Intermezzo by Sally Rooney - spoilers

[Anonymous]

What did you make of Peter and Sylvia’s breakup/continuing friendship? I kept reading to discover more details about the accident and what it did to her body with none coming.

I’m having a hard time understanding why a couple who are described as “deeply in love” would break up just because she is unable to engage in penetrative sex anymore? There are other things you can do together, which Sylvia indicates she is capable of doing (she says at one point she can still masturbate). Maybe oral is out since her back pain is so bad. Still. Do you think most “deeply in love” couples would break up over this? Without even trying? It doesn’t sound realistic to me.

The weird thing was that it seemed like Peter really wanted to try but Sylvia was the one who was a hard no.

Considering the other sex scenes are so graphic, I was surprised by the lack of detail on this issue in the book! I guess this was deliberate on Rooney’s part but why? It is understandable to wonder about this when presented with the situation.

What did you make of it?