‘The work of writing is so much more fulfilling for me than the existence of the finished book’ – Technologist

She’s been described as the Jane Austen of her generation. At 33, with her first three novels, Conversations With Friends, Normal People and Beautiful World, Where Are You, Irish author Sally Rooney has become a publishing sensation, translated into almost 40 languages. For the global release of her fourth novel, Intermezzo, the writer gives Le Monde her only interview in France.

As with your previous novels, there is huge anticipation about Intermezzo. How do you feel before the publication of a new book, when the pressure is so great?

In truth, waiting for a book to be published is not a pleasant experience for me. It is stressful, and I don’t cope with it very well. I don’t think I have become used to it as such, but I have at least come to understand and accept that the publication period represents a major interruption to my ordinary life, and that it will inevitably be difficult and stressful. For the first few books, I couldn’t understand why I was experiencing so much stress and I blamed myself for not coping better, and so on. Now, I just brace myself for about five or six months of unpleasantness before my life goes back to normal. Because I only publish a book once every few years, I think this is an acceptable compromise that allows me to get on with my work in the meantime. Or so I tell myself!

Intermezzo tells the story of two brothers, Ivan and Peter, just after their father’s funeral. Ivan, 22, is a talented chess player, while Peter, 32, is a lawyer, and they seem to have little in common. Although love is one of your main themes, you’ve never before written about love and hate in the context of brotherhood (moreover, in relation to the loss of a father). What drew you to this theme?

There was no conscious decision-making involved in writing about these characters. I did not sit down with the intention of “tackling a theme” or “exploring the topic of brotherhood” or anything like that at all. One day several years ago, I had an idea for a story about a chess player visiting a small rural arts center to play a simultaneous exhibition game. I started to write that story and, in the course of getting to know its characters, I eventually realized that the chess player had an elder brother. Then I began writing about the brother character, and the people in his life, and the novel developed from there. At no point did I think to myself “I have something to say about brotherhood.” I don’t have anything to say about anything in particular in my novels. I just want to bring my characters to life for the reader, the way they have come to life for me.

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