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In this final week of class, I have chosen to read The Society of Reluctant Dreamers, which I found was an interesting story that ties in dreams, memories, and politics: the rich that benefit, the poor that suffer, and the quiet ones.  The novel starts out with Daniel Benchimol who was getting a divorce from […] read full post >>

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 Cotton- Candy-Hair-Woman, Moira Fernandes and often dreamt about her. It made me wonder if there is any meanings behind his action/behaviour of his obsession.

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 harmings 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.

I personally believe people dream because of their unconscious desire that they are not able to satisfy in reality. In the story, Helios mentioned that dreaming is rehearsing reality. I found the divorcing examples he used interesting. However, I felt like instead of ‘rehearsing’ it's more like helping ‘making up their mind’. As I have mentioned, one of the reasons why people dream may be due to one's unconscious desires. Therefore, the dreams are just there to help them be more certain of what they want in reality. So instead of ‘rehearsing’, it gives people the motivation to perform the action. 

A question I have for the class is: How does dreams affect one’s life?

read full post >>

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 Cotton- Candy-Hair-Woman, Moira Fernandes and often dreamt about her. It made me wonder if there is any meanings behind his action/behaviour of his obsession.

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 harmings 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.

I personally believe people dream because of their unconscious desire that they are not able to satisfy in reality. In the story, Helios mentioned that dreaming is rehearsing reality. I found the divorcing examples he used interesting. However, I felt like instead of ‘rehearsing’ it's more like helping ‘making up their mind’. As I have mentioned, one of the reasons why people dream may be due to one's unconscious desires. Therefore, the dreams are just there to help them be more certain of what they want in reality. So instead of ‘rehearsing’, it gives people the motivation to perform the action. 

A question I have for the class is: How does dreams affect one’s life?

read full post >>

Jose Eduardo Agualusa’s The Society of Reluctant Dreamers was a very interesting read. It felt surreal in one hand, but also had a lot of relatable, applicable lessons to take away as a reader. The first thing that stood out to me was protagonist Daniel Benchimol’s unstable state. Although in the early pages Benchimol stated […] read full post >>

    So, we have finally reached the end of the semester. I thought that in this blog post, I would go over what I had originally written in my introduction post and see if I have succeeded in accomplishing my goals. As I mentioned in my introduction, when I first picked this class and registered myself into it, I only needed it to fulfill my literature requirement for my Arts degree. However, after the first lecture, I became hopeful that this class was going to serve as so much more than that - and I was right. During these past couple of months, I read a book a week, read genres that I had never touched before, became faster at typing out 400 words, and got the chance to be included in discussions on topics that I genuinely found fascinating. If I didn't have the contract looming over me constantly, I know that I would not have been able to keep with reading a book a week. There were days when I submitted the blogs early, and others where I submitted them last minute on Monday night. I truly appreciate the motivation that this class gave me to read regularly. I also appreciate the fact that through Romance Studies, I was exposed to a wider spectrum of genres. I tend to always reach for horror, but I actually enjoyed books like Bonjour Tristesse and The Society of Reluctant Dreamers. In fact, I'll probably start reading more historical fiction because I realized how ignorant I am on the history of certain areas in the world. That's not saying that I liked all the books we were assigned to read, but that's obviously to be expected.

At the end of my introduction blog post, I wrote that I hoped that this class would be as inspiring as it was promising to be at the time. I think I can now confidently say that it definitely has lived up to those hopes. 

I wasn't sure whether we were supposed to have a question prepared in this blog post, so I'll ask one just in case. It is a general question about the class. Out of the books that you read, did you have a favourite? That is, was there one that was so inspiring or eye-opening that it drastically changed your perspective on something? Was there a particular story that made you want to read more books on that topic or that genre?

Overall, thank you very much for a good semester and class!

read full post >>

    So, we have finally reached the end of the semester. I thought that in this blog post, I would go over what I had originally written in my introduction post and see if I have succeeded in accomplishing my goals. As I mentioned in my introduction, when I first picked this class and registered myself into it, I only needed it to fulfill my literature requirement for my Arts degree. However, after the first lecture, I became hopeful that this class was going to serve as so much more than that - and I was right. During these past couple of months, I read a book a week, read genres that I had never touched before, became faster at typing out 400 words, and got the chance to be included in discussions on topics that I genuinely found fascinating. If I didn't have the contract looming over me constantly, I know that I would not have been able to keep with reading a book a week. There were days when I submitted the blogs early, and others where I submitted them last minute on Monday night. I truly appreciate the motivation that this class gave me to read regularly. I also appreciate the fact that through Romance Studies, I was exposed to a wider spectrum of genres. I tend to always reach for horror, but I actually enjoyed books like Bonjour Tristesse and The Society of Reluctant Dreamers. In fact, I'll probably start reading more historical fiction because I realized how ignorant I am on the history of certain areas in the world. That's not saying that I liked all the books we were assigned to read, but that's obviously to be expected.

At the end of my introduction blog post, I wrote that I hoped that this class would be as inspiring as it was promising to be at the time. I think I can now confidently say that it definitely has lived up to those hopes. 

I wasn't sure whether we were supposed to have a question prepared in this blog post, so I'll ask one just in case. It is a general question about the class. Out of the books that you read, did you have a favourite? That is, was there one that was so inspiring or eye-opening that it drastically changed your perspective on something? Was there a particular story that made you want to read more books on that topic or that genre?

Overall, thank you very much for a good semester and class!

read full post >>

    This week we were tasked to read The Society of Reluctant Dreamers by José Eduardo Agualusa. Published pretty recently in March of 2020, this story mainly follows the tale of Daniel, a journalist, Hossi, an ex-military man turned resort owner, Karinguiri, a revolutionary and Moira, a dream artist. It is set in modern Angola. The story explores the themes of dreams, memory (again), freedom, independence and strength. It explores the importance of dreams in predicting future events, telling the stories of individuals, uniting a people and fueling the strength of the Angolan dreamers. The word "dream" has two widely recognized definitions - the first one is the movie that we imagine in our heads when we're fast asleep. The second definition is "a cherished aspiration." In this book, Hossi's appearance in everyone else's dreams served to connect these two ideas together. His appearance in other people's dreams acted as a spiritual inspiration and an almost magical symbol that pushed the people to unite over their common objective - freedom. 

I appreciated the use of different characters to show the variety in perspectives that existed on the government and the dictator. For instance, Lucrécia was someone who believed in the President and benefitted from his position as leader. Family wise, her and her father had a lot of political influence and were able to lead a decent life maneuvering the loopholes that only rich have the privilege of maneuvering. On the contrary, there's her daughter Karinguiri, who is an adamant fighter for the fall of the dictatorship and the freedom of her people, the very opposite ideals and values of her mother. Then, there's Daniel, who is kind of just in the middle. He doesn't agree with Lucrécia's beliefs, but he also won't step up to the mic without a push from someone or something else. This demonstrates the patchwork that is modern Angolan society in its diversity in thought, values and ideals. 

Overall, I quite enjoyed this book. It wasn't boring and it kept me engaged enough that I managed to finish reading it in a relatively short amount of time. As the last book of our semester in Romance Studies, I believe I made the right choice. 

Here are my questions for this week. Was there any one character in particular that you related to? Was there anything about their personality, passion, desire for justice, passiveness that was relatable? Also, as a more general question, what do you think are the purpose of dreams? Are you the type of person to forget them as soon as you wake up or the type of person to write dreams down every morning in a dream journal - and why?

read full post >>

    This week we were tasked to read The Society of Reluctant Dreamers by José Eduardo Agualusa. Published pretty recently in March of 2020, this story mainly follows the tale of Daniel, a journalist, Hossi, an ex-military man turned resort owner, Karinguiri, a revolutionary and Moira, a dream artist. It is set in modern Angola. The story explores the themes of dreams, memory (again), freedom, independence and strength. It explores the importance of dreams in predicting future events, telling the stories of individuals, uniting a people and fueling the strength of the Angolan dreamers. The word "dream" has two widely recognized definitions - the first one is the movie that we imagine in our heads when we're fast asleep. The second definition is "a cherished aspiration." In this book, Hossi's appearance in everyone else's dreams served to connect these two ideas together. His appearance in other people's dreams acted as a spiritual inspiration and an almost magical symbol that pushed the people to unite over their common objective - freedom. 

I appreciated the use of different characters to show the variety in perspectives that existed on the government and the dictator. For instance, Lucrécia was someone who believed in the President and benefitted from his position as leader. Family wise, her and her father had a lot of political influence and were able to lead a decent life maneuvering the loopholes that only rich have the privilege of maneuvering. On the contrary, there's her daughter Karinguiri, who is an adamant fighter for the fall of the dictatorship and the freedom of her people, the very opposite ideals and values of her mother. Then, there's Daniel, who is kind of just in the middle. He doesn't agree with Lucrécia's beliefs, but he also won't step up to the mic without a push from someone or something else. This demonstrates the patchwork that is modern Angolan society in its diversity in thought, values and ideals. 

Overall, I quite enjoyed this book. It wasn't boring and it kept me engaged enough that I managed to finish reading it in a relatively short amount of time. As the last book of our semester in Romance Studies, I believe I made the right choice. 

Here are my questions for this week. Was there any one character in particular that you related to? Was there anything about their personality, passion, desire for justice, passiveness that was relatable? Also, as a more general question, what do you think are the purpose of dreams? Are you the type of person to forget them as soon as you wake up or the type of person to write dreams down every morning in a dream journal - and why?

read full post >>

In “The Society of Reluctant Dreamers” by José Agualasa, he creates a world within which dreams are clues to the future, a place where all the potential tomorrows of humanity are housed. Written in the backdrop of civil war, political … Continue reading → read full post >>

The stories of these girls growing up are both familiar and unfamiliar. Maybe I haven’t experienced what happened to them, but the little thoughts of their girls seem to be the ones we’ve had. Girls feel anxious about their body changes during puberty and share secrets with their friends. Elana has a fatal attraction to … Continue reading Review of My Brilliant Friend → read full post >>