Sally Rooney debuted her first novel in 2017, when she published ‘Conversations with Friends’, followed closely by the publication of ‘Normal People’ in 2018. Since then, due to the rise of ‘BookTok’, and the production of Normal People as a romantic psychological drama television miniseries, Rooney’s popularity has soared. Hence, her most recent publication, Intermezzo, was much awaited. Following its release, there have been many raving reviews, however it is felt by many that the reading experience is too difficult – a notion that will be explored at depth in this article.
Intermezzo follows the lives of two brothers: Ivan, a chess player, and Peter, a lawyer, following the death of their father. Rooney tackles the complexity of a family relationship, as well as intertwining aspects of romantic love throughout. The novel includes relationships with older women, an inability to let go of past loves, and a questionable, promiscuous relationship with a much younger student/sex worker. It is a truly astonishing and beautiful read, with Rooney employing her familiar talent of writing about the complexities of human relationships, and her understanding of people and the world.
“Rooney employing her familiar talent of writing about the complexities of human relationships”
It is not unknown that Rooney has a unique style of writing, she has a distinctive approach to characterisation in which a reader gets the impression that she is detached from her characters. Her novels are all written in first person, and yet Rooney does not attempt to project herself onto her characters; meaning her novels are in no way autobiographical. Her characters’ narration comes simply from the character, instead of using the characters’ voice in order to insert her own thoughts and feelings. Through this style of characterisation, she is able to use textual influences that the character would have: in Conversations with Friends, Frances is a university student in her 20s in Dublin, and so she acts and speaks like a 20 year old university student, and also like someone who lives in Dublin. This makes the character seem much more real to the reader, rather than just feeling like they are reading a political spiel that the author couldn’t find other uses for. Her style of writing also leaves us with the impression that Rooney has a particular disinterest in depicting her characters’ inner lives, and yet Rooney is not the only author to attempt this – with Tao Lin, American poet, essayist and novelist, portraying his characters as treating their emotions with disdain. Rooney has constantly been referred to as a modern-day Salinger, subverting the gender roles of many of Salinger’s characters in her corresponding texts, with controlled, short sentences which are not particularly lyrical, Rooney will be a modern classic author – one to be studied in years to come.
Her signature writing style is marked by the deliberate absence of quotation marks, a feature that deters many readers from attempting her novels, or even leading to people starting, and not finishing her work. So why does Rooney not use quotation marks? There are many speculations, one being that the lack of quotation marks is a direct parallel to the miscommunication that the characters suffer with. However, Rooney herself has said in interviews that ‘it’s a novel written in the first person, isn’t it all a quotation?’, also stating that she started off Conversations with Friends by using long dashes to show where dialogue was, but quickly removed them once she finished the novel as she felt there was no true need for them. It is clear that without quotation marks, there is a lack of distinction between thought and speech; clearly linking to the complications of grief, romantic relationships and entanglements that her novels tackle.
“Rooney will be a modern classic author – one to be studied in years to come”
“She has a distinctive approach to characterisation in which a reader gets the impression that she is detached from her characters”
Although it may prove difficult for some readers, Rooney is not the first author to opt for the removal of quotation marks. Cormac McCarthy, another Irish author, also doesn’t use them, even going so far as to not put apostrophes on contracted words, with the reasoning that there is no reason to block up a page with marks if your writing is clear. This is a much more literal reason – like Rooney’s belief that her writing had no true need for them, however more authors have a more literary reason for their lack of speech marks. Genevieve Hudson, in her novel ‘Boys of Alabama’, writes about a boy moving from Germany to Alabama, and how he navigates the adaptation to a new language and culture, hence her writing style matches that difficulty, with the removal of speech marks helping achieve that. However, to simplify things, it’s my belief that the absence of quotation marks invokes a lack of precision; we as a reader cannot truly know what is happening as we are distanced from the true events of the book – and no matter how difficult it may be to read, it is a beautiful style of writing.
“Despite its possible difficulty, Intermezzo solidifies Rooney’s place as a modern literary voice”
Sally Rooney’s latest novel, Intermezzo, continues her exploration of complex human relationships, balancing themes of love, grief, and family dynamics. Her writing style is distinct and may challenge readers in ways that they are not used to, and yet it serves a deeper purpose, blurring the lines between thought and speech, and echoing the miscommunications her characters experience, as well as keeping alive a writing style employed by many Irish writers. Despite its possible difficulty, Intermezzo solidifies Rooney’s place as a modern literary voice, with nuanced characterisation and subtle subversion of traditional storytelling. Her work leaves a lasting impact on contemporary literature, and she is an author to be admired.
Intermezzo is a must read, and Rooney is truly an author to keep your eye out for!
Téa Kaci
Featured image 1 courtesy of Chris Boland via Flickr. Image use license found here . No changes were made to this image.
Featured image 2 courtesy of sandra via Flickr. Image use license found here . No changes were made to this image.
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