Read With Us: Why You Might Want to Read Intermezzo With Us

I'm here today to present some reasons why you might want to consider reading our current Read With Us selection, Intermezzo by Sally Rooney. 

The first few reasons I came up with were relatively easy.

1. Immerse yourself in Intermezzo to distract yourself from worrying about the election and the results. I'm sure you've all voted and done whatever you can, so now is the time to read Sally Rooney's latest and most eagerly awaited novel.

2. There is no time travel in this one, and no nuns!

But here are a few more serious reasons:

3. Rooney provides a unique insight into young relationships. She's explored these in her previous books, and in Intermezzo she continues to explore the complexities of love, friendship, and the emotional currents that shape these relationships. If you enjoyed Normal People or Conversations With Friends, you'll appreciate how Intermezzo dives even deeper into these themes.

4. Intermezzo is filled with sharp, thought-provoking dialogue. Known for her knack for realistic dialogue, Rooney crafts exchanges that are honest, challenging, and often heartbreaking. Her characters express ideas and insecurities that resonate with readers, leaving you thinking about what was (and wasn't) said.

5. Rooney often tackles contemporary social issues like class, privilege, and the impact of economic struggles on personal lives. In Intermezzo, she also writes largely about grief. All of these themes are woven into the plot and characters' lives, inviting readers to reflect on their own experiences and the larger societal forces at play. I would argue that gender also figures largely in this novel. 

6. Rooney’s characters are frequently relatable and flawed, portrayed with a blend of vulnerabilities and strengths. In Intermezzo, these traits make her characters feel raw and real, allowing readers to see reflections of their own lives, fears, and desires in her prose.

7. Rooney has a signature style— atmospheric, intimate, immersive, and introspective—that pulls readers into her characters' worlds. The atmospheric quality of Intermezzo immerses readers in settings that are almost like the characters themselves, enhancing the emotional experience of the narrative.

8. Miscommunication and misunderstandings are central to Rooney’s narratives, reflecting real-life relational challenges. Intermezzo examines how people can be so close yet feel worlds apart, making readers contemplate how often we all fall short of truly understanding each other.

9. The narrative style in Intermezzo invites readers to examine not just the characters’ choices but their own responses to those choices. Rooney’s introspective narration encourages readers to consider their own viewpoints and possibly see their personal experiences reflected in the story. I'll admit that Peter's introspective chapters initially drove me nuts; they were a reflection of his inner thoughts so Rooney wrote them in fragments. Once I started listening to the audiobook, this was no longer a problem for me. 

And just to make it a nice even 10 reasons, John contributed this one:

10. Reading Intermezzo is something you can do quietly while others in your household nap. 

Kym and Carole will be doing promotional posts throughout November. Discussion day for Intermezzo is scheduled for Tuesday, January 7, 2025, at 7:00 pm Eastern time, so mark your calendars. We'll ask questions on our blogs that day and then host the always fun, educational, and entertaining Zoom discussion. 

I think this book is quite discussable and I do hope you'll Read With Us!

Old Dog/New Tricks

This old dog learned a couple of new tricks this weekend. I wanted to make the fresh ginger cake I wrote about on Friday but wasn't looking forward to peeling and slicing the knobby hunk of ginger I needed. A few minutes on the internet gave me a couple of the tricks I needed. The first thing I found out is that ginger can be peeled with a spoon. It was simple and there was no danger of cutting my fingers. The next thing I learned is that ginger can be blitzed in the food processor. I froze the peeled pieces for a few hours, put them in my food processor for a few seconds, and voilà, chopped fresh ginger to bake this:

It was delicious. This is not my grandmother's gingerbread, but a strong ginger cake. It was great with whipped cream

and I think it would be equally tasty with some vanilla ice cream. 

I hope your week is off to a good start and that you have cake or something just as yummy to carry you through the

rest of this fraught week. 

I Thought I Was Done

I thought I was done blanching, freezing, fixing, and figuring out ways to use the garden produce, but that was not the case. We went to visit Ryan and the garden earlier this week after a hard frost. The garden has already gotten frost three or four times before, but this time Mother Nature meant it. John managed to salvage a meal's worth of green beans and snow peas but then asked if I could do something with a five-gallon bucket of green tomatoes. I wasn't going to give out fried green tomatoes for Halloween, so I convinced him that just a big bowlful would be much better. Ryan found a recipe for tomato relish that sounded very interesting to me (no vinegar!) so I decided to try it. 

The first thing I learned was that fresh ginger is completely different than ground ginger. I cut off a hunk, peeled it, and reveled in the scent. After I added the cumin and lime juice and zest I was really hooked. 

I added the rest of the ingredients and then diced the green tomatoes for what felt like forever. In actuality, it only took about 90 minutes but I was quite happy that I did not have a five-gallon bucket full of the things. 

After all the peeling, juicing, zesting, and chopping, I put the pot on the stove to cook down. This recipe called for ripe tomatoes and cooking it down for approximately 30 minutes but I cooked mine down for about 90 minutes since I was using green tomatoes that were much harder.

I doubled the recipe and we had to have hamburgers on Thursday night so I could taste my relish. It's damn good! I love the taste of limes, cumin, and ginger, so I may be making more of this stuff with canned tomatoes once I finish these jars.

But for now, the good news is I have enough ginger left over for a fresh ginger cake, and enough limes to enjoy several vodka & tonics with plenty of lime, just like I like them. I'll be pacing myself with the drinks so I have enough vodka and limes to last through at least Tuesday (and I'll probably need to replenish the ingredients so I have more on hand for at least a week afterward). 

I hope you have a great weekend!