🚨 Book rants & wildly fluctuating opinions incoming! 🚨

This week, Rachael Johns and Anthea Hodgson take on Sally Rooney’s latest, where two brothers navigate grief, romance, and existential dread—all while occasionally playing chess.

Along the way, we discuss:

♟️ The many, many chess metaphors—how far is too far?

📖 Why this book is giving Ulysses energy (but make it Rooney)

💔 A love triangle that had us screaming “just pick someone already!”

🎭 The existential crisis of two brothers navigating grief, relationships, and Dublin

And, of course, we rate it: Kiss, Kill, or Marry? (Spoiler: it’s a tough call.)

⏰ Timestamps

00.00 Intro

1.19 Sally Rooney is very young and very famous – like Rachael!

2.04 The more famous you are – the shorter your biography

3.47 Rachael has reasons for reading Rooney – Anthea’s just here for the accents

5.42 The blurb – not bad – but does it over promise?

6.42 Sibling drama and its role in literature and in life

9.06 Rating Intermezzo – Kiss, Kill and Cigarettes

10.22 Are long books the enemy? Does size really matter?

12.47 Goodreads ratings – Sally Rooney is more popular than Guinness

15.25 Meet Peter and Ivan, and the women they love, mostly

21.13 Reviews – the good, the bad and the ugly

22.01 Autism and disability in fiction

25.06 James Joyce – what are you doing here?

32.17 Crisis! Every time we meet a new character

35.17 Killing Intermezzo, with love

36.54 Rachael susses Anthea out for a throuple. Anthea is not keen.

39.42 Hat puzzle confusion (no green hats were harmed in the making of this

conversation)

41.47 What does Intermezzo mean, anyway?

42.45 The Bridges of Madison County next time! Surely it’s a marry???

👉 Listen now, subscribe, and tell us—did Intermezzo hit or miss for you?

This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit readingbetweendeadlines.substack.com