"concord 34” and “at the clinic” by sally rooney

reflections on sally rooney’s short stories

PRELUDE

Hi everybody!

Today, I’m discussing two Sally Rooney short stories “Concord 34” and “At The Clinic”. My hope is to read all her short stories and maybe 1-2 of her novels before seeing her at a literature festival this August, which is held in Denmark at the Louisiana Art Museum (literally my favorite place on earth).

I was initially more excited to read “At The Clinic” because I heard the short story serves as a kind of character sketch for the main characters of “Normal People.” However, “Concord 34” really connected with me for that post-graduation existential crisis living at home for a bit vibe (me) and general emotional disconnection that the characters experience (which both stories actually share).

If you like discussions like this one about literature you can check out my other post about Sally Rooney’s essay. Additionally, you can check out my post on James Joyce’s short story “Araby” or Jhumpa Lahiri’s short story “Interpreter of Maladies.” For even more literature, I have posts about Romance in Marseille by Claude McKay, Another Country by James Baldwin, and Just Kids by Patti Smith.

TABLE CHAT

INTIMATE REALISM 🫧

Sally Rooney’s short stories are imbued with her signature style of intimate realism: characterized by her iconic quotation-less dialogue, a fluidity of time and progression of events, and emotionally deep and complex characters who feel like they’re sitting right across from you. Rooney’s work interrogates the space between what we often imagine in our heads (dreams, desires, etc.) and the stark reality of life in the context of romantic relationships. Ultimately, she forces us to confront the isolation of love and the forms of disconnection we nowadays face in a hyperconnected, globalizing world.

Rooney’s characters aren’t just plot devices who advance the story through any sort of dramatic action, but they breathe, contradict themselves, and exist in a continual state of self-awareness and self-doubt. When it comes down to it, no one is truly ever evil or wrong… it’s just complicated… Both of the stories are rather scandalous, centering on characters who are in unusual age gap situations or really sus situationships? But again, they aren’t some steeped in some overblown dramatic conflict. The characters are in a state of quiet desperation: searching for meaning or connection in small, emotionally loaded exchanges. For Rooney, it’s the small, quiet intimate moments that speak the loudest.

CONCORD 34 🚐

In "Concord 34", Miriam, a 25-year-old woman returning to her hometown, becomes entangled with Evan, a teenager who looks up to her. Some readers might misinterpret this as Rooney romanticizing a crazy inappropriate relationship, but to me, it reads as a quiet but brutal critique. Miriam, who once endured an unhealthy relationship with an older man, now repeats that same harmful dynamic with Evan. Rooney doesn’t frame Miriam as a hero or villain, instead she’s painfully self-aware, yet unable (or unwilling) to break the cycle. Evan, meanwhile, is portrayed not as a love interest but as a vulnerable figure being subtly manipulated, due to the fact that he looks up to her and searches for her advice on everything. The story captures a strong sense of loneliness and emotional disengagement (one really stark moment for me where no one could hear Miriam in the pool), contrasting sharply with more escapist fiction I’ve been reading lately (I’m literally re-reading Harry Potter). Rooney’s characters are complicated, sometimes even come across as slightly pathetic or at least their thoughts and narration strongly suggest a strong sense of dislike of themselves and what they’re doing, and that's exactly what makes them feel so real.

AT THE CLINIC 🦷

In "At the Clinic", Rooney begins to introduce us to her characters Connell and Marianne, as she paints a portrait of painful love. I found it interesting how Rooney captures the weight of things unsaid. Connell struggles with vulnerability and emotional presence, caught between shame and a need for dominance. His current girlfriend, Lauren, feels like a minor character in his life, especially when contrasted with the lasting emotional imprint Marianne leaves. I thought Rooney effectively portrayed (a lack of) male intimacy and numbness, notably through his inability to feel things. One small detail I loved was how Skype, which once felt so cutting-edge, now feels strangely outdated: to me, highlighting how fast technology changes the way we connect and disconnect these days. Also, the way Rooney contrasts Marianne’s satisfaction when a doctor validates her pain versus Connell’s emotional numbness speaks volumes about gender, validation, and communication.

Ultimately, both stories left me thinking about how Rooney portrays relationships not as sources of easy happiness, but as battlegrounds of longing, shame, validation, and silence. Her characters are often searching for connection in ways that are painfully imperfect, but deeply human.

QUESTIONS FOR THE CLASS

• How do you interpret Miriam’s actions in "Concord 34"? Is she sympathetic, or does Rooney intend us to be critical of her?

• In "At the Clinic", why do you think Rooney emphasizes Connell’s emotional distance so much more than Marianne’s?

• Do you think Rooney’s style (no quotation marks, fluid movement between thought and speech) makes her characters feel more real, or more removed?

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That’s it for today! Have a good day :)

Skylar xx