Student Blogs

 Carmen Laforet's Nada felt very modern, and others might disagree with me but I thought it even felt somewhat contemporary. Sure, that might be because the translation was done relatively recently (2008), but I think it's more so to do with its timelessness. The story has so many themes that are fundamentally about people and their relationships to each other; I don't think humans change all that much from one generation to the next, and I reckon many of our problems are the same as they were centuries ago, and will continue to be centuries from now. 

I hesitate to delve into these topics too deeply, but two themes that really resonated with me in this book were those surrounding Andrea and Ena's friendship, more specifically the way that Andrea views Ena and puts her on a pedestal, and that of a mother's love. 

These two themes fascinate me in different ways. The former reminds me of a friendship that I once experienced a few years ago and so I felt a little uncomfortable seeing a semi-similar dynamic play out on the pages of a novel. Not to get too vulnerable up in here, but I was especially struck by the power dynamics between Andrea and Ena. Ena clearly has more status, in a social and economic sense, and so Andrea often implies a sense of inferiority and admiration, almost worship. I do feel that the relationship between the two is more exaggerated than my own has been, but sometimes it takes a more extreme example to make the subtleties and nuances of people's characters and relationships to become visible.

In this novel, there are two mother figures that particularly caught my attention. Ena's mother, and Andrea's grandmother. Yes, there are others such as Gloria, and Ena's dead mother, but they didn't pique my interest like the other two did. These two characters are very different in many ways, including with social standing, financial status, but especially in the way they view their daughters. Ena's mother confesses on p197 that Ena holds a particularly special place in her heart, more than her sons. Andrea's grandmother is accused later on in the book (p234) of having always preferred her sons to her daughters, and is therefore blamed for the consequences. 

The dynamics of motherhood and fatherhood, alongside daughterhood and sonhood are things that I have thought about a considerable amount over the past few years, having listened to different conversations and experiences. I have heard both perspectives (not within my family); parents who especially value the firstborn daughter, and parents who prefer their sons. I think both perspectives are interesting, though not necessarily correct, and am aware of the damage they can have on the non-preferred children. This novel merely showed me more examples from a different time, place, and culture than those I have personally been exposed to, and I am grateful for that.

I now pose the question: what might Andrea's life look like in Madrid, now that she has left her dysfunctional family behind? Do we think she might feel any abandonment guilt?

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Okay, so I finished reading Agostino, and I would definitely say that I have some mixed feelings about this novel (to say the least). It is absolutely a novel about coming of age, class, self-discovery, but has some other themes such as love, lust, brutality, and low-key incest. I particularly enjoyed how it was written; […] read full post >>

For a book that is essentially about nothing (aptly named “Nada”), I found Laforet’s book a delight to read and struggled to put it down once I picked it up. It is about nothing in that it really seems to just be a collection of memories, not unlike some of the other books we’ve read […] read full post >>

Although I made the choice of choosing to read Carmen Laforet’s Nada over Alberto Moravia’s Agostino weeks ago, I began to question whether I made the right decision when I saw the amount of blogs written on Moravia’s novel instead of Laforet’s. What drew me to read this book initially was the description that the professor gave. […] read full post >>

Nada is a novel based on the story of a young girl who moves to Barcelona in hopes of experiencing the colours of life, and finds herself in the midst of a broken and cruel family. I really liked this novel. I liked how the explosive and violent energies of the characters and their actions […] read full post >>

blog#5 – teenage Hubris — Laforet’s writing and Andrea’s inner monologue felt like a moment taken from my own thoughts. Her thought processes were so oddly intricate yet seemed vague, as if she only had a few seconds to take in her environment and the people around her. Andrea’s shy, reserved, yet stubborn and quietly […] read full post >>

I thoroughly enjoyed this book. Although the content was at times disturbing I thought that this book had a very genuine and honest feel to it. The way that this story is told feels very nostalgic and reminiscent of childhood. When Agostino is first introduced to the concept of sexual things, his world quickly and […] read full post >>

I’m quite confused to be honest. I have been left with just a bundle of mixed feelings about this book.... read full post >>

The novel Agostino by Alberto Moravia was an interesting read. I can confidently say that the story was not what I was expecting it to be. When the novel started, I enjoyed reading the story and seeing the progression of the character. It began to confuse me and then shock me with the content of the story. It followed a young Agostino on a vacation with his mother and all of the things that happen to them. The story examines the intricacies and confusion of growing up. He struggles with bullying and being picked on by older boys. He then becomes eager to belong to the group that had previously picked on him. He explores his confusing feelings surrounding his mother as she leaves him alone daily. He feels overprotective and confusing sexual feelings. 

Most of the story takes place on the beach and I enjoyed reading that. I like when stories take place in natural environments and can greatly explain the setting of the story. A strong story setting creates a more enjoyable reading experience. 

The first theme I noticed, as I am sure everyone else did, was how it seemed a bit Oedipus-like. The Oedipus Complex is a widely known theory where a young child will view their opposite-sex parent in a sexual manner and compete with their same-sex parent. Eventually, as the child grows, they lose those desires. It was pretty uncomfortable to read, especially after the bullies spark Agostino's thoughts. He then begins to spy on his mother in hopes of seeing her naked. He describes her movements in great deal as he peeks on her. He has a seemingly love-hate relationship with his mother and almost uses his newfound friends as an escape from her. After this, he and his friends go spy on a brothel although they do not enter it. I was very shocked that the boys did not enter the brothel as it seemed like they were going to. It was important to the story that the boys showed the restraint to not enter the brothel. Because of that, I thought that he would have clarified his feelings surrounding his mother before the end of the story. 

My question is, how do you think the story would have changed had Agostino entered the brothel?

Personally, I think that he would have lost all of his childhood innocence in an extremely short amount of time. That exposure would have been too mature and scaring for the young boy. 

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The novel Agostino by Alberto Moravia was an interesting read. I can confidently say that the story was not what I was expecting it to be. When the novel started, I enjoyed reading the story and seeing the progression of the character. It began to confuse me and then shock me with the content of the story. It followed a young Agostino on a vacation with his mother and all of the things that happen to them. The story examines the intricacies and confusion of growing up. He struggles with bullying and being picked on by older boys. He then becomes eager to belong to the group that had previously picked on him. He explores his confusing feelings surrounding his mother as she leaves him alone daily. He feels overprotective and confusing sexual feelings. 

Most of the story takes place on the beach and I enjoyed reading that. I like when stories take place in natural environments and can greatly explain the setting of the story. A strong story setting creates a more enjoyable reading experience. 

The first theme I noticed, as I am sure everyone else did, was how it seemed a bit Oedipus-like. The Oedipus Complex is a widely known theory where a young child will view their opposite-sex parent in a sexual manner and compete with their same-sex parent. Eventually, as the child grows, they lose those desires. It was pretty uncomfortable to read, especially after the bullies spark Agostino's thoughts. He then begins to spy on his mother in hopes of seeing her naked. He describes her movements in great deal as he peeks on her. He has a seemingly love-hate relationship with his mother and almost uses his newfound friends as an escape from her. After this, he and his friends go spy on a brothel although they do not enter it. I was very shocked that the boys did not enter the brothel as it seemed like they were going to. It was important to the story that the boys showed the restraint to not enter the brothel. Because of that, I thought that he would have clarified his feelings surrounding his mother before the end of the story. 

My question is, how do you think the story would have changed had Agostino entered the brothel?

Personally, I think that he would have lost all of his childhood innocence in an extremely short amount of time. That exposure would have been too mature and scaring for the young boy. 

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    Okay. Agostino was definitely very engaging, I sat down and just read the entire thing in one go. Granted I did have to entirely stop reading, like I mean fully close the pdf and just take a second a few times because just- what? As coming of age novels go, it was definitely not what I was expecting. My first thought as I began to read was of Freud. I have never taken a psychology class and I don't really know much about his weird, weird theories other than this particular one about young boys wishing to be their mother's lover in place of their father or another man. Strange concept, but the idea was painfully obvious in the first parts of this book. As he met the group boys, and, not to be dramatic but, had his childlike innocence ripped from him it seemed his view on his mother changed. He went from taking pride in her and her beauty to being uncomfortable around her, perhaps partially due to jealousy of the man who took her attention away from him but also because of his new knowledge about sexuality and how this changed how he saw women, including his mother. I can't really summarize it well but the change in attitude Agostino had was entirely due to his new friends. 

    The other thing I would like to comment on is the situation with Saro, Homs and Agostino. I don't remember if Saro's age is mentioned but it is obvious he is respected by the group, sort of like a father figure. This is what made the scene with he and Agostino in the boat so uncomfortable. It was honestly pedophilic in nature and Saro obviously was trying to prey on Agostino's lack of understanding or experience with what could become a sexual encounter. All the rest of the boys knew what was happening but none seemed to care about or likely even understand the issues with it, instead the teasing Agostino, and Homs because it was another boy. I wasn't expecting to see any mention of queerness in this book, and seeing it paired with pedophilia was kind of depressing, mostly due to how true that still is today.

    Agostino was definitely coming of age throughout this novel. So much happened very quickly which I suppose, once again, is very realistic to how it often happens in real life. The book ended with him getting turned away from a brothel (thank god) and then falling asleep next to his mother who he asks to stop treating him like a baby, she agrees but then kisses him on the forehead. This to me shows she doesn't really think he is ready to be a man yet, nor will he be soon. Because the story ended before he actually matured and grew up, my biggest question is what now? What sort of person did Agostino grow into after these experiences?

That's all the nice analysis words I have to say. I quite enjoyed reading this, wasn't what I was expecting but definitely was interesting. 

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    Okay. Agostino was definitely very engaging, I sat down and just read the entire thing in one go. Granted I did have to entirely stop reading, like I mean fully close the pdf and just take a second a few times because just- what? As coming of age novels go, it was definitely not what I was expecting. My first thought as I began to read was of Freud. I have never taken a psychology class and I don't really know much about his weird, weird theories other than this particular one about young boys wishing to be their mother's lover in place of their father or another man. Strange concept, but the idea was painfully obvious in the first parts of this book. As he met the group boys, and, not to be dramatic but, had his childlike innocence ripped from him it seemed his view on his mother changed. He went from taking pride in her and her beauty to being uncomfortable around her, perhaps partially due to jealousy of the man who took her attention away from him but also because of his new knowledge about sexuality and how this changed how he saw women, including his mother. I can't really summarize it well but the change in attitude Agostino had was entirely due to his new friends. 

    The other thing I would like to comment on is the situation with Saro, Homs and Agostino. I don't remember if Saro's age is mentioned but it is obvious he is respected by the group, sort of like a father figure. This is what made the scene with he and Agostino in the boat so uncomfortable. It was honestly pedophilic in nature and Saro obviously was trying to prey on Agostino's lack of understanding or experience with what could become a sexual encounter. All the rest of the boys knew what was happening but none seemed to care about or likely even understand the issues with it, instead the teasing Agostino, and Homs because it was another boy. I wasn't expecting to see any mention of queerness in this book, and seeing it paired with pedophilia was kind of depressing, mostly due to how true that still is today.

    Agostino was definitely coming of age throughout this novel. So much happened very quickly which I suppose, once again, is very realistic to how it often happens in real life. The book ended with him getting turned away from a brothel (thank god) and then falling asleep next to his mother who he asks to stop treating him like a baby, she agrees but then kisses him on the forehead. This to me shows she doesn't really think he is ready to be a man yet, nor will he be soon. Because the story ended before he actually matured and grew up, my biggest question is what now? What sort of person did Agostino grow into after these experiences?

That's all the nice analysis words I have to say. I quite enjoyed reading this, wasn't what I was expecting but definitely was interesting. 

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Agostino by Moravia caught me by surprise, to say the least. At first, I found myself enjoying the book on... read full post >>

Since Alberto Moravia’s novel, Agostino, was a relatively short text in comparison to the past novels we have read, I thought it would be light reading. However, upon beginning the book I quickly came to realize the heaviness of the text and how packed it was in its lesser pages. Agostino’s relationship with his mother […] read full post >>

This week I decided to read Agostino by Alberto Moravia. It was a short and easy read as advertised. Though this was definitely the easiest read so far, I have mixed feelings on this story. In short summary, this story follows 13 year old Agostino throughout his summer vacation at a beach in Italy. The young teen sees his widowed mother move on with a new man, all while exploring a brand new friend group that seems to revolve around violence and behaviours that stem from poverty. I would call this reading something along the lines of a coming-of-age story, as Agostino discovers sexuality and straddles the line between childhood and manhood. 

While I honestly did quite enjoy this story, i found parts of it mildly disturbing. For a while the young 13 year old talks about his mother as a beautiful, inspiring and nurturing role model. For the first few pages he speaks about her with such innocence, and even refers to her as "mamma" plenty of times throughout the novel. However, when Agostino finds himself hanging out with the boys from Vespucci beach, he is introduced to the idea of sexuality, an idea that had never previously crossed his mind. With this new knowledge, he starts to view his mother as a subject of sexual desire. This quite honestly confused me at first. As disturbing as it sounds, I couldn't tell if the author was trying to imply that the young boy genuinly found his mother sexually appealing, or was simply just using her as a general example to display the sexual awakening the Agostino had undergone. Regardless some of the wording and ways Agostino would describe his mothers body seemed inappropriate. 

Another thing that I thought was interesting about this story, was Saro's relationship with the group of young boys. From what I understood, he was a 50 year pedophile. Other than the hand holding incident that occurred on the boat, the author only alluded to other experiences the boys had had with him. I feel like that storyline was a bit incomplete and i would have liked to have known why he was hanging out with them in the first place, as well as what the other boys had experienced with Saro, and why they continued to hang around him knowing what he does.

My question to you: Did you find Agostino's thoughts about his mother inappropriate? or do you think this is a normal thought process for a 13 year old to have when discovering sexual identity. 

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