Student Blogs

The most pertinent theme of Nadja is the idea of self the philosophy of the person and the mind, this theme takes up an overwhelming part of the intro to the text. Which can cause the text to feel difficult to fall into as the preface is rather complex, as the narration ponders a series […] read full post >>

Hi everyone! I hope you are all doing well. We’ve had quite a strange start to the term with the snow days and the strike, but that keeps life interesting: the unpredictable, just like our character in this week’s book, Nadja.  This week, I chose to read Nadja by André Breton. I had no particular […] read full post >>

Compared to the last novel “Combray”, I found Mad Toy to be a much easier read. The most distinct aspect of this book is the way the content is categorized. The book is split into four parts, each representing a different episode of the main character, Silvio’s life. “The Band Of Thieves”, just like this […] read full post >>

Hey everyone, This blog post is on this weeks reading “Mad Toy” written by Roberto Arlt, I was personally very excited to read this book, the story seemed compelling to me and was a no brainer when choosing my books for this course, and I have to say it was a great choice and I … read full post >>

Nadja, by André Breton, begins with a diary-entry-like format depicting the daily life living in France. The narrator talks about his favourite movies, places he’s visited, people he sees, plays he’s attending, and so on. However, suddenly the focus changes, becoming all about a newfound obsession. A girl named Nadja. I found the relationship between […] read full post >>

“Nadja” is sometimes referred to as a Surrealist love story, yet Nadja does not appear until approximately sixty pages into the novel. The first few pages include theory, Surrealist gossip, Breton’s past, dreams, and explorations of Paris. When Nadja eventually enters the story, the book’s tone shifts to dated diary entries, underlining the immediacy and […] read full post >>

This week’s reading of Roberto Arlt’s Mad Toy was very interesting because Arlt’s style of writing is something that I am not usually familiar with, but still enjoyed nonetheless. I can see how Arlt’s writing can be seen as a … Continue reading → read full post >>

Arlt’s “Mad Toy”  showed the harsh realities of political corruption, urbanization and industrialization that Silvio had to face in Buenos Aires. I found myself relating to this book more than Proust’s “Combray” because of the dark humour scattered within the text. Arlt skillfully showed us how Silvio and his group of friends struggles to accept […] read full post >>

Hello everyone! My reading for this week is Roberto Arlt’s Mad Toy, a novel that explores the life of Silvio, a young man entangled in a turbulent life of poverty and adolescence. This tale is not about the life of a carefree youth growing up but rather explores a different phase of development, an identity […] read full post >>

Hello everyone, this week I read Roberto Arlt’s “Mad Toy”. Seeing that the protagonist is just a teenager, I found this book more bleak than I expected as it discusses heavy topics such as class and betrayal. Silvio as a character was relatable in... read full post >>

Hello everyone, this week I read Roberto Arlt’s “Mad Toy”. Seeing that the protagonist is just a teenager, I found this book more bleak than I expected as it discusses heavy topics such as class and betrayal. Silvio as a character was relatable in... read full post >>

I surprised myself this week; I found myself actually excited to read “Nadja” by André Breton and I can confidently say it was nothing short of an experience. Perhaps it was the little description left by Prof. Beasley-Murray depicting the book as one with themes of love, desire, and madness that piqued my interest, I […] read full post >>

I found he first part of the novel, an explanation of Breton's philosophies, quite hard to follow as surrealism is quite hard to comprehend when it is the stream of conscious of another individual. It's so easy to understand our own pattern of thought ... read full post >>

I found he first part of the novel, an explanation of Breton's philosophies, quite hard to follow as surrealism is quite hard to comprehend when it is the stream of conscious of another individual. It's so easy to understand our own pattern of thought ... read full post >>

The second French book of the course, Nadja by André Breton is a short surrealist novel. It was a very fast and interesting read but took me a minute to get into. At first, Breton talks about the theatre and his inability to recognize actors. Upon meeting Nadja however, things become much more interesting. Nadja […] read full post >>