Sally Rooney’s 'Intermezzo' Through the Lens of Loss

Key points

Sally Rooney’s "Intermezzo" is a portrait of brothers grieving the same father in profoundly different ways.

Siblinghood is an assigned relationship that can hold a sense of belonging alongside a sense of mismatch.

Siblings may mourn different versions of the same parent.

Spoiler alert: This post discusses major plot points from Sally Rooney’s Intermezzo .

Sally Rooney’s latest novel, Intermezzo , doesn’t center on romance the way her earlier books do. Instead, she explores something rarely given as much space in contemporary fiction: the complicated bond of siblinghood. At its heart is the relationship between Peter, a 32-year-old human rights lawyer, and Ivan, a 22-year-old former chess prodigy, as they navigate the aftermath of their father’s death.

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