Student Blogs

It took me longer to get through this novel, but as I slowly warmed up to the setting and the narrative, I became drawn in by Zobal’s world and character building. M’man Tine’s character, in particular, was what struck me the most. Her sacrifices and strict expectations since the time of raising Delia are what allowed the later generations of... read full post >>

Deep Rivers — José María Arguedas read full post >>

Reading Black Shack Alley felt heavier than I expected. At first, it seems like a familiar story about a smart kid escaping poverty through education, but the more I read, the more uncomfortable that idea became. José’s success never feels fully like a victory. Instead, it feels complicated, almost like a trade-off where something important […] read full post >>

While I was reading Black Shack Alley, I honestly thought this was going to be another cliche novel where a poor kid goes to school, works hard, and has a good life. END OF STORY. But as I kept reading and after I watched the lecture, I realized the author wasn’t really focusing on the […] read full post >>

Deep Rivers was oddly inspiring yet challenging. I say inspiring because I love the notion of Ernesto travelling across many towns with his father, the author takes you into his perspective of curiosity and willingness to learn and it makes me want to explore more of the world, even if its in the same country […] read full post >>

I found Deep Rivers to be a bit of a slow read. I liked how the Quechua language was incorporated into the book. The translations and explanations of the words really moved the story forward and although I found myself forgetting a lot of them and having to look back for their translations, I enjoyed learning something new. I was... read full post >>

Reading “Deep Rivers” was a challenge for me, possibly the most difficult read so far. I still liked it a lot. But Ernesto was impenetrable to me; he didn’t fit into my preconceived notions of what a protagonist should be like or like. Especially compared to previous books in this course I read like the […] read full post >>

Reading Deep Rivers by José María Arguedas kinda messed with my head. It feels less like learning a story and more like learning how to perceive the world differently. Rather than explaining Peru’s colonial history or Indigenous suffering in direct terms, Arguedas filters everything through Ernesto’s body: what he touches, hears, and feels before he […] read full post >>

Some books gently invite you into their world. Deep Rivers absolutely does not. It grabs you by the shoulders, points at a wall, and says: “This stone is alive. Deal with it.” And honestly? I kind of loved that. José María Arguedas’s Deep Rivers is a novel where nothing stays quiet. Rivers bleed, stones move, […] read full post >>

To me, this book illustrated how colonialism remains deeply embedded across Latin American societies. The main character, Ernesto, is a mestizo (mixed) boy, and as a result, he feels torn between understanding and exploring both sides of his heritage. ... read full post >>

To me, this book illustrated how colonialism remains deeply embedded across Latin American societies. The main character, Ernesto, is a mestizo (mixed) boy, and as a result, he feels torn between understanding and exploring both sides of his heritage. ... read full post >>

Overall a fun-ish read! I think this novel Deep Rivers was very interesting and I especially like the authors descriptive writing style. Throughout the book there was a strong focus on Indigeneity which was shown in many ways. To me the representation of Indigenous culture through nature and music stood out the most. In Ernesto’s […] read full post >>

Ernesto’s connection with nature was something that was evident throughout the book. In particular, his view of the river as an entity really stood out to me. To me, it represents the tension that exists in his life between his connection with the Indigenous peoples and his white identity. It was interesting to me how […] read full post >>

After reading Joseph Zobel’s Black Shack Alley, I admit that I feel quite… devastated? Not in a dramatic, bawling-my-eyes-out kind of way, but in a slow, kind of lingering sadness that has stuck with me even now. Don’t get me wrong, the novel is easy to read on the surface. The prose is clear, and […] read full post >>

This book is tough. The title makes me feel like there will be fascinating adventures, but there are not. The diction is hard to understand as an outsider, hehehe. Another reason this book is difficult to read is that I found the narrator to be less vividly portrayed compared to the books we read before. […] read full post >>