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Having studied pretty much nothing about Romania up until now, I appreciated the glimpse into history that “The Trenchcoat” provides. At the same time, the censor-conscious writing and the inability of the characters themselves to acknowledge exactly what is happening to them made this period seem even more mysterious to me. Nearly every paragraph of […] read full post >>

This week I read The Old Gringo and cannot say that I cared for it too much. I found the plot and the storyline flowed well, however, cannot say that I was completely engaged with the content itself. I think … Continue reading → read full post >>

Honestly I have never really liked the novella format if i’m going to be completely honest. It’s like the 400M of reading not short enough to sprint through, and have that very concise punch that short stories do, yet not … Continue reading → read full post >>

Hey everyone! Norman Manea’s The Trenchcoat was certainly an interesting read. Reflecting upon the reading, I am still not entirely... read full post >>

I found this book incredibly difficult to understand but somehow also really enjoyable. I felt like I was missing some historical context that would’ve made some of the references and allusions more meaningful, but besides that here are my thoughts… The novel (short story?) tells the story of a handful of couples living in communist-occupied […] read full post >>

When I first finished reading Norman Manea’s “The Trenchcoat”, I felt way too confused. However, after watching the lecture video and reading blogposts of my peers, I realized that confusion – especially regarding the Trenchcoat – was a central theme of the story. For me, the anonymity and lack of description for the Trenchcoat made […] read full post >>

This week, I read “The Old Gringo” by Carlos Fuentes.

When I first started reading this book, I wasn't expecting any romance or relationship related content to be involved. I thought this book would mainly be about war or a person’s life journey, as it kept repeating “the old gringo came to Mexico to die”. It was really interesting as the old gringo was definitely an important character in this book, but his name was not known until the end of the story. 

I found the love triangle relationship between Harriet, the old gringo and Arroyo interesting but disturbing at the same time. Due to the age difference, The old gringo told himself not to fall for Harriet. However, despite him trying to suppress the feelings for her at the beginning, he still ends up falling for her. I think it is kind of romantic how an individual cannot conceal their true feelings when they are in love. However, at the end of the story, the old gringo said Harriet is like his daughter to him. I don't know how to explain it but I found the transition of his love a little bit too big(?)... like a little too sudden(?) out of nowhere(?)... The old gringo started off from loving Harriet as a lover to loving her as a daughter at the end. Even though both are love, the ‘loving’ between those two are very different.

I am not fond of the character, Arroyo. I believe he is more of an ‘action’ type of person. Arroyo knew the gringo’s feelings for Harriet and forced her to have a sexual relationship with him because the gringo did not obey his order. I am able to understand why Arroyo is unhappy about it but what I don't understand is the way he chose to get back to the gringo. He doesn’t need to drag and involve another person into this as it is between him and the gringo. Even though Harriet did agree to it in order to save the old gringo, I still think forcing someone or making them to have a sexual relationship with them just because of ‘revenge’ is too over. He also ends up killing the old gringo after the gringo burnt down his documents. He tends to use actions to justify many things.

The question I have for the class is: Are you able to sacrifice yourself in order to save another person? 

read full post >>

This week, I read “The Old Gringo” by Carlos Fuentes.

When I first started reading this book, I wasn't expecting any romance or relationship related content to be involved. I thought this book would mainly be about war or a person’s life journey, as it kept repeating “the old gringo came to Mexico to die”. It was really interesting as the old gringo was definitely an important character in this book, but his name was not known until the end of the story. 

I found the love triangle relationship between Harriet, the old gringo and Arroyo interesting but disturbing at the same time. Due to the age difference, The old gringo told himself not to fall for Harriet. However, despite him trying to suppress the feelings for her at the beginning, he still ends up falling for her. I think it is kind of romantic how an individual cannot conceal their true feelings when they are in love. However, at the end of the story, the old gringo said Harriet is like his daughter to him. I don't know how to explain it but I found the transition of his love a little bit too big(?)... like a little too sudden(?) out of nowhere(?)... The old gringo started off from loving Harriet as a lover to loving her as a daughter at the end. Even though both are love, the ‘loving’ between those two are very different.

I am not fond of the character, Arroyo. I believe he is more of an ‘action’ type of person. Arroyo knew the gringo’s feelings for Harriet and forced her to have a sexual relationship with him because the gringo did not obey his order. I am able to understand why Arroyo is unhappy about it but what I don't understand is the way he chose to get back to the gringo. He doesn’t need to drag and involve another person into this as it is between him and the gringo. Even though Harriet did agree to it in order to save the old gringo, I still think forcing someone or making them to have a sexual relationship with them just because of ‘revenge’ is too over. He also ends up killing the old gringo after the gringo burnt down his documents. He tends to use actions to justify many things.

The question I have for the class is: Are you able to sacrifice yourself in order to save another person? 

read full post >>

 I found Fuentes' novel, The Old Gringo, a little bit hard to read. The plot was convoluted, and I didn't quite understand the nature of the relationship that most of the characters shared. However, reading the lecture notes definitely made me feel better because I realized that that was done intentionally. 

Personally, I found the whole plot of the book kind of odd because of how the idea of the Mexican Revolution was romanticized in the old American's mind. For example, when the narrator likens being a gringo in Mexico and dying there to euthanasia, I felt like the old man was undermining the ramifications of the Mexican Revolution. This is somewhat reminiscent of how people tend to treat wars that do not concern them directly as something that could serve their pleasure. Moreover, he chose to insert himself into the situation at his age just to die in a blaze of glory. 

Additionally, I was kind of uncomfortable with Harriet Winslow's role throughout the book. She played an important part in bringing the old man's body back to the United States and was the sole survivor of all the events, but was largely treated as an object by Arroyo and the old man. Both of them viewed her as a means to an end, whether it was forcing her into the role of a lover or into a weird daughter/lover dynamic. Hence, I found this portion of the text was difficult to comprehend, no matter how hard I tried.

A fascinating aspect of this book is how it is a fictionalized work of an actual incident; following the actions of American writer Ambrose Bierce. I found this to be quite interesting, especially because of how he disappeared without a trace and how no one actually knew what happened to him. The notion that this text is a fictionalized narration of a series of events is intriguing because there is a minute chance that some of it could be true. 

Overall, I found The Old Gringo to be a confusing read with many messages. I guess my question to the class would be: what are your thoughts on the old American's decision to take part in a Mexican Revolution for no reason other than to die a glorious death? Do you think Harriet impacted him in an actual, real way?

read full post >>

 I found Fuentes' novel, The Old Gringo, a little bit hard to read. The plot was convoluted, and I didn't quite understand the nature of the relationship that most of the characters shared. However, reading the lecture notes definitely made me feel better because I realized that that was done intentionally. 

Personally, I found the whole plot of the book kind of odd because of how the idea of the Mexican Revolution was romanticized in the old American's mind. For example, when the narrator likens being a gringo in Mexico and dying there to euthanasia, I felt like the old man was undermining the ramifications of the Mexican Revolution. This is somewhat reminiscent of how people tend to treat wars that do not concern them directly as something that could serve their pleasure. Moreover, he chose to insert himself into the situation at his age just to die in a blaze of glory. 

Additionally, I was kind of uncomfortable with Harriet Winslow's role throughout the book. She played an important part in bringing the old man's body back to the United States and was the sole survivor of all the events, but was largely treated as an object by Arroyo and the old man. Both of them viewed her as a means to an end, whether it was forcing her into the role of a lover or into a weird daughter/lover dynamic. Hence, I found this portion of the text was difficult to comprehend, no matter how hard I tried.

A fascinating aspect of this book is how it is a fictionalized work of an actual incident; following the actions of American writer Ambrose Bierce. I found this to be quite interesting, especially because of how he disappeared without a trace and how no one actually knew what happened to him. The notion that this text is a fictionalized narration of a series of events is intriguing because there is a minute chance that some of it could be true. 

Overall, I found The Old Gringo to be a confusing read with many messages. I guess my question to the class would be: what are your thoughts on the old American's decision to take part in a Mexican Revolution for no reason other than to die a glorious death? Do you think Harriet impacted him in an actual, real way?

read full post >>