Intermezzo, Sally Rooney

 

Intermezzo by Sally Rooney

Started: March 16, 2025
Completed: March 23, 2025
Recommendation: Recommended
Recommended By: Nobody

Review:

I have heard many good things about Sally Rooney, but I was not thrilled with Normal People.  I guess I am a bit of a prude because I found the amount and descriptions of sex to be a lot and rather graphic.  On the other hand, as the book unwound the need for the sex scenes with their similarities and differences did feel important to the book.  The foreshadowing was excellent and the writing was very good.  The ability to view several different character flaws through the lens of different characters (both internally and externally) was very well done.  I'm a weirdo and I wish that there had been more chess, but I get that it was a means, not an end.

Normal People, Sally Rooney

Normal People by Sally Rooney showed up on so many top 10 lists for 2019, I added it to mine.  A television series is due based on the book in 2020.

Started: 1/24/2020
Completed: 1/27/2020
Recommendation: Not Recommended
Recommended By:  A top 10 list

Review:

This book has its moments and I did get something from it.  I enjoyed the occasional insight, such as, "...the same imagination needed to be a reader is needed to understand normal people and to relate to them..."  On the whole, however, I left the book uncomfortable.  There is a strong theme of a submissive woman who seems to seek abuse.  It is a sad and disturbing character trait to me.  Everyone gets to have their own sexual thing, but abuse seems just wrong to me.

In many ways I like the female protagonist and found things about her to which I could relate.  At the same time, the vast insecurity of the male protagonist was something I immediately saw in myself, but the cycles of mild abuse between him and the female protagonist made me uncomfortable.  While the book does find a way for a female submissive and a male non-dominant to find a way to make things work, it just left me uncomfortable.  It is not my cup of tea and it was so disconcerting that I can not recommend this book.