Student Blogs

I feel like I say this every week, and I always mean it, but this is now my favourite book we have read so far. First of, I’d like to say how much I hated Quimet. He took advantage of Natalia’s naive personality and trapped her in a marriage. He was toxic, had major jealousy […] read full post >>

This novel revolves around a pretty toxic relationship while also addressing human nature (on the extremes), poverty, and emotion. I read this novel as if it were a journal entry, which made it intriguing and slightly less gloomy. The narrative centered around a woman, Natalia, attempting to keep her head above water for herself and […] read full post >>

Initially, reading the book is like diving into a tornado of feelings and vivid imagery. With its turbulent setting in early 20th-century Barcelona, the novel explores the protagonist’s life focusing on her personal hardships and the sociopolitical chaos going on around her. The adept use of stream-of-consciousness in Rodoreda’s story strikes me as one of its most remarkable […] read full post >>

The Time of The Doves by Mercè Rodoreda is a devastating yet heartfelt story about the romances of Natalia and themes of motherhood. At the beginning of the book, it was very easy to be drawn in with the intensive detail about the settings providing imagery as well as the depth for the main and recurring […] read full post >>

A. Initial Thoughts This book has quickly become my favorite among the ones we’ve read in class. While both novels explore the lives of women, I find myself deeply in love with “Time of the Doves” and Natalia’s journey, far surpassing my like for “The Shrouded Woman.” There’s something about the raw, beautiful writing of … Continue reading Time of the Doves: I Actually Liked Quimet (Feb 24) read full post >>

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Woah. The title made me think it would be like a nice romantic novel in Spain with roses and dancing, but it was in fact a not nice and not romantic book, which actually did include roses and dancing. Doves … Continue reading → read full post >>

A book that, emotionally, takes you everywhere read full post >>

This week’s reading, Time of the Doves, I quite liked. The writing style, description, and dialogue were interesting and kept me engaged with the story. I really felt immersed in Natalia’s story; I felt her sorrow, her fear, her joy, etc. But Natalia didn’t seem to have an easy time with her first marriage. Her […] read full post >>

I remember expecting another coming-of-age story from “The Time of the Doves” (written by Mercè Rodoreda) when I first picked up the book, mostly because the last four (of five) books I read were all centered around this trope. So I was pleasantly surprised to find out that the novel focuses on something else entirely. […] read full post >>

Throughout Rodoreda’s book, “The Time of the Doves”, I had great sympathy for Natalia and the constant challenges and adversities she experienced. She never seemed to catch a break, from a difficult relationship with her parents, to a manipulative husband, to having her house filled with doves, to going through a war, to having her […] read full post >>

Welcome back to this week’s book, The Time of the Doves, written by Merce Rodoreda. This story tells the story of a young woman who was first engaged to Pere. It also shows how her life changed when she accepted a man named Quimet’s invitation to dance at the Placa Del Diamant and was informed […] read full post >>

Mercè Rodoreda’s novel, “The Times of the Dove,” was a captivating and page-turning read told through the lens of a resilient and hardworking mother who struggled through the Spanish Civil War. The narrator, Natalia, provided readers with valuable insights into how women lived through the war and the challenges they had to face to provide […] read full post >>

  The Time of the Doves by Mercé Rodoreda is a novel that allows readers to understand a war from a woman’s point of view. The novel is set in Barcelona during the Spanish Civil War, but there are hardly any fight scenes, and it’s more about the story of this woman Natalia, with her […] read full post >>

Viewing the world through the lens of the novel’s central character, Natalia, Mercè Rodoreda intricately delves into themes of poverty, despair, and the fragile intricacies of human existence. Rodoreda crafts a profoundly moving narrative, with readers confronting the challenging truths encountered by those navigating displacement, scarcity, and the erosion of self. Rodoreda skillfully employs imagery […] read full post >>