Aside from the fact that they are brothers, Peter and Ivan Koubek seem to have little in common.
Peter is a Dublin lawyer in his thirties – successful, competent and apparently unassailable. Ivan is a twenty-two-year-old competitive chess player. He has always seen himself as socially awkward, a loner, the antithesis of his glib elder brother.
In the wake of their father’s death, this is a new interlude for the two grieving brothers and the people they love – a period of desire, despair and possibility – a chance to find out how much one life might hold inside itself without breaking.
by Bruna
This was my first Sally Rooney and I was pleasantly surprised.
The novel takes place mostly in Dublin and tells the story of two brothers dealing with the recent death of their father and the impact of this event in their already broken relationship. The female characters are also very interesting, very constant and strong, I think they are the spine supporting the whole novel.
The writing style is quite interesting and unique. The brothers are very different, not only in age but in personality, so their chapters read completely differently. Peter is erratic and anxious; his sentences are very introspective and short. On the other hand Ivan is more logical and takes time observing the world around him, so his sentences are long and contemplative. I have to say it took me a few chapters to get into Peter’s mind, but once I did it was very rewarding.
I loved all the dialogues in this book, they are very believable and it feels like these could be real people. From what I heard this is one of Rooney’s great writing qualities and I agree.
It was super well written, mature, with great characters and relevant subjects. Also some very memorable passages, with beautiful and deep depictions of grief which really resonated with me.
