Love Me Tender’s themes of motherhood and identity, and the ways they intersect, made me reflect on some of the less “obvious” ways these aspects of living in a patriarchy impact life. I didn’t love the writing style of this book; for me, it was a bit challenging to stay focused and could be confusing […]
Posted in Blogs, Debre | Tagged with grief, identity, motherhood, sexism
I really enjoyed this novel and am happy to end off the course with a good read! Despite the book being often quite sad and oppressive, it kept me intrigued the whole time and was very readable. I was especially interested in how it gave insight into the inner-workings of a Cameroonian Muslim society with […]
Posted in Amadou Amal, Blogs | Tagged with The impatient, Uncategorized
I read *Love Me Tender*, and to be honest, it’s not like a regular book. It feels a little messy, but also very real, like you’re in someone’s head instead of reading a story that has a beginning, middle, and end. Reminds me a lot of some of the other books we have read. The […]
Posted in Blogs, Debre | Tagged with freedom, Uncategorized
Reading The Impatient made me very sad. In the first half of the book, I was extremely angry, but then somewhere around the middle, I, like Hindou, succumbed to immense sadness. I’m sad their society caters to men. I’m sad Ramla’s choice was ripped away from her. I’m sad Hindou couldn’t escape in peace. I’m sad […]
Posted in Amadou Amal, Blogs | Tagged with misogyny, Munyal, Societal Norms, The impatient, Uncategorized
Love Me Tender by Constance Debré was probably the saddest book in this course. Debré is an extremely strong person, and her story showcased the struggles queer women face in patriarchal societies. Her main challenge was handling the “string of unfounded accusations [by her ex-husband] that separated her from her eight-year old son, Paul.” […]
Happy Easter everyone????????✨ and happy last week of classes woop woop! I enjoyed this book as a final read as it had a good pace and it wasn’t confusing. Also I think this is the fastest I’ve read all semester and while I’d like to say this is because I’ve developed some amazing reading skills […]
Posted in Blogs, Debre | Tagged with french rizz, identity, religion, sexuality
Tender… Chicken Tender… Mmmm… I am hungry…. Off to a hambre start, I think that Debré’s novel encompasses so much with its fierce challenging on what it means to be a mother. Constance’s experience with a non-traditional motherhood being stripped of her son from her vindictive and upset ex-husband speaks to societal norms as does …
Posted in Blogs, Debre | Tagged with acceptance, Approval, choices, guilt, motherhood, Risks, Scripts, society
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 […]
Posted in Amadou Amal, Blogs | Tagged with The impatient, Uncategorized
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…
Posted in Blogs, Debre | Tagged with relationships, sexuality
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 […]
Posted in Blogs, Debre | Tagged with freedom, gender, sexuality
