I am so relieved to have finally finished my literature requirements. This class was not what I expected, with the contract, flexible assessments, and ultimately, my newfound appreciation for reading. I am proud of myself for reading 10 books in 3 months which is something I never thought I would do. I enjoyed the structure […]
The final book that I have read for this class, “Faces in the Crowd”, was one of the most confusing books I have read. Although I found it much easier to read because the writing incorporated more modern words, I finished the book not really grasping the whole concept. There were many different themes of […]
I was very excited to read “Death with Interruptions” since I thought the idea of imagining a world without death was so fascinating. This book is obviously fictionalized, but many aspects of it feel very realistic. Death is such a complex idea that is imagined very differently across various individuals, cultures, and religions. For myself […]
Ricardo Piglia’s “Money to Burn” was a long and chaotic book filled with too many names and nicknames that made it hard to keep track of what was happening. It took a lot of motivation to read this one especially since the last few books I’ve read have been quite short. The content of the […]
I was mentally preparing myself to experience extreme discomfort while reading “The Lover”, but I wasn’t as uncomfortable as I thought I would be. Of course, we shouldn’t dismiss the fact that this relationship was illegal, involving a minor, and disturbing at some parts, like when the girl is described as “his own child [that] […]
After reading “The Hour of the Star”, I thought a lot about life and death and it made me so uncomfortable. I found it difficult to understand the philosophical aspects of the book and may have tried too hard to find a deeper meaning to the story. My initial impression of the narrator, Rodrigo S. […]
Throughout Rodoreda’s book, “The Time of the Doves”, I had great sympathy for Natalia and the constant challenges and adversities she experienced. She never seemed to catch a break, from a difficult relationship with her parents, to a manipulative husband, to having her house filled with doves, to going through a war, to having her […]
Moravia’s “Agostino” made me so uncomfortable. I found the very sensual and detailed descriptions of Agostino observing his mother and her physicality to be quite disturbing. However, despite these unpleasant feelings, I appreciated the simple structure of the book and how easy it was to read and understand. Compared to the previous books we have […]
It was refreshing to read a book that discusses many experiences and struggles that women face from a female author’s perspective, especially after reading “Nadja” by Andre Breton who talks about a woman’s suffering from his male point of view. I started this reading with the expectation that it would retaliate against Breton’s questionable perspective […]
I was intrigued by the brief description of Andre Breton’s “Nadja” that was provided on the course website, but found the first section of the book to be a bit scattered with the narrator’s constant thoughts and names of what appeared to be random people. However, I did like how Breton made the text somewhat […]
