Wow, lots to unpack with this one. This book was a rollercoaster, not unlike many of the books we’ve read in this course. Again, the narrator takes us through the messy pathways of her mind as she recounts memories, some good and some bad. In this case, most are decidedly bad. Auxilio’s experience of the […]
Posted in Blogs, Bolaño | Tagged with death, Imagination, memory, Mexico, sadness
The amulet was a confusing mess of history but Bolano somehow made it a must-read. The suspense was killing me only to realize that the horrors were never really going to appear because the narrator constantly dodged those bullets and got to see the better sides of the stories she shared. The first part of […]
Posted in Blogs, Bolaño | Tagged with #firstperson, history, illusion, politics
For this week, we were given the task of reading Amulet by Robert Bolaño. I found this to be one of the best books we’ve read in this course so far. This book, like many of the other ones, have the consistent theme of memory, and I think repetition. The story is one long monologue, […]
Posted in Blogs, Bolaño | Tagged with Chile, history, history of the future, literature, memory, Mexico, narrative, poet, Poetry, poverty, recollection, sad, sadness, trauma, Weekly Book Blog
As mentioned in Lecture, the Mexico, or Latin America in Amuleto is a metropolitan one, where LaCouture holds court with various poets, and friends, and whiles away her monologue. In terms of “representation” it is very different from the Latin America, or rest of the Americas that we experienced in Black Shack Alley or the Old Gringo. The way that the setting weaves in and out of the narrative so beautifully and carefree reminds me of how Kerouac would display city scenes, as he passed through Denver, New Orleans and San Francisco.
That being said, the situation which progresses then takes one back further towards the Old Gringo, with the Federales and revolutionary conflict. or perhaps even in the vein of Black Shack Alley where the narrator is “trapped” in the promise of white academia.
That being said, one idea that I would like to expand upon, is that of Bolano writing “from the margins” as was brought up in the video lecture. Particularly, with this novel being set in Mexico and considering some politics and violence in the state along with it’s literary themes, this reminds of how Mexico and Drug War have been portrayed in a few of my favourite recent movies. Sicario and Cartel Land both approach Mexico and it’s violence in this light, focussing on immigrants, and the American side of the border, while violence ensues around these haven-like situations, yet the hem in the narratives, providing a broader violent context for their stories. This is much like Amulet, and LaCoutures bathroom, and it makes me wonder why this violence is portrayed this way. Obviously, it is a strong way to capture the conflict, without getting grisly or extraordinarily shocking. Secondly, it gives a focused, character-driven way to tell the story, rather than from a bird’s eye, war-movie-esque viewpoint.
What do you think? Why is the choice to set stories amidst, or adjacent, but not directly in, conflict, such a powerful choice? What other places have you seen this done?
As mentioned in Lecture, the Mexico, or Latin America in Amuleto is a metropolitan one, where LaCouture holds court with various poets, and friends, and whiles away her monologue. In terms of “representation” it is very different from the Latin America, or rest of the Americas that we experienced in Black Shack Alley or the Old Gringo. The way that the setting weaves in and out of the narrative so beautifully and carefree reminds me of how Kerouac would display city scenes, as he passed through Denver, New Orleans and San Francisco.
That being said, the situation which progresses then takes one back further towards the Old Gringo, with the Federales and revolutionary conflict. or perhaps even in the vein of Black Shack Alley where the narrator is “trapped” in the promise of white academia.
That being said, one idea that I would like to expand upon, is that of Bolano writing “from the margins” as was brought up in the video lecture. Particularly, with this novel being set in Mexico and considering some politics and violence in the state along with it’s literary themes, this reminds of how Mexico and Drug War have been portrayed in a few of my favourite recent movies. Sicario and Cartel Land both approach Mexico and it’s violence in this light, focussing on immigrants, and the American side of the border, while violence ensues around these haven-like situations, yet the hem in the narratives, providing a broader violent context for their stories. This is much like Amulet, and LaCoutures bathroom, and it makes me wonder why this violence is portrayed this way. Obviously, it is a strong way to capture the conflict, without getting grisly or extraordinarily shocking. Secondly, it gives a focused, character-driven way to tell the story, rather than from a bird’s eye, war-movie-esque viewpoint.
What do you think? Why is the choice to set stories amidst, or adjacent, but not directly in, conflict, such a powerful choice? What other places have you seen this done?
Out of all of the works that I’ve read so far during this term, I believe that Roberto Bolaño’s Amulet may be my favourite. Despite the novel’s “ordinariness” (as described in the lecture), I really felt that there was something magical about it – not exotic or romanticized, or even anything like the “magic realism” […]
Posted in Blogs, Bolaño | Tagged with history, memory, violence
Hey everyone, The fact that this novel starts with “This is going to be a horror story,” made me expect to feel fear while reading this. Elements of the horror usually include suspense or surprise but the narrator was right in saying that the way this story is told was not nearly as scary to […]
Posted in Blogs, Bolaño | Tagged with Bathroom, Leave, literature, repetition, romancestudies, romanceworld, romanticliterature, time, ubc
The novel “Amulet” by Roberto Bolaño is focused on Auxilio Lacouture and her experience and memories as she hides in a washroom on the fourth floor of a building. The novel is set in 1968 as the army takes over the National Autonomous University of Mexico. The novel begins with the narrator informing the audience … Continue reading Week 10: Bolaño’s “Amulet” →
Posted in Blogs, Bolaño | Tagged with future, memory, past, Poetry, Romance Studies, thought, war, Weekly Posts
Roberto Bolaño, Amulet I thought I would give a little context before writing what I thought about this book. So, I am Mexican and I have lived my entire life in Mexico City where this novel takes place and I can say that a lot of the things that talked about Mexico City in the […]
I wasn’t quite sure what to make of this text by Bolano. It was a bit difficult for me to follow, but what I got out of it was that it centers around a young woman named Auxilio Lacouture who recalls her life and a few memorable women named Elena, Remedios, and Lilian. The story […]
