The wait is nearly over for Sally Rooney’s legions of fans – the Irish writer has announced her next novel, due to be published this autumn.
Intermezzo, the bestselling author’s fourth novel, will feature Rooney’s trademark theme of complicated relationships between young people, but this time the focus will primarily be on two brothers, Peter and Ivan Koubek.
Peter, a Dublin lawyer in his 30s, seemingly has little in common with his younger brother Ivan, a socially awkward competitive chess player. When their father dies, the brothers’ lives change. The apparently successful and competent Peter begins to self-medicate, and struggles to navigate relationships with two women: his first love, Sylvia, and Naomi, a college student. Meanwhile Ivan becomes involved with an older woman Margaret, his life becoming quickly and intensely intertwined with hers.
“For two grieving brothers and the people they love, this is a new interlude – a period of desire, despair and possibility, – a chance to find out how much one life might hold inside itself without breaking,” publisher Faber and Faber’s description of the novel reads.
“After three miraculous books, Sally Rooney’s millions of readers will recognise the beauty and insight, the pain and hope that radiates from this new novel”, Faber’s Alex Bowler said. “But it marks an exquisite advance, too, in the work of a writer who seems so attuned to our lives, our hearts and our times.”
Rooney’s previous novels have all been international bestsellers, and Normal People and Conversations With Friends have been adapted for BBC television series. The writer’s most recent title, Beautiful World, Where Are You, sold more than 40,000 copies in just five days when it was published in September 2021, with 50 booksellers across the UK opening early on its publication day to cater for the demand, while a Rooney pop-up shop opened in Shoreditch. Plans are under way for Intermezzo’s publication, with Rooney expected to appear at events in London and Dublin.
The advanced reader copies (ARCs) sent out to influencers and media professionals before Beautiful World’s publication were called “the status galley of the summer” by Vanity Fair’s Delia Cai. Some ARCs, which were clearly marked “not for resale” appeared on trading sites such as eBay and Depop, with one copy selling on eBay for $209.16 (£165.38).
Bea Carvalho, head of books at Waterstones said she expects the publication of Intermezzo to be “a standout highlight” of this year’s fiction titles. “Few authors are as beloved among our booksellers”, she said. “We remember fondly launching Beautiful World, Where Are You in Waterstones Piccadilly with one of the first major bookshop book signings after the turbulent period of lockdowns and shop closures: a reminder of the joy to be found in the community of bookshops.”
Rooney’s books have sold 3m copies in the UK and Ireland alone, and have been translated into more than 40 languages. In 2021, Rooney turned down an offer from the Israeli publisher that translated her two previous novels into Hebrew, due to her stance on the Israel-Palestine conflict. Writing in the Observer in December 2023, in conversation with Palestinian author Isabella Hammad, Rooney wrote that she was “at a loss to understand” the recent events in Gaza. “Nothing can make sense of it. Everything in me rebels against what I’m witnessing.”
In 2022, Time magazine named Rooney among the 100 most influential people. The novelist lives and works in County Mayo, Ireland, where she was born.
Intermezzo, the cover of which is yet to be revealed, will be published on 24 September.
Intermezzo by Sally Rooney (Faber & Faber, £20). To support the Guardian and Observer, order your copy at guardianbookshop.com. Delivery charges may apply
