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One thing you can count on in Rooney’s books is intensely developed characters who interact in genuine ways. In this novel, two brothers are stuck in old patterns of expectations and behaviors that no longer serve either. This plot reveals the sometimes uncomfortable moments in a filial relationship, and these moments hurt.

The language is so lilting and generous, with the placement of adverbs close to the subject of the word rather than the more brutal way of American writers placing them at the end of the sentences. Somehow for me, this choice softens the sound and flow of the prose.

I give this a four because it starts so slowly and strangely. But I loved it.