Student Blogs

I don’t know where to start. So I’ll probably start this blog by talking about how majority of the books I’ve read for this course involve a narrator who feels trapped or powerless ( I’m sure we’ve all read different books because we have different contracts). Okay maybe not all of them but atleast the […] read full post >>

Hi there blog!! Hope the reading break went well :DD Rodoreda’s The Time of the Doves provided me with a very convoluted(? I can’t think of a better word) reading experience.   if its sunday at 11pm and you are reading this come back tmr, the picture i am trying to input into this page keeps […] read full post >>

First things first, this book was strangely comforting to read. I enjoyed how the Rodoreda’s writing was smooth and simple just a description of Camila’s day to day life, raw and human, I guess it just felt relaxing the way it was so familiar. Now onto the actual story, the progression from seeing the relationship […] read full post >>

We talked about people being normal and what normal meant in one of our classes and  I go back to that because for almost 3/4 of the book the only normal person was Mateu and maybe Cintet. Mateu was a … Continue reading → read full post >>

“The Time of the Doves” by Mercè Rodoreda was a longer piece of literature compared to the previous readings in this course. Interestingly enough, it did not feel as if it was much longer, as I felt immersed in the story, and the author’s style of writing felt smooth for me. The overall impression I […] read full post >>

Reading this book was pretty different from what I expected out of a wartime novel! It focussed a lot more on the daily, domestic aspects of Natalia and those around her, so much so that I almost forgot about the war until the book reminded me halfway through（´∇｀”）I was also growing increasingly frustrated with Quimet, […] read full post >>

I enjoyed the time of the doves. I thought the writing was nice and although I don’t typically enjoy stream of consciousness, Natalia’s narration was wonderful and incredible. I felt like I was there, along with her to witness her life. For the entire ... read full post >>

I enjoyed the time of the doves. I thought the writing was nice and although I don’t typically enjoy stream of consciousness, Natalia’s narration was wonderful and incredible. I felt like I was there, along with her to witness her life. For the entire ... read full post >>

This was such an interesting story, including the writing style. Sentence after sentence was started with ‘and’ even when the sentences use it as a conjunction: “And I stuck up for Quimet’s mother and said yes, she had put salt in the food. And the neighbour said if she ate food that was too salty…” […] read full post >>

Quimet couldn’t have died fast enough. What an absolutely despicable good for nothing worthless man! While this novel was an easy read on the brain and for my understanding, it was also difficult to read because it was akin to watching a trainwreck in slow motion. I could tell where their relationship was going, and […] read full post >>

First off, I was so drawn in as Rodoreda’s style focused on the day to day working life and how it became shattered. Natalia’s focus on getting through each day in poverty and starvation really stood out to me as we could understand what exactly she had lost since the war. Her husband, her stability, … read full post >>

In most ways, the novel contained important commentary on life during a war and the daily struggles that slowly weigh you down, but in others, it felt like I wasn’t taking the right things away from it. For the first part of this book, I almost felt that I was missing something. Her sentence structure […] read full post >>

The Time of the Doves, reading about war here felt different in comparison to what I expected or usually read. Instead of focusing on the big picture like the battle scenes or larger consequences of the war, it focuses on the tiny details of everyday life that people usually seem to skip past –  loss, […] read full post >>

I’m seeing a pattern here with all these novels, the protaganists are just surviving every single god damn time and it’s always so emotionally heavy. The Time of the Doves left me feeling that emotional heaviness. Not because it was confusing or structurally difficult, but because of how quietly devastating it is. Everything happens slowly, […] read full post >>

I really didn't like Quimet lol. He did not make a good impression on me. I sensed that he was bad news from the get-go, and poor Natalia ended up being swept off her feet by him. It hurt my soul. The nickname was cute at first, but it became annoying ... read full post >>