Sally Rooney’s ‘Intermezzo’ Gets Limited-Edition Release With Bonus Short Story

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Four years after Sally Rooney‘s novel-turned-series “Normal People” cemented the Irish author as Hollywood’s most beloved literary star, her long-awaited fourth novel is finally here.

“Intermezzo,” which focuses on two brothers who are grieving the loss of their father while exploring two very different romantic relationships, is already a No. 1 bestseller on Amazon after releasing Tuesday morning. Also available is a Barnes & Noble exclusive version, which includes a bonus short story by Rooney titled “Color and Light.”

The book follows her 2021 novel “Beautiful World, Where Are You” and 2017’s “Conversations With Friends,” which was also adapted into a Hulu series, without Rooney’s involvement, to mixed reviews.

Rooney’s newest 448-page novel is a departure from her first three books, which are all written from the perspective of love-sick young women.

On writing from the male perspective, Rooney said: “I’m aware that people think that my work is heavily autobiographical, and in fact, it isn’t. It felt like they were just fictional characters, like all my other fictional characters, and I was intrigued by them. So the question of gender felt very secondary, but there were moments where I thought, Have I got any of this right?”

Time will tell if her latest project will be adapted into a series like her first two projects. According to a recent interview with The New York Times, she isn’t jumping at the chance for future TV adaptations of her work, saying she has “decided not to accept any offers to option the rights” for her third book, “Beautiful World, Where Are You?,” which released in 2021.

When asked why not, Rooney replied: “I felt like it was just time to take a break from that and let the book be its own thing for a while.”