Sally Rooney’s new book is coming out in September
She gave us some of the most heart-wrenching, astute novels in recent history, and she gave us (indirectly, anyway) Connell’s chain. Now, Irish author Sally Rooney offers up to the table Intermezzo, her fourth novel, set to released in September. While Rooney’s books have so far centred on romantic relationships, Intermezzo marks her first foray into the subject of family: it focuses on two brothers, Peter and Ivan Koubek. Peter is the older brother, and a lawyer, and Ivan is the younger, socially-awkward chess player. Intermezzo follows them in the wake of their father’s death, and (in true Rooney style) their romantic entanglements with Naomi, a college student, and an older woman named Margaret, respectively.
To be honest, regardless of what Intermezzo is about, its release is one to mark in your calendars; her last novel, Beautiful World, Where Are You sold 40,000 copies in just five days. Bookshops across the UK even opened early to accommodate those who wanted to crack the spine at the crack of dawn, and advanced versions the novel proved to be a coveted accessory. One sold on eBay for over £150.
What can we do in the meantime? First and foremost, prepare for the resurgence of chatter from people whose “favourite author” is Sally Rooney because they really fancied Paul Mescal in the TV adaption of Normal People, and managed to work their way through the original book over the course of one (maybe two) summers. Beyond that? It’s always pertinent to launch into a re-read of Conversations with Friends, which makes you want to say “fuck it” and have an affair with an older man. It’s always pertinent to re-read (or watch the adaption of) Normal People too, but we’d recommend saving that until the sun’s out, and you heart is more equipped to take it. Really, the best thing you can be engaging with when it comes to Sally Rooney is her recent piece on the Israel-Palestine conflict. In that, her and British-Palestinian author Isabella Hammad exchange words on the ongoing crisis, and the role art and literature plays within it.
