Student Blogs

 This week we read the novel "Amulet", written by Roberto Bolano. I found this book to be fairly easy to follow in terms of language and writing style, although unfortunately I did catch myself having a hard time staying focused at times, as the subject matter wasn't my favourite. I found some parts to be a bit bland, while other parts kept me engaged and wanting more information. This novel follows the story of Auxilio Lacouture, a poet living in Mexico. Despite being from Uruguay, she holds the title of "Mother of Mexican Poetry". Auxilio recounts memories and experiences from her life in Mexico while hiding in the bathroom from an invasion. She spends 12 days cooped up in the upper level bathroom of UNAM where she sits in a stall, starving. She shares stories mostly of her chaotic and unstable life meeting new poets and creating bonds with them. There was one younger fella she bonded with in particular, his name was Arturo Belano. 

I think the most striking part of the book for me, was when Auxilio first found herself stuck in the bathroom, hiding from soldiers. Specifically, the part when she heard footsteps enter room and had to lift her feet to make sure no one found her. Perhaps I found this to be the most engaging part because it got my adrenaline going a bit, wondering if she would be safe or if they found her what the consequences would be. 

Another thing I found interesting about this novel, was Auxilio's relationship with Arturo. The two of them seemed to have a pretty tight bond, despite having quite an age difference. Though I know this bond was entirely due to their shared passion for poetry, while reading I wondered why an older woman would care to hang around a boy in his late teens. I believe this may have been the result of Auxilio grasping for relationships because she put herself in unfamiliar territory when moving to Mexico without family or a place to live. I think she sees him as a son, or someone that she's proud of and wants to guide in the right direction (a mothers instinct). 

If you were in Auxilio's shoes, do you think you would have looked for friendships in the same places as she did?

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Amulet, to me, was a simple read. It did not feel as though the story was as hard to follow as some others we have read this term. Just like many other novellas we’ve read, the story focused a lot on the past and reflection of important moments of the narrators life, primary being locked […] read full post >>

The novel, “Amulet” by Roberto Bolano was an enjoyable read. It features Auxilio Lacouture who is an uruguay immigrant living illegally in Mexico City. She is passionate about poetry and literature which leads her to having many different relationships with different famous Mexican writers, as well as working odd jobs at the National Autonomous University […] read full post >>

Amulet opens with: “This is going to be a horror story. A story of murder, detection and horror” (1). This explanation by the narrator, Auxilio Lacouture, created, right off the bat, a sense of suspense and mystery that allowed readers to expect an exciting or thrilling story. However, in my opinion, the novel was the …

Continue reading "Amulet and “Sleepwalking”"

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Amulet was such an interesting read, with the novel at times dipping into fantastical and sporadic narratives and at other times detailing straightforward and raw accounts of Auxilio’s life in Mexico. I found the book to be very fun to read, with the protagonist detailing the accounts of the people in and out of her […] read full post >>

First of all, I enjoyed reading this book. Mostly because I enjoyed the historical and social aspects of their lives. Since the book is written in her autobiographical manner, she put a lot of the historical scenes she encountered as a dweller in Mexico City along with the description of her own life as a […] read full post >>

This book caught my attention instantly with these first couple of sentences, “This is going to be a horror story. A story of murder, detection, and horror. But it wont appear to be, for the simple reason that I am the teller. Told by me it won’t seem like that. Although, in fact, it is …

Continue reading "Roberto Bolano “Amulet”"

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This week, the book was Amulet by Roberto Bolano. In terms of story structure, sentence structure, vocabulary and content, it wasn't too difficult to understand or follow. That said though, it was still my least favourite book of this semester. It wasn't necessarily boring, but I also wasn't incredibly captivated by the storyline or super invested in any of the characters, even the main protagonist. The book wasn't long but I did end up taking way too long to get through the whole text. 

Even though I didn't really enjoy the story, I did recognize the fact that our narrator Auxilio seems to have led quite an interesting life. Or maybe it wasn't even her life that was so interesting but the stories of other people's lives that she added up and made into a collection which she then presented as the summary of her own that was interesting. I feel as though the main thing she did with herself was act as a secondary character in everybody else's life. I don't mean that in a judgmental way because that seemed to be exactly what she was happy doing, but her stories are just stories of what other people have said, written, done and seen. She also came across as quite unsure of herself, especially of her roots. She couldn't properly say for sure what year she arrived in Mexico City or whether certain events happened or not. She was like a drifting leaf that doesn't have a tree of itself and isn't even sure which tree it detached from to begin with. Instead of holding on to her own past, she attaches herself onto those of others and makes her home with whomever she finds comfort in. 

Would I have been happy living the way she lived? I think so. I really like hearing about what other people have experienced and I love reading things that other people have written. I believe I would have been quite happy doing as she did - meeting people, floating around, collecting anecdotes and spending my days doing random busywork to fill my mind with poetry, philosophy and literature. She represents a kind of unanchored, free way of life that has a sense of tranquillity and lightness. 

Here is my question for Amulet. Do you think that you would personally enjoy her way of life? Do you believe that you would be fulfilled and happy spending your days reading, doing random work and socializing the way she does? 

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This week, the book was Amulet by Roberto Bolano. In terms of story structure, sentence structure, vocabulary and content, it wasn't too difficult to understand or follow. That said though, it was still my least favourite book of this semester. It wasn't necessarily boring, but I also wasn't incredibly captivated by the storyline or super invested in any of the characters, even the main protagonist. The book wasn't long but I did end up taking way too long to get through the whole text. 

Even though I didn't really enjoy the story, I did recognize the fact that our narrator Auxilio seems to have led quite an interesting life. Or maybe it wasn't even her life that was so interesting but the stories of other people's lives that she added up and made into a collection which she then presented as the summary of her own that was interesting. I feel as though the main thing she did with herself was act as a secondary character in everybody else's life. I don't mean that in a judgmental way because that seemed to be exactly what she was happy doing, but her stories are just stories of what other people have said, written, done and seen. She also came across as quite unsure of herself, especially of her roots. She couldn't properly say for sure what year she arrived in Mexico City or whether certain events happened or not. She was like a drifting leaf that doesn't have a tree of itself and isn't even sure which tree it detached from to begin with. Instead of holding on to her own past, she attaches herself onto those of others and makes her home with whomever she finds comfort in. 

Would I have been happy living the way she lived? I think so. I really like hearing about what other people have experienced and I love reading things that other people have written. I believe I would have been quite happy doing as she did - meeting people, floating around, collecting anecdotes and spending my days doing random busywork to fill my mind with poetry, philosophy and literature. She represents a kind of unanchored, free way of life that has a sense of tranquillity and lightness. 

Here is my question for Amulet. Do you think that you would personally enjoy her way of life? Do you believe that you would be fulfilled and happy spending your days reading, doing random work and socializing the way she does? 

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When I was sitting there reading Amulet, it felt like someone was sitting in front of me, quietly reading her story, a story like a poem, but the content of this book is about violence. This is like a combination of violence and cause, showing the sad atmosphere to the reader bit by bit. From … Continue reading Review of Amulet → read full post >>

 I read Amulet this week, and here are some of my notes from the book.

I loved Auxilio Lacouture, the narrator of this book, and when I first opened it, I was drawn in by Auxilio Lacouture's offbeat and humorous way of speaking. She describes herself and others, often with some lovely commentary on the side. I felt like I was talking to a close friend, and she would occasionally tell you stories about her daily life and spit them out while you listened and felt relaxed and happy. Her imagination is also rich. When she works with two poets, she constantly tries to understand their psychology and character and convey her impressions of them to the reader. This appropriate side-by-side portrayal does not make the two poets feel too abrupt but naturally brings out the nature of Auxilio Lacouture. Even simply cleaning dust, she associates with a poet's unique romantic thinking the way of life of these dust, the destiny of these dust. The image of a lively and romantic female poet emerges from the page.

Auxilio Lacouture is trapped in the women's room after a raid on the university campus, and she suddenly begins to remember her past. She seems to have nothing, but she also has a lot. Her memories and the people she meets are the treasures she has had over the years, her firm amulet. In her mouth, we meet many people who were quite famous in the poetry world of their time. Unlike most autobiographical novels we have read before, where the story's perspective revolves around the protagonist, the narrator of this novel is more like the protagonist of the entire book. The narrator, Auxilio Lacouture, makes vague references to Arturo Belano in most of her recollections, and Lacouture remembers Arturo Belano like a passerby in each story, occupying only a tiny part of her memory. But as this fragmentary impression grows, the image of Arturo Belano gradually becomes more apparent. We can thus see Arturo Belano's change and growth in different stages, as most autobiographical novels do. When Arturo Belano is still mixing with the young poets, he is lovely and sober, with a unique perspective on the judgment of poets and an affectionate concern for Auxilio Lechturay. When he returned to Mexico after the war, he became silent and thoughtful, preferring to interact with older people and thus becoming more mature.

Auxilio Lacouture often refers to the women's restroom in the philosophy and literature department throughout the book. Auxilio Lacouture stays in the women's room for thirteen days and thirteen years. It is not until the end of the novel that I can identify the previous story about Auxilio Lacouture's experience after she escaped from the university or the literary imagination she relied on to survive and hold on to while still in the women's room.

At the beginning of the novel, Auxilio Lacouture says that "this is going to be a horror story." So my question for this book is:  What is the horror part shown in this novel?

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 I read Amulet this week, and here are some of my notes from the book.

I loved Auxilio Lacouture, the narrator of this book, and when I first opened it, I was drawn in by Auxilio Lacouture's offbeat and humorous way of speaking. She describes herself and others, often with some lovely commentary on the side. I felt like I was talking to a close friend, and she would occasionally tell you stories about her daily life and spit them out while you listened and felt relaxed and happy. Her imagination is also rich. When she works with two poets, she constantly tries to understand their psychology and character and convey her impressions of them to the reader. This appropriate side-by-side portrayal does not make the two poets feel too abrupt but naturally brings out the nature of Auxilio Lacouture. Even simply cleaning dust, she associates with a poet's unique romantic thinking the way of life of these dust, the destiny of these dust. The image of a lively and romantic female poet emerges from the page.

Auxilio Lacouture is trapped in the women's room after a raid on the university campus, and she suddenly begins to remember her past. She seems to have nothing, but she also has a lot. Her memories and the people she meets are the treasures she has had over the years, her firm amulet. In her mouth, we meet many people who were quite famous in the poetry world of their time. Unlike most autobiographical novels we have read before, where the story's perspective revolves around the protagonist, the narrator of this novel is more like the protagonist of the entire book. The narrator, Auxilio Lacouture, makes vague references to Arturo Belano in most of her recollections, and Lacouture remembers Arturo Belano like a passerby in each story, occupying only a tiny part of her memory. But as this fragmentary impression grows, the image of Arturo Belano gradually becomes more apparent. We can thus see Arturo Belano's change and growth in different stages, as most autobiographical novels do. When Arturo Belano is still mixing with the young poets, he is lovely and sober, with a unique perspective on the judgment of poets and an affectionate concern for Auxilio Lechturay. When he returned to Mexico after the war, he became silent and thoughtful, preferring to interact with older people and thus becoming more mature.

Auxilio Lacouture often refers to the women's restroom in the philosophy and literature department throughout the book. Auxilio Lacouture stays in the women's room for thirteen days and thirteen years. It is not until the end of the novel that I can identify the previous story about Auxilio Lacouture's experience after she escaped from the university or the literary imagination she relied on to survive and hold on to while still in the women's room.

At the beginning of the novel, Auxilio Lacouture says that "this is going to be a horror story." So my question for this book is:  What is the horror part shown in this novel?

read full post >>

This week, I read ‘Amulet’ by Roberto Bolano.

I found the first paragraph of the story interesting. The narrator started off by telling the readers that this story “...is going to be a horror story. A story of murder, detection and horror. But it wont appear to be, for the simple reason that I am the teller. Told by me, it won't seem like that. Although, in fact, it’s a story of a terrible crime” (p 1). I never read a story that started off by telling what kind of story it will be, so it grabbed my attention and made me want to continue to read it. After reading the first paragraph, I was preparing myself for a violent story or the memories/fights of the war. However, the story was about a woman, Auxilio Lacouture, who was locked inside a washroom alone "..from the eighteenth to the thirtieth of September"(p 172). Specifically, the fourth floor washroom in the faculty of Philosophy and Literature building at the National Autonomous University (p 22). Due to the invasion of the army, the narrator locked herself inside the washroom for 12 days. With the terrifying situation outside, she tends to deal with her fear by looking back on her memories. 

One of the most vivid moments to me was: when she was hiding in a stall, a soldier opened the washroom door and walked in. The detailed description of what had happened and what she was feeling makes me super nervous about what is going to happen. It felt as if I was hiding with her as well. 

I like how the narrator described things, events, and people in detail. I noticed the narrator uses a lot of similes and metaphors to describe those. The detailed descriptions helped me imagine and picture the scenes in my head. Another thing I like is that the narrator used brackets/side notes to express her ‘inner feelings’.“...I became a bat, I left the university and wandered around Mexico city like a wraith (I can't in all honesty say like a fairy, although I would like to) and drank and talked and attended literary gatherings (I knew where to find them all) ” (p20). The inner thoughts make me feel’ closer’ to the narrator as I am able to know more about her ‘inner’ feelings. 

After Auxilio saw soldiers, tanks and riot police outside of the window, she went back to the washroom. That brings it to my question for the class: If you were in Auxilio’s situation, what would you do? Would you go back to the washroom and stay there or go somewhere else?

read full post >>

This week, I read ‘Amulet’ by Roberto Bolano.

I found the first paragraph of the story interesting. The narrator started off by telling the readers that this story “...is going to be a horror story. A story of murder, detection and horror. But it wont appear to be, for the simple reason that I am the teller. Told by me, it won't seem like that. Although, in fact, it’s a story of a terrible crime” (p 1). I never read a story that started off by telling what kind of story it will be, so it grabbed my attention and made me want to continue to read it. After reading the first paragraph, I was preparing myself for a violent story or the memories/fights of the war. However, the story was about a woman, Auxilio Lacouture, who was locked inside a washroom alone "..from the eighteenth to the thirtieth of September"(p 172). Specifically, the fourth floor washroom in the faculty of Philosophy and Literature building at the National Autonomous University (p 22). Due to the invasion of the army, the narrator locked herself inside the washroom for 12 days. With the terrifying situation outside, she tends to deal with her fear by looking back on her memories. 

One of the most vivid moments to me was: when she was hiding in a stall, a soldier opened the washroom door and walked in. The detailed description of what had happened and what she was feeling makes me super nervous about what is going to happen. It felt as if I was hiding with her as well. 

I like how the narrator described things, events, and people in detail. I noticed the narrator uses a lot of similes and metaphors to describe those. The detailed descriptions helped me imagine and picture the scenes in my head. Another thing I like is that the narrator used brackets/side notes to express her ‘inner feelings’.“...I became a bat, I left the university and wandered around Mexico city like a wraith (I can't in all honesty say like a fairy, although I would like to) and drank and talked and attended literary gatherings (I knew where to find them all) ” (p20). The inner thoughts make me feel’ closer’ to the narrator as I am able to know more about her ‘inner’ feelings. 

After Auxilio saw soldiers, tanks and riot police outside of the window, she went back to the washroom. That brings it to my question for the class: If you were in Auxilio’s situation, what would you do? Would you go back to the washroom and stay there or go somewhere else?

read full post >>

This week, I read ‘Amulet’ by Roberto Bolano.

I found the first paragraph of the story interesting. The narrator started off by telling the readers that this story “...is going to be a horror story. A story of murder, detection and horror. But it wont appear to be, for the simple reason that I am the teller. Told by me, it won't seem like that. Although, in fact, it’s a story of a terrible crime” (p 1). I never read a story that started off by telling what kind of story it will be, so it grabbed my attention and made me want to continue to read it. After reading the first paragraph, I was preparing myself for a violent story or the memories/fights of the war. However, the story was about a woman, Auxilio Lacouture, who was locked inside a washroom alone "..from the eighteenth to the thirtieth of September"(p 172). Specifically, the fourth floor washroom in the faculty of Philosophy and Literature building at the National Autonomous University (p 22). Due to the invasion of the army, the narrator locked herself inside the washroom for 12 days. With the terrifying situation outside, she tends to deal with her fear by looking back on her memories. 

One of the most vivid moments to me was: when she was hiding in a stall, a soldier opened the washroom door and walked in. The detailed description of what had happened and what she was feeling makes me super nervous about what is going to happen. It felt as if I was hiding with her as well. 

I like how the narrator described things, events, and people in detail. I noticed the narrator uses a lot of similes and metaphors to describe those. The detailed descriptions helped me imagine and picture the scenes in my head. Another thing I like is that the narrator used brackets/side notes to express her ‘inner feelings’.“...I became a bat, I left the university and wandered around Mexico city like a wraith (I can't in all honesty say like a fairy, although I would like to) and drank and talked and attended literary gatherings (I knew where to find them all) ” (p20). The inner thoughts make me feel’ closer’ to the narrator as I am able to know more about her ‘inner’ feelings. 

After Auxilio saw soldiers, tanks and riot police outside of the window, she went back to the washroom. That brings it to my question for the class: If you were in Auxilio’s situation, what would you do? Would you go back to the washroom and stay there or go somewhere else?

read full post >>