Student Blogs

Hearing from Professor Manea himself was a true honour. Such a deeply personal insight into the book through the lens of the author and his experience. After hearing about his life, about totalitarian Romania, about his exodus, it all made The Trenchcoat much clearer. I have to say though, even after knowing more about the […] read full post >>

My overall impression when I first read this story was that it was very confusing. The story jumps around and it was also really confusing that the characters were referred to in different ways. I think a lot of the works we have looked at have this kind of style. Luckily, with a short story […] read full post >>

 The Old Gringo 

Although this style of book is not usually one i’d reach for, I will say I enjoyed it. I had mixed feelings while reading it’s description as I wasn’t sure if i would be interested in the story or be able to follow. Once I began reading I found the almost poetic way of writing very pleasing to read and once the story began to unfold I was very interested to read all the way through. 

As this book is considered the closest to a “romance” that I have picked to read during my contract, I was very surprised at the romance that was included in this book. I was very confused and taken back by the interesting relationship The Old Gringo and Harriet had. I could not tell what was going to happen, whether they would end up as a father - daughter relationship or if it would turn more romantic. once reading on, I began to realize it is a bit of both. Although these changes of dynamics happened so quick it was hard for me to even notice at times. As I was reading I saw them more as lovers but the father - daughter relationship was definitely an interesting change to thatl. 

One thing I did not notice while reading was the use of repetition. After reading the book I watched the lecture and then the aspect of repetition in this book became apparent to me, even though it is very obvious from the start. I was reading this book and indulging in the content not so much the other parts. But once discovering this thought, it made sense. another reoccurring theme that is worth mentioning is the idea of memory, which was also mentioned in the lecture and I definitely also noticed myself while reading. As I saw someone mention, this book along with others does associate memories with negativity, which i found in this book as well. One little thing I did really like was how the first line on the novel is the same as the last. 

As for my question for this week, What did you think of the romance between The Old Gringo and Harriet? Did you see them more as a father - daughter relationship or more as lovers? I’m curious to know as I was torn between the two. 

read full post >>

 The Old Gringo 

Although this style of book is not usually one i’d reach for, I will say I enjoyed it. I had mixed feelings while reading it’s description as I wasn’t sure if i would be interested in the story or be able to follow. Once I began reading I found the almost poetic way of writing very pleasing to read and once the story began to unfold I was very interested to read all the way through. 

As this book is considered the closest to a “romance” that I have picked to read during my contract, I was very surprised at the romance that was included in this book. I was very confused and taken back by the interesting relationship The Old Gringo and Harriet had. I could not tell what was going to happen, whether they would end up as a father - daughter relationship or if it would turn more romantic. once reading on, I began to realize it is a bit of both. Although these changes of dynamics happened so quick it was hard for me to even notice at times. As I was reading I saw them more as lovers but the father - daughter relationship was definitely an interesting change to thatl. 

One thing I did not notice while reading was the use of repetition. After reading the book I watched the lecture and then the aspect of repetition in this book became apparent to me, even though it is very obvious from the start. I was reading this book and indulging in the content not so much the other parts. But once discovering this thought, it made sense. another reoccurring theme that is worth mentioning is the idea of memory, which was also mentioned in the lecture and I definitely also noticed myself while reading. As I saw someone mention, this book along with others does associate memories with negativity, which i found in this book as well. One little thing I did really like was how the first line on the novel is the same as the last. 

As for my question for this week, What did you think of the romance between The Old Gringo and Harriet? Did you see them more as a father - daughter relationship or more as lovers? I’m curious to know as I was torn between the two. 

read full post >>

While reading ‘The Trenchcoat’ by Norman Manea, I was reminded greatly of two books written in a similar time period and location. The first of which was, ‘The Unbearable Lightness of Being’, by Milan Kundera, and the other being, ‘The Reader... read full post >>

While reading ‘The Trenchcoat’ by Norman Manea, I was reminded greatly of two books written in a similar time period and location. The first of which was, ‘The Unbearable Lightness of Being’, by Milan Kundera, and the other being, ‘The Reader... read full post >>

Norman Manea’s short novella called “The Trenchcoat” in the book “Compulsory Happiness” has a simple title that is straight to... read full post >>

There was a choice between Norman Manea’s The Trenchcoat and Carlos Fuentes’ The Old Gringo for this week’s reading. As the name of this blog post indicates, I chose the latter, but hen I heard about Norman Manea joining in on a class discussion, I questioned whether I made the right decision. However, although it would have […] read full post >>

 Similarly to Proust's novel, The Old Gringo was another novel that I already had on my TBR list before starting this class, so I'm glad to have had the opportunity/excuse to read it now. I did enjoy reading it, despite it feeling a little convoluted at times. The relationships in particular were a little difficult to follow because it sometimes felt like things changed and dynamics shifted without me really noticing. Somewhat like accidentally missing a couple episodes of a series and suddenly being confused. 

Harriet Winslow's relationships with Arroyo and the Gringo (who we later find is Ambrose Bierce unless you watch the lecture first) are notably difficult to follow. There were times when I couldn't figure out if Harriet was attracted to Arroyo, or faking it, or liked him, or hated him, or any combination of the four. The Gringo's relationship with her was strange too; an odd in-between of paternal and romantic that I can't quite decipher, though to be fair, neither can the characters themselves.

Other than romance, the main themes that stuck out to me in the novel were those of memory, trauma, bitterness, and revenge. All of those themes are tightly interconnected with each other, and also fit in nicely with many of the other books we have read as part of the course. I feel like almost (if not all) the novels we have read have had links with memory, predominantly negative memories and emotions, and this is no exception.

I know that others have mentioned the poetic aspect of the novel. Though my translation seems to have less of it than others', my favourite poetic snippet was at the end of Chapter 10 (my pdf has no page numbers :/ ) saying "My country 'tis of thee, sweet land of felony". As far as I know, the usual lyrics of the song have the word "liberty" instead of "felony", so I find it very interesting that an American character would switch out the word used. I also find it apt because of the numerous examples, both contemporary and historical, of America and other Western countries being built off the backs of crime and injustice, where to hail freedom can be considered hypocrisy. 

As mentioned earlier, there seem to be times where two opposites are coming to a head, and we are confronted with both sides of one coin, so to speak. Love and hate, attraction and repulsion are two pairs, but the one that stood out to me most was Harriet's distaste for hiding jewels behind the figure of Jesus on the cross. I thought it was interesting because it was a contrast that wouldn't have immediately occurred to me without being pointed out, and it makes sense to me now that it has been pointed out. 

My question this week: what do you think could have driven the gringo to seek his death in Mexico?

read full post >>

 Similarly to Proust's novel, The Old Gringo was another novel that I already had on my TBR list before starting this class, so I'm glad to have had the opportunity/excuse to read it now. I did enjoy reading it, despite it feeling a little convoluted at times. The relationships in particular were a little difficult to follow because it sometimes felt like things changed and dynamics shifted without me really noticing. Somewhat like accidentally missing a couple episodes of a series and suddenly being confused. 

Harriet Winslow's relationships with Arroyo and the Gringo (who we later find is Ambrose Bierce unless you watch the lecture first) are notably difficult to follow. There were times when I couldn't figure out if Harriet was attracted to Arroyo, or faking it, or liked him, or hated him, or any combination of the four. The Gringo's relationship with her was strange too; an odd in-between of paternal and romantic that I can't quite decipher, though to be fair, neither can the characters themselves.

Other than romance, the main themes that stuck out to me in the novel were those of memory, trauma, bitterness, and revenge. All of those themes are tightly interconnected with each other, and also fit in nicely with many of the other books we have read as part of the course. I feel like almost (if not all) the novels we have read have had links with memory, predominantly negative memories and emotions, and this is no exception.

I know that others have mentioned the poetic aspect of the novel. Though my translation seems to have less of it than others', my favourite poetic snippet was at the end of Chapter 10 (my pdf has no page numbers :/ ) saying "My country 'tis of thee, sweet land of felony". As far as I know, the usual lyrics of the song have the word "liberty" instead of "felony", so I find it very interesting that an American character would switch out the word used. I also find it apt because of the numerous examples, both contemporary and historical, of America and other Western countries being built off the backs of crime and injustice, where to hail freedom can be considered hypocrisy. 

As mentioned earlier, there seem to be times where two opposites are coming to a head, and we are confronted with both sides of one coin, so to speak. Love and hate, attraction and repulsion are two pairs, but the one that stood out to me most was Harriet's distaste for hiding jewels behind the figure of Jesus on the cross. I thought it was interesting because it was a contrast that wouldn't have immediately occurred to me without being pointed out, and it makes sense to me now that it has been pointed out. 

My question this week: what do you think could have driven the gringo to seek his death in Mexico?

read full post >>

This novel written by Carlos Fuentes really brought more questions for me than answers. Which is something I enjoy while reading. One thing that I did notice was that it was difficult to follow along with the story since it was difficult to stay engaged with the reading as I got lost in the words. […] read full post >>

Like some of my peers in the class, I also watched the lecture before reading the text, and I feel like I will continue to do so for the remainder of the readings. The context of the Romanian communism and the censorship that Manea had to endure to write and publish this story is something […] read full post >>

The start of this work interested me as it began in media res and I was excited to have a plot driven novella. At the beginning, with the talk of how people don’t have parties anymore and are ready to kill for a drop of gas, I was drawing parallels to our current situation today. […] read full post >>

In The Old Gringo, Mexican author, Carlos Fuentes, sets his story during the violence and war period of the Mexican Revolution. Peculiarly, instead of focusing on a Mexican protagonist, Fuentes instead chooses to focus the plot of his novel on a North American character named Ambrose Pierce, who was a real historical figure. In his […] read full post >>

The Old Gringo was definitely one of my favorite reads so far in this course. The book title really caught me off guard and I was surprised with how the storyline went. Knowing that the term “gringo” is used by the Latino community to describe a caucasian white male. If I may add, a caucasian […] read full post >>