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 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. 

read full post >>