Student Blogs

March 12th, 2024 There’s a lot to unpack here… This book was definitely a book. I think a lot of people will share the sentiment that I felt uncomfortable throughout the book. Actually, at the very beginning, not knowing what to expect, I kind of made a parallel to Deep Rivers, with the Narrator’s description […] read full post >>

To be honest, chose this one because of the title. I mean come on, “The Trenchcoat”… what a cool and ominous title. And to follow up on that, the trenchcoat itself emerges is a sort of central figure in the narrative. Although a coat is a pretty mundane object (or not depending on how cool […] read full post >>

Seriously, what in the world did I just read?? I mean, I’m all for books pushing boundaries and giving me a glimpse into the unexpected…but this one left me feeling so disturbed. I felt like I went through an emotional rollercoaster that delved deep into the darkest recesses of human desire. Like I enjoy reading […] read full post >>

I’ll be super honest I picked this book because it was short and I have a midterm this week. And I feel super neutral about it. I liked the plot of a dinner party, a spy mystery – it felt like Mrs. Dalloway by Virginia Woolf if Mrs. Dalloway was about totalitarian Romania! Something I […] read full post >>

 Hello everyone! This weeks book is The Lover by Marguerite Duras, set during the French colonial occupation of south east Asia. It is an autobiographical story of Duras' family's struggles with death and poverty, as well as her affair with "the l... read full post >>

 Hello everyone! This weeks book is The Lover by Marguerite Duras, set during the French colonial occupation of south east Asia. It is an autobiographical story of Duras' family's struggles with death and poverty, as well as her affair with "the l... read full post >>

Marguerite Duras’ novel, “The Lover,” unfolds against the backdrop of pre-war colonial Southeast Asia, a landscape that mirrors the author’s own upbringing in French Indochina, now Vietnam. Duras draws heavily from her experiences in crafting a narrative that blurs the lines between autobiography and fiction. She challenges societal assumptions and norms, delving into the complexities […] read full post >>

I feel SUPER strongly about this book. Parting from my usual neutral stance in my usual blogs, today I’ll be sharing my very biased and personal viewpoint on “The Lover” by Marguerite Duras; specifically regarding its commentary on power dynamics and agency within relationships that have significant and inappropriate age gaps. A. He Has the … Continue reading The Lover: And the Victim (Mar 12) read full post >>

Hello everyone, this weeks reading was “The Lover” by Marguerite Duras, and I will be honest I was not really a fan of this book, I found the book itself to be alright, but It didn’t blow me away or anything like that, to be fair It also wasn’t bad by any means,  just felt … read full post >>

 I want to start by saying that I had high expectations for this book solely because I thought the title sounded cool. I thought it would have a black-and-white film noir murder mystery vibe to it. However, the book completely subverted my expecta... read full post >>

 I want to start by saying that I had high expectations for this book solely because I thought the title sounded cool. I thought it would have a black-and-white film noir murder mystery vibe to it. However, the book completely subverted my expecta... read full post >>

“One day, I was already old, in the entrance of a public place a man came up to me. He introduced himself and said, ‘I’ve known you for years. Everyone says you were beautiful when you were young, but I want to tell you I think you’re more beautiful now than then. Rather than your […] read full post >>

Marguerite Duras’s “The Lover” is a short autobiographical work that I actually really enjoyed reading. It took me on a journey through the author’s memories, set against the backdrop of colonial-era Vietnam. We essentially revisit her past, most notably her first relationship with a 27 year old Chinese man when she was 15, as well […] read full post >>

Going into this book I was already anticipating being uncomfortable while reading based on what was said in class last week. The heads up on the book had my expectations high for the amount of uncomfortable situations that would be faced, but after reading it wasn’t as bad as I had thought. The story was […] read full post >>

It’s safe to say that I wasn’t aware of much of the historical/political context surrounding this novella, so upon initially reading I had the feeling I was missing something. It was helpful to learn about the history of Communist Romania and its totalitarian rule under Nicolas Ceausescu. Understanding the ubiquitous presence of the Securitate during […] read full post >>