially since it's my first Sally Rooney novel. I'm really excited to continue!

Read this quickly, again not my type of book not sure if it just the authors writing style or maybe the format of the sampler but i found this very hard to get into

although this sampler only contains the first two chapters of the book, it was enough to remind myself why I love Sally Rooney so much. i really liked it, it left me wanting more. Sally Rooney is one of my favorite authors and she never disappoints with her books. i’m so excited to get the physical copy and keep reading on September 24th!

huge thank you to Netgalley and Faber Books for the sneak peek!

Thank you to NetGalley and Faber for providing me with a sampler of this book.

I’ve actually never read a Sally Rooney novel before (I know I know cringe - I promise they’re on my never ending TBR) but wow this has me intrigued. I’m not going to lie the whole no punctuation thing has thrown me for a loop but I’m weirdly into it.

This sample has definitely got me intrigued and I can’t wait for more!

Thank you Netgalley and Faber for providing me with this sample.

Oh my goodness, I already know this will be one of my favorite reads of 2024. The way this book pulled me!!
Sally Rooney is one of my auto-buy authors - her writing style is so beautiful, it is truly unmatched.
I cannot wait to finish this story and to love this book forever.

To be honest, I am mildly disappointed.

This book is about two brothers that are ten years apart in age and it follows them in the months after their father’s funeral. Rooney is great at writing dialogue and interpersonal dynamics but I found myself detached from these characters.

I enjoyed reading Ivan and Margaret’s chapters and the depth to the writing was so well written. While, Peters chapters weren’t as well developed and it lacked substance. I believe a lot more could’ve been done with the brother’s relationship as I wasn’t really invested.

I’m rating this book 3 stars because I did enjoy some parts but overall sadly it wasn’t for me. If you enjoy reading lit fics about personal relationships I would still recommend this.

ARC kindly provided by the publisher via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.