Intermezzo

Gather initial thoughts and broad opinions about the book.

1. How did you feel about Rooney’s authorial style? Did you enjoy the discursive quality of her narration, or did this make it difficult for you to engage with the characters?

2. How does this novel resonate with Rooney’s earlier novels, like Normal People (2018) and Beautiful World, Where Are You (2021)? Do you feel this novel is in conversation with those books? What are some of the common plot elements you notice between these books? If this is your first experience reading Rooney, what novels would you compare Intermezzo to?

Encourage readers to connect the book’s themes and characters with their personal experiences.

1. Consider Rooney’s depiction of sibling relationships. Does it resonate with your own experiences (or what you’ve observed, if you’re an only child)? What do siblings tend to disagree about, in your experience? How do they deal with their disagreements? 

2. Rooney’s identity as a Marxist writer manifests in her focus on the economic conditions of her characters. What associations did you have with Marxism before reading this work? Did the novel change your understanding at all?