Intermezzo

A Novel

By: Sally Rooney

Narrated by: Éanna Hardwicke

Long-listed, Washington Post Best Books of the Year, 2024

New York Times Book Review Notable Books of the Year, 2024

Long-listed, Audible.com Best of the Year, 2024

Long-listed, Publishers Weekly Best Books of the Year, 2024

Long-listed, Kirkus Reviews Best Books of the Year, 2024

Long-listed, Time Magazine Best Books of the Year, 2024

Long-listed, Barnes and Noble Best New Books of the Year, 2024

Long-listed, The Guardian (UK) Best Books of the Year, 2024

Long-listed, NPR Best Book of the Year, 2024

Long-listed, CPL: Chicago Public Library Best of the Best, 2024

"[B]rilliant narration by the actor Éanna Hardwicke"—Financial Times

"Éanna Hardwicke's narration highlights the rich emotionality of Rooney's newest novel. Hardwicke's smooth voice shifts to capture every mood—becoming desperately angry, bitter, and frantic yet also achingly tender, patient, and loving—as he performs a story of two grieving brothers."—AudioFile (Earphones Award Winner)

This program is read by actor Éanna Hardwicke, known for his role in Hulu's Normal People.

An exquisitely moving story about grief, love, and family—but especially love—from the global phenomenon Sally Rooney.

Aside from the fact that they are brothers, Peter and Ivan Koubek seem to have little in common.

Peter is a Dublin lawyer in his thirties—successful, competent, and apparently unassailable. But in the wake of their father’s death, he’s medicating himself to sleep and struggling to manage his relationships with two very different women—his enduring first love, Sylvia, and Naomi, a college student for whom life is one long joke.

Ivan is a twenty-two-year-old competitive chess player. He has always seen himself as socially awkward, a loner, the antithesis of his glib elder brother. Now, in the early weeks of his bereavement, Ivan meets Margaret, an older woman emerging from her own turbulent past, and their lives become rapidly and intensely intertwined.

For two grieving brothers and the people they love, this is a new interlude—a period of desire, despair, and possibility; a chance to find out how much one life might hold inside itself without breaking.

A Macmillan Audio production from Farrar, Straus and Giroux.

©2024 Sally Rooney (P)2024 Macmillan Audio

Critic reviews

“Bestseller Rooney returns with a boldly experimental and emotionally devastating story of estrangement . . . The novel’s deliberate pacing veers from the propulsiveness of Normal People and the deep character work contrasts with the topicality of Beautiful World, but in many ways this feels like Rooney’s most fully realized work, especially as she channels the modernist styles of James Joyce and Virginia Woolf . . . Even the author’s skeptics are liable to be swept away by this novel’s forceful currents of feeling.”
—Publishers Weekly (starred review)

“Rooney has struck a satisfying blend of the things she’s best at—sensitively rendered characters, intimacies, consideration of social and philosophical issues—with newer moves . . . The characters remain reach-out-and-touch-them real . . . Her grandmaster status remains intact.”
—Kirkus Reviews

I fall in love with Rooney every time

I swear I soak up Sally Rooney’s writing like a sponge. She makes me feel philosophically bound to being a human. I loved this novel. Just as all the others, it wasn’t conventional. No one did what you thought they would do. While that can get a little frustrating for some people I love how refreshing it is to read writing that reflects real life. The relationship between the brothers is complicated and their shared grief is palpable. I really connected with Peter, not as much with Ivan. I feel like it is because I’m closer in age to Peter and therefore connect more with the thoughts he has on life and the nostalgia he feels for his past. Not liking Ivan isn’t a reason to not like the book, just something to mention.

Also want to say that the narrator was just absolutely superb. I definitely enjoyed the novel more for it being read by him.

Complex characters but rather tedious

I’m a fan of Rooney’s writing, but this book was challenging to finish. No real story line, just a lot of self absorbed drama from the older brother. I did enjoy Rooney’s thoughtful portrayal of Ivan , exploring the emotional depth and struggles of the highly intelligent/ neurodivergent folks.

Blah blah

Way too much dull dialogue. Unlikable characters and uncredible situations. I didn’t even learn anything about chess after two hours of slogging.

A really beautiful novel

Incredibly precise yet nuanced Descriptions of intimacy. A small story that encompasses everything. The Actor’s voice was perfect.

Extraordinary writing & performance.

No one does it like Rooney and this is so beautifully read. Sensitive, truthful and clear eyed work.

Such a beautiful story with such moving writing

Her writing is so poetic and you feel so much for the characters like they were your own children.

Stirring and healing

Firstly, great voice acting. One of the best I’ve ever heard. And story and style wise, Rooney is at the peak of her powers. Gorgeous and specific.

Very depressing

The story itself was depressing & so we're most of the characters. The reviews were so good, I was surprised by the long & slightly boring story line.

Complexity, Contradiction and Character Development

This fiction mirrored the complex nature of real life and real people. I loved it; moved to tears in sadness and joy.

The interpersonal relationships were complicated and real

The characters and the psychological struggles they each had were excellent and each one had something to like and maybe to dislike