Intermezzo

Intermezzo is an interlude of a break in music and the contents of this chapter reflect the chapter name; Paul takes a break from his musical studies with Keller and from his friends to travel to Adelaide for his school holidays. This gives him time to reflect on his life in Darwin. Adelaide used to be a utopia for him when he was younger and the he entertained himself by going to the zoo and watching television. But 16-year-old Paul did not find those things interesting anymore and instead, resorted to spending most of his holidays in the library, researching Herr Heller. One day, Paul experiences a couple having sex in the library and this leaves a lasting impression on Paul. It causes him to explore and to think about his own sexual desires. Paul focuses on reliving the activities from the library the same night rather than focusing on music. His reaction to the lovers proves to us that Paul is - simply put - just another teenage boy and it reminds us of his burgeoning sexuality. We begin to understand that whilst Paul is interested in music and his research on Keller’s life; he is more interested in his own sexual desires.
At the end of the first chapter, Keller says to Paul, “If you want people to believe your lies, set them to music.” Keller believes that music blinds Paul from the reality of the situation. He doesn’t want Paul to make decisions based on emotions, but rather based on reason. A superficial understanding of music can make Paul forget the nuance in music and forget to appreciate what the real purpose of music is. Keller sends Paul an older edition of a music book her already has. Paul is disappointed with his present but is makes him more curious as to where Keller got it from and this causes him to go and research Keller and his life in Europe.