Black Shack Alley follows author José growing up in 1930s Martinique. The story is split into three parts, and each part follows José in a different stage of his childhood, in a different place. First of all, I really loved José’s grandma’s character in the book. I like how she’s portrayed as kind of […]
Posted in Blogs, Zobel | Tagged with Colonialism, education, poverty
Agostino was a short read, but one that leaves a lot to think about. I think it’s more than your usual coming-of-age story. It’s one of those reads where the writing coaxes you to keep going even though you’re lowkey really weirded out. It actually reminded me a lot of Proust, in the sense that […]
Posted in Blogs, Moravia | Tagged with Agostino, coming of age, innocence, Puberty, sexuality
The novel takes us through Ana María’s memories, which resurface as certain key figures from her life enter the room where her body lies. Each presence unlocks a different part of her memories with that person. Because she speaks from death, there’s a new honesty to the way she looks at herself and others, which […]
Posted in Blogs, Bombal | Tagged with death, identity, memory
So, Nadja was my first ever introduction to surrealist fiction, and all I can say is…at least it was less confusing than Proust. For starters, the first few parts of the book left me wondering whether I was reading the right book or not, because like… where exactly was Nadja? It felt I was like […]
Posted in Blogs, Breton | Tagged with nadja
Reading ‘Combray’ has left me confused but quite intrigued. I’ve only read up to the first part (page 48), and it took me a bit to figure out what was even going on. The narrator (whom I assume is Proust himself) keeps switching between past and present, and sometimes it’s hard to tell if he’s […]
Posted in Blogs, Proust | Tagged with combray
Hi everyone. My name is Fiona, and I’m a first-year science student hoping to go into Biochem next year. I was born in Jakarta, Indonesia, and have lived there all my life before moving here for university, so the sudden weather change is definitely taking a toll on me (I’ve gotten sick like 3 times […]
Posted in Blogs, Introduction | Tagged with