Student Blogs

Okay this book is actually insane in the quietest, most emotionally devastating way possible, and I genuinely was not prepared for how heavy it would feel. “The Impatient” follows three women whose lives are shaped by forced marriage and polygamy, and what makes it hit so hard is how normal everything feels to the people […] read full post >>

We made it to the final blog post! A bitter sweet feeling indeed, although I don’t usually enjoy doing homework, the blog posts hold a special place in my heart as it actually allowed me to be transparent about what I read whilst reinforcing the concepts learned in the literature. Being able to open up […] read full post >>

After reading Love Me Tender by Constance Debre, it was a very raw and unsettling story of exploring identity, freedom and the cost of going against social expectations. What struck me the most was the protagonist’s rejection of traditional ideas of love, especially within family structures. Early in the novel, she questions why relationships such […] read full post >>

I think this is my favourite book of the entire term. The flow of the writing and the structure of the chapters and bigger sections made this a very easy read for me. I liked how descriptive Debre was, especially in talking about the characters. I think I said in one of my blogs that maybe I don’t like French... read full post >>

Here comes the final blog! I would say most of the books we read in this course are quite interesting, and reading them is a great deal. I learnt a lot about places I never been to, and wish if I am able to visit some of the places in the books, such as the […] read full post >>

I saw in a couple other blog posts about Love Me Tender that people say not much really happens in the book. At first I kind of agreed. It doesn’t have the usual kind of plot. There’s no big dramatic sequence of events. The narrator swims, writes, meets women, walks around Paris. The chapters are […] read full post >>

A lot of the things in life are done so precisely owing to ephemerality. The pace of time seems only to quicken, and so the need for creating something grand, for something eloquent, draws people towards working to leave behind the mark of a meaningful... read full post >>

The Impatient by Djaïli Amadou Amal, was such an insightful book to read. Im truly really happy with the choice of books I chose for this term, and this last book really was the cherry on top. I took a number of quotes, but I won’t do all of them to keep some simplicity. I […] read full post >>

I really enjoyed this novel. It felt different from a lot of the other things I’ve read so far, mostly because of how direct and stripped down it is. The writing is minimalist and straightforward, but that’s what made me like it. There’s no overexplaining or beating around the bush. Things are just said quickly and […] read full post >>

Rethinking a world of difference #RMST202 read full post >>

apr 4, 2026 Can’t believe we made it to the last post! I’m really bad at writing conclusions. We’ve discussed so many different topics throughout the entire course, from genre, themes, and character writing, to history, religion, and (a lot of) different kinds of oppression. Although my memory is really bad (I promise I did […] read full post >>

“nothing to bog me down, a style inspired by emptiness, the only one for me” (29). This was the easiest novel for me to read in this course – I usually take several hours over multiple sessions but this one I did all in a couple hours. The prose is very matter of fact, short […] read full post >>

Over the course of this Romance Studies course, my understanding of literature has shifted in ways I didn’t initially expect. At the beginning, I approached texts like Combray or Mad Toy as isolated works tied to specific national and cultural niches. Now, I see them as part of a broader, interconnected field that constantly crosses […] read full post >>

Apr 4, 2026 Finally (unfortunately) we’ve reached the last book of this course. Despite some horrors I’ve read in the past few months I enjoyed experiencing the books, and what an honor to get the chance to feel all the ranges of human emotion through voices of characters from different places and times. I’m actually […] read full post >>

Hi everyone.. To be honest I was kinda dreading writing this last post since I hate writing conclusions and I had no idea what to say, but I’ve finally decided on just trying to remember what happened in each book I read without going back and skimming. Actually, I will probably forget about a book … Continue reading done read full post >>