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ljutavidra's review against another edition
2.0
Nisam baš shvatila poentu ove pričice. Glavna junakinja se takmiči u debatama. E sad, na stranu šta ja lično mislila o tome, nisam baš shvatila sa kojom emocijom nas ostavlja Runi. Da li je junakinji drago ili žao što je svoje vreme potrošila na to? Na momente se čini da je razaznala koliko ta takmičenja ništa ne donose. I sama je bila svesna koliko je malo znala o temama o kojima su bile debate.
Ne znam, nije mi se ovo dopalo, nejasna mi je poruka, nejasna mi je junakinja, a ni priča me nije nešto zaintrigirala.
Ne znam, nije mi se ovo dopalo, nejasna mi je poruka, nejasna mi je junakinja, a ni priča me nije nešto zaintrigirala.
rileepickle's review
reflective
medium-paced
5.0
I LOVE ROONEY!!!
I hate debate but I could read her writing about anything anytime. She is incredible in her wordsmithing and her stories are so ordinary yet profound and I just love her!!!!!!! Bye!!!!
I hate debate but I could read her writing about anything anytime. She is incredible in her wordsmithing and her stories are so ordinary yet profound and I just love her!!!!!!! Bye!!!!
sssummer's review against another edition
5.0
I really liked this piece. It's really short, efficient and at the same time really insightful. She really nailed her description of the university debating experience (at least the ones I could relate to as a novice. Also, but maybe because I'm a novice, I did think she was a bit uncharitable towards the potential benefits of debate).
Because it was so compact and simultaneously pretty profound, it's really hard to fault it for anything. I'd be more inclined to read more personal nonfiction from her than fiction. As an aside, I'm almost surprised at how few five-star ratings there are, especially from her own fans who read it.
Because it was so compact and simultaneously pretty profound, it's really hard to fault it for anything. I'd be more inclined to read more personal nonfiction from her than fiction. As an aside, I'm almost surprised at how few five-star ratings there are, especially from her own fans who read it.
joannaautumn's review against another edition
4.0
"Participation in a game, any kind of game, gives you new ways of perceiving others. Victory only gives you new ways of perceiving yourself."
Never have I thought that Sally Rooney and my native Serbia would be mentioned in the same sentence, let alone that Sally herself will write a story about it.
So this story is about a girl who eventually feels comfortable with herself.
The story is full of Rooney's trademark style and insight into the human mind, and the things we are uncomfortable/scared of saying.
"I was nineteen when I started debating competitively, and it’s probably fair to say that most things I did when I was nineteen were motivated by a desperation to be liked."
I am patiently awaiting for all of her stories to be published in an anthology, because I would really prefer having a physical book to grab and read on impulse at 3 AM instead of searching newspaper articles - because I am a lazy bitch.
spititual_storm's review against another edition
4.0
I'm begging Sally Rooney to write a collection of essays-memoirs. She would be terrific at it
That was interesting, still like the political in Sally Rooney's work but really the subject of competitive debate is probably too strange for me since we just don't really do that in France
The writing is still good
And it gives some interesting points to think about. I always thought being forced to think about the two side of a political question would make one point of view more clever. But I can see here how competitive debate is kind of politically problematic and I never thought of that.
That was interesting, still like the political in Sally Rooney's work but really the subject of competitive debate is probably too strange for me since we just don't really do that in France
The writing is still good
And it gives some interesting points to think about. I always thought being forced to think about the two side of a political question would make one point of view more clever. But I can see here how competitive debate is kind of politically problematic and I never thought of that.
mmardybum's review against another edition
Spoiler
It’s hard to imagine my way back into that mindset now. I don’t think I will ever again want something so meaningless so much.Spoiler
For flow to be authentic, it has to be for its own sake. The ego has to fall away. This is not so difficult when you’re immersed in the task itself; but when the task is over, all you have left is a list of accomplishments. So maybe for a while you start believing there’s something great about those.Spoiler
Success doesn’t come from within; it’s given to you by other people, and other people can take it away.bibliorey's review against another edition
4.0
“Popularity was not a mysterious arrangement of personal loyalties within a social code I didn’t understand: it was essentially just the same thing as success. Successful people were popular. You knew whose jokes to laugh at, because they were the people who gave the best speeches and said the cleverest things.”
I love Sally Rooney’s take on success, worth and popularity, how it goes hand in hand, especially in academia. In this masterpiece of an essay, we focus on the success and popularity standards in debate competitions. This is off Rooney’s own personal experience as a debater I believe and this was also–if I’m not mistaken–her first of later many writing masterpieces that launches her now blossoming career.
Rooney truly has a gift of writing since day one. This is a non-fiction which is different than any of her other writings and yet it was still captivating and full of meaning. I wished I had debated when I was in high school however we sadly didn’t have a club nor a team back then so reading Rooney’s experience truly is an insightful one for me.
This is simply a stunning piece for any readers or non-readers alike. If you’re interested in debate and its process and experience, Rooney’s recollection of her time as a debater is truly a fun one to read. It also includes some self-reflect and self-motivation that will simultaneously remind us of our own worth and efforts in our journey to success in life. Stunning. Excellent. Love love love it. You can read the essay on The Dublin Review, link attached below.
“Success doesn’t come from within; it’s given to you by other people, and other people can take it away. In part, this is why I stopped competing. I didn’t want to give up the feeling of flow, that perfect, self-eliminating focus, but I didn’t want to perform it for points any more. Academic life had presented me with much the same problem: I thought about things only as hard and as thoroughly as my grades required. Maybe I stopped debating to see if I could still think of things to say when there weren’t any prizes. To a greater or lesser extent, I am still working on that.”
–
“But I did it. I got everything I set out to get. I was the one delivering the offhanded refutation. It was me sipping water while I waited for the end of the applause. I still occasionally feel an impulse to attribute all my achievements that year to my perfect teammate, or worse, to good luck. But I’m not nineteen anymore; I don’t need to make people feel comfortable. In the end, it was me. It may not mean anything to anyone else, but it doesn’t have to – that’s the point. I was number one. Like Fast Eddie, I’m the best there is. And even if you beat me, I’m still the best.”
Read it on The Dublin Review: https://thedublinreview.com/article/even-if-you-beat-me/
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cameronwaller's review against another edition
3.0
Reads more like a piece of journalism than a short story. Some interesting ideas, though it’s lacking of Rooney’s distinct style or a significant “point.”
fizzingwhizbee's review against another edition
4.0
sally rooney using quotation marks⁉️
link: https://thedublinreview.com/article/even-if-you-beat-me/
link: https://thedublinreview.com/article/even-if-you-beat-me/