Cerys Halsall-Jolley

Book 3/10 💛

Tuesday 8th Sep

I am a big fan of Sally Rooney’s writing, so when I kept hearing great things about Intermezzo all over BookTok I was excited to finally pick it up. It had been sitting on my shelf for months and months waiting to be read. Unfortunately, I came away feeling pretty let down.

The writing itself was amazing. It felt very Rooney. Her ability to get inside the minds of her characters and make their internal dialogue feel so intimate is something I have always loved about her writing. You can see exactly how carefully she uses language to reflect the way each character thinks. The problem for me was that I simply did not like being inside these characters' heads.

Peter is your stereotypical selfish man who seems to constantly play the victim card. Ivan is perhaps even more frustrating because he is aware of his own flaws but seems to have no real desire to change them. Then there is Naomi, Sylvia and Margaret. Three characters who could have had so much depth, especially in a book written by someone as good as Rooney, but instead they often felt like pieces being moved around by Peter and Ivan. It felt like they were there to serve the men's stories rather than having stories of their own.

The plot also felt like it had very little direction. I understand that Intermezzo is not really about a traditional plot. It is much more interested in people's pasts, their inner lives and the ways they discover and understand themselves. I actually really liked that idea. But at over 500 pages, I couldn't help feeling that the book did not need to be quite so long. There was so much time spent inside these characters' thoughts and yet Ivan's story still felt strangely unfinished by the end.

And perhaps that is what frustrated me most. I could see exactly what Rooney was trying to do. I could appreciate the writing. I could appreciate the characterisation. I could appreciate the way the internal dialogue reveals things about the characters that they would never actually say aloud. But I just didn't enjoy reading it.

There is something quite clever about writing a book where the characters are so deeply flawed and self aware. They understand themselves enough to recognise their own mistakes but not enough to actually escape them. Intermezzo explores loneliness, grief, love and the complicated ways people try to connect with each other. I just wish I had cared more about the people at the centre of it.

Beautifully written. Carefully constructed. Full of ideas I can appreciate. But unfortunately, not a book I enjoyed.

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Book 2/10 💛

Friday 4th Sep Madonna In A Fur Coat is quite easily the most darkly beautiful book I have discovered in a long time.Through the life of Raif and his account of a tragic, flawed love, it tells a story that leaves you questioning your own philosophy on life. This is a book about the loneliness that lurks in plain sight. The kind you cannot escape even surrounded by family, even among people you’ve known your whole life. It asks a quiet, unsettling question: how well do we actually know the people closest to us? On the surface, people can seem ordinary. Mundane, even. But every person carries a story, a past or distant dreams beneath the surface, aspects that will not reveal themselves unless you’re willing to dig, to pry gently, to actually look. The book suggests that the most interesting lives are often the best hidden, and that withholding yourself from others doesn’t protect you. It hollows you out. Through the story of Raif, it explores what happens when we build walls out of fear. Fear of judgment, fear of getting hurt, fear of consequences that may never even come. And it makes the case, gently but insistently, for the opposite: that when you find someone worth connecting to, the risk is worth taking. That cynicism is just fear wearing a disguise. That life, looked at honestly, is full of beauty in places you’d least expect it. Spanning generations, this is a timeless meditation on connection, isolation, and the quiet courage it takes to let yourself be known. Share

Book 1 / 10 💛

Friday 4th Sep Twilight by Stephenie Meyer is still the first series I ever finished without putting it down. It isn’t exactly literary. I know that. But through Bella’s account of an all-consuming love, it gave me a world so far from my own that I could disappear into it completely. Forks isn’t just a backdrop here. Gray, damp, quietly magic, it’s practically a character, and the book lingers there in a way the films never bothered to. Bella’s narration does the rest. Her overthinking, her strange non-relationships with everyone who isn’t Edward, the way she drifts half-present through her own life. None of it survives translation to screen. On the page, it’s everything. Then there’s Edward. Insufferably sure of himself, doling out his and the Cullens’ backstory like he’s daring you to keep up. Somehow that’s the appeal, not the flaw. It’s not naive to want that kind of escape. It’s the whole point. Through Bella and Edward, it explores what happens when desire outweighs every warning sign. Danger of losing yourself, of loving something that could destroy you. And still it makes its case, breathless and certain, and still I believed it at thirteen. Love, at its most real, was never going to be safe. This isn’t a perfect book. But it was my first real one, and I’ve never stopped being fond of it for that. Share

📚 MY SEPTEMBER READING CHALLENGE RULES 📚

Saturday 22nd Aug

I’m aiming to read 10 books throughout September to raise money for Teenage Cancer Trust. To make things a little more interesting, I’ve set myself some rules...

📖 1. Read 10 books
The big one! I need to finish 10 books between 1st and 30th September.

✨ 2. At least 8 books must be new to me
Only 2 of my 10 books can be books I’ve read before.

🚫 3. No abandoning books
Once I start a book, I have to finish it. No DNFing allowed!

👥 4. 10 different authors
Every book must be written by a different author. No getting through the challenge by reading an entire series from one person!

🔀 5. Read 2 books outside my usual genre
My favourite genre is modern contemporary fiction, so I’m going to push myself to pick up at least two books that I wouldn't normally reach for.

💭 6. Someone else chooses one
One of my 10 books has to be chosen by someone else. So if you have a recommendation, let me know!

📚 7. No buying books for the challenge
I can only read books I already own or books I borrow from the library. My bank account will be pleased about this one!

⭐ 8. Review every single book
I’ll be keeping track of every book I read and posting a little review as I go, including my rating.

So... 10 books. 10 authors. 8 new reads. 2 books outside my comfort zone. 0 new books bought.

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