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Review of My Brilliant Friend
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Concluding Blog
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I can't believe it’s almost the end of this semester already. Time sure went by fast!
At the beginning of the semester, I was worried about not being able to understand the ‘deeper’ meanings behind the texts as English is not my first language. As time progressed, I realized that I don't need to worry about it. I am able to see the texts from different perspectives and learn many things from my classmates' blogs and the discussions in class. It was super nice to be able to see other people's ideas and thoughts on their posts. I also love reading the feedback comments on my blogs!
Talking about blogs, I was also worried about creating blogs at the beginning of the semester. I struggled when creating the blog posts because I am not a technology person. Luckily, I started to get used to the format after a few weeks in (new skill learned). After using it several times, I realized it is not that challenging to use.
One of the things I was not expecting in the course was the texts we read in class. I thought the texts we will be reading will be mainly about ‘love kind of romance’ or a lot of relationships involved in the texts. I wasn’t expecting that most of the readings were about or related to war and memories.
I still remember when I started reading Proust’s “Combray”. The beginning of the novel confused me. I even asked my friend if it is normal that I don't understand a single thing. I need to re-read them a few times to fully get them into my head. I was worried and panicked back then because it was just the start of the course and I’m already struggling. Luckily it got better as the book progressed.
I have to say “Bonjour Tristesse” by Sagan Francoise was my favourite text from the readings I have read this term. I like it because it's more relationship based. It focuses on the relationship dynamics between the characters instead of violence. Even though the characters in there are pretty selfish to the point I became frustrated, but it made me want to continue reading it and find out what happened next.
Overall, I really liked and enjoyed this course! I love how we are able to choose the amount of readings we read and go to the discussion on either Tuesday or Thursday. I am able to expand my horizon by the readings, lectures, discussions and the blogs from my classmates.
Thank you all for this wonderful semester.
Concluding Blog
Posted by: feedwordpress
I can't believe it’s almost the end of this semester already. Time sure went by fast!
At the beginning of the semester, I was worried about not being able to understand the ‘deeper’ meanings behind the texts as English is not my first language. As time progressed, I realized that I don't need to worry about it. I am able to see the texts from different perspectives and learn many things from my classmates' blogs and the discussions in class. It was super nice to be able to see other people's ideas and thoughts on their posts. I also love reading the feedback comments on my blogs!
Talking about blogs, I was also worried about creating blogs at the beginning of the semester. I struggled when creating the blog posts because I am not a technology person. Luckily, I started to get used to the format after a few weeks in (new skill learned). After using it several times, I realized it is not that challenging to use.
One of the things I was not expecting in the course was the texts we read in class. I thought the texts we will be reading will be mainly about ‘love kind of romance’ or a lot of relationships involved in the texts. I wasn’t expecting that most of the readings were about or related to war and memories.
I still remember when I started reading Proust’s “Combray”. The beginning of the novel confused me. I even asked my friend if it is normal that I don't understand a single thing. I need to re-read them a few times to fully get them into my head. I was worried and panicked back then because it was just the start of the course and I’m already struggling. Luckily it got better as the book progressed.
I have to say “Bonjour Tristesse” by Sagan Francoise was my favourite text from the readings I have read this term. I like it because it's more relationship based. It focuses on the relationship dynamics between the characters instead of violence. Even though the characters in there are pretty selfish to the point I became frustrated, but it made me want to continue reading it and find out what happened next.
Overall, I really liked and enjoyed this course! I love how we are able to choose the amount of readings we read and go to the discussion on either Tuesday or Thursday. I am able to expand my horizon by the readings, lectures, discussions and the blogs from my classmates.
Thank you all for this wonderful semester.
Week 12 – José Eduardo Agualusa "The Society of Reluctant Dreamers"
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This week, I read “The Society of Reluctant Dreamers” by José Eduardo Agualusa.
I pity the narrator, Daniel. After he started covering topics about society and politics when “Portuguese newspapers'' took him on as a correspondent, his father in law does not like what he wrote and has a different perspective/opinion on the narrator's writings. Due to that Daniel got fired from his company and his relationship with his wife worsened which eventually led to divorce.
After living at Armando’s apartment for several years, Daniel went to the Rainbow Hotel. Hossi Apolonio Kaley is the owner of the Rainbow Hotel and it turns out that they went to the same school together before. During Daniel’s stay there, he discovered a mango-yellow waterproof camera when he was swimming. He took the camera with him and plugged the memory card into his computer then downloaded the pictures later that night. He became obsessed with the woman and often dreamt about her. It made me begin to wonder why the figure of this woman is so important in the novel. Does she symbolizes anything? Or are her photos an object to help deal with the hard times for Daniel?
One of the vivid conversations in the story for me was a conversation between Daniel and Hossi about being vegetarian. Hossi rejected when Daniel invited him to join on his chicken and chips. Daniel was surprised that Hossi is a vegetarian as there aren't many of them in Angola. Hossi then pointed out that Hitler and Gandhi were both vegetarian as well. It is harder for people to accept the fact that Hitler liked animals because of all the harming he has done to the people. On the other hand, it is easier for the people to accept the fact that Gandhi liked animals and was a vegetarian. This reminded me of how important a person’s image/reputation to others is and how extreme it can be. If a person who is loved by everyone does something ‘bad’, most of the people will let it pass thinking it was an accident or maybe that person was going through a bad day. In different circumstances, if a person who has a bad reputation does something ‘good’, most of the people would find it hard to believe and will still have negative thoughts about the person.
A question I have for the class is: How does dreams affect one’s life?
Wk12 Conclusion
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A Conclusion to Romance Studies
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Goodbye!
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Agualusa’s “Society of Reluctant Dreamers”
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My Brilliant Friend, Elena Ferrante
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Thoughts on Agualusas The Society of Reluctant Dreamers
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Concluding thoughts on the course
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A reflection on Elena Furrante’s ‘My Brilliant Friend’
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Agualusa, The Society of Reluctant Dreamers
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For the final week, I chose to read The Society of Reluctant Dreamers by José Eduardo Agualusa. I can't believe this is my final blog post. It was a good novel to end off the term with. It was an enjoyable read, but at times I caught myself questioning what was real, imagined and what was being dreamed. It was interesting to see how dreams were illustrated in the sense of dreaming while asleep or daydreaming or having inspiring dreams about the future.
As the title suggests, this book is about dreams and dreamers. Set in Angola, with the hope that the younger generation can bring in a better future after the country's brutal past. The protagonist, Daniel Benchimol, is an Angolan journalist who has just gone through a divorce and is struggling to make sense of his place in changing society while dealing with his daughter's imprisonment as the result of protesting. I liked how Daniel was not always the centre of the novel, and we got to see each character grow and see what their dreams were about. There was a similarity with everyone's dreams. They all dreamed about change or progression. For example, Daniel's daughter acts out her dream for a better Angola. Their hope and strength came from their dreams. Their dreams were different from each other, but they were all a way of escaping reality and how they were forced to experience the changing times. Moira desires to dream her art to life. While Daniel's desire is to make sense of Hossi's dreamlessness.
Agualusa, The Society of Reluctant Dreamers
Posted by: feedwordpress
For the final week, I chose to read The Society of Reluctant Dreamers by José Eduardo Agualusa. I can't believe this is my final blog post. It was a good novel to end off the term with. It was an enjoyable read, but at times I caught myself questioning what was real, imagined and what was being dreamed. It was interesting to see how dreams were illustrated in the sense of dreaming while asleep or daydreaming or having inspiring dreams about the future.
As the title suggests, this book is about dreams and dreamers. Set in Angola, with the hope that the younger generation can bring in a better future after the country's brutal past. The protagonist, Daniel Benchimol, is an Angolan journalist who has just gone through a divorce and is struggling to make sense of his place in changing society while dealing with his daughter's imprisonment as the result of protesting. I liked how Daniel was not always the centre of the novel, and we got to see each character grow and see what their dreams were about. There was a similarity with everyone's dreams. They all dreamed about change or progression. For example, Daniel's daughter acts out her dream for a better Angola. Their hope and strength came from their dreams. Their dreams were different from each other, but they were all a way of escaping reality and how they were forced to experience the changing times. Moira desires to dream her art to life. While Daniel's desire is to make sense of Hossi's dreamlessness.
Romance Studies Conclusion
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I can't believe this is my last post for Romance Studies 202 ☹️ This term flew by. This course has been an amazing experience. I enjoyed having complete control of my learning and choosing how many and what kinds of books I got to read. With that control, it was nice to push my boundaries and be exposed to books I would not have picked on my own outside of this class. Romance Studies was nothing I was expecting, but it exceeded my expectations, and I look forward to taking similar classes to this in the future.
Reflecting on my first introduction post, my expectations for this course were to read as many books as possible and try reading different books from different areas of the world. I also wanted to be able to see similarities and differences between the novels. Looking back at all twelve posts, I am happy to say that I have met and fulfilled my expectations of this course. This course has been heavy with history about war and revolutions, making it an overall learning experience not just with the types of genres of books, but I have also been opened to learning about history. As also said in the lecture by Professor Jon Beasley-Murray that we may never read another Chilean, Brazilian, Romanian, or Catalan novel in our lives. This experience of reading these books every week will definitely make me keep an eye out for these types of books on bookshelves!
My favourite books in this course were Bonjour Tristesse by Françoise Sagan, The Shrouded Woman by María Luisa Bombal, and The Time of the Doves by Mercè Rodoreda. I found these books to be where I was the most captivated and could easily write 400-500 words on these blog posts. These three novels share a strong female narrative and reading about these powerful women showcasing their vulnerability was really interesting to me. All three of them were different in their own ways as well but all had deep moments that left an impact on me and had me thinking about how I would deal if I were in their situations.
Thank you, Jon, Patricio, and Jennifer, for an amazing term and for expanding my bookshelf in a fun and innovative way! And thank you to all my fellow classmates. It was really interesting reading everyone's thoughts and comments on the books we read. My final questions for this class are: What was your favourite book(s)? What specific themes stood out to you from these books?
