Two Brothers Redefine Their Lives After Father’s Death

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Intermezzo by Sally Rooney is about two brothers with a tenuous relationship who are coping with the death of their father, realigning their lives in their post father worlds, and grappling with the meaning of life and spirituality as well. The book takes place during a period that leads up to the approaching Christmas holiday. The older brother is an educated, successful attorney. The younger brother is an Irish chess champion who lived with their father, and was with him during his final days. Both brothers are in relationships with women that are not exactly traditional, and this initially becomes a certain degree of conflict between them. There are family and comunnity expectations to contend with, as they move forward into the lives that feel most comfortable to each. 

Life doesn’t come in “one size fits all,” despite what well meaning parents, siblings, friends, and coworkers may think. It takes strength to stand up for the things that give our individual lives meaning and purpose, particularly when they stray outside traditional boundaries. The common thread that binds lives together is family love, because it’s the kernel of all community. This is such a lovely book about two brothers struggling with their own independent lives, as well as the relationship between them. If your family is with you in spirit, accepts the choices you make, and loves you unconditionally, you operate from a position of strength and confidence in a world that can often be unkind.

Intermezzo is defined as a short movement separating the major sections of a lengthy composition. This period of brothers grieving for their father in their own ways, coming to terms with their larger past lives, making choices, mistakes, and amends to carve out the image of what they hope will be long and fruitful futures, is just such a movement. In our fractured world with people contemplating splitting with family and friends over life choices, telling them not to come for Thanksgiving or Christmas, this narrative is a healing balm. 

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