I adore everything Rooney writes and Intermezzo was no exception. This novel follows two brothers, Peter and Ivan, in the aftermath of their father's death. The two brothers are ten years apart, and apart in many other ways too. Peter is a successful solicitor in civil rights cases and university lecturer, torn between two women - an ex-girlfriend from his past and one much younger in the present, whilst Ivan is a former chess prodigy, floundering in his identity and beginning a relationship with an older woman.

There is so much packed into this novel about power, about gender, about masculinity, about grief and love and what happens when that is all smashed together. Peter and Ivan are interchangeably awful to each other, to themselves and to those around them, whilst also never being totally alienating as characters that you spend time with. Rooney gives them both completely different writing styles - Ivan's is told in more controlled third person prose, whilst Peter is presented in stream of conscious, a perfect manifestation of his lack of control hidden beneath his smart suits and functional alcoholism.

I was slightly disappointed that whilst Margaret, the older woman who Ivan begins dating within the text, is given space to explore her own thoughts and feelings - Sylvie (Peter's former girlfriend) and Naomi (his younger current girlfriend) are not given the same space and are seen just through the eyes of Ivan and Peter which was unfortunate. I found them both to be interesting women, and Rooney does well to counter some of the stereotypes you may relate to both of them - but I would have liked to hear more from them.

All in all, really enjoyed Intermezzo and so excited for whatever Rooney does next.