Thanks to FSG Books for the free copy of this book.

 - INTERMEZZO is Sally Rooney’s most ambitious work yet. It digs deep into the lives of four complicated, messy people who all to some degree have no idea what they are doing.
- Rooney is so good at keeping the reader engaged even when “nothing” is happening. Long conversations, extended mental monologues. When something does happen in this book, it’s often a character making a bad, barely defensible choice. And yet, I was compelled to keep reading.
- One of the central pieces of this book is ableism, both external and internal. Ivan doesn’t have an on-page diagnosis but he reads autistic to me, and Sylvia has chronic pain following an accident. Much of the emotional turmoil of the story centers on the characters’ feelings about it all. It’s a lot to chew on, and I’m still turning it all over in my head.