Norman Manea’s ‘The Trenchcoat’ is definitely a confusing read. I felt there was a lot of what one of my high school literature teachers referred to as ‘invisible reading’ to be done. By this they meant that there is a story being told in between the lines and I have to agree that this was […]
Posted in Blogs, Manea | Tagged with literature, reflections, week10
When I first finished reading Norman Manea’s “The Trenchcoat”, I felt way too confused. However, after watching the lecture video and reading blogposts of my peers, I realized that confusion – especially regarding the Trenchcoat – was a central theme of the story. For me, the anonymity and lack of description for the Trenchcoat made […]
Posted in Blogs, Manea | Tagged with allegory, censorship, communism, fictionality, literature, politics, suspicion, Symbolism
I think the historical background of this novel is a bit difficult to understand for readers who do not know the history of the United States and Mexico, so I also read the events of that period while reading the book. Carlos Fuentes’ depiction of the desert is almost treasured, as if I, too, am … Continue reading Review of Old Gringo from Carlos Fuentes →
Posted in Blogs | Tagged with Carlos Fuentes, literature, Romance Studies, week 9
Hey Everyone, I decided to download this book as a PDF from the internet, which caused some very strange spacing issues. Throughout the book, there were gaps that I don’t think were meant to be there as well as paragraphs separated mid-sentence. While this likely negatively impacted my overall reading experience, I really enjoyed this […]
Posted in Blogs, Fuentes | Tagged with Carlos Fuentes, literature, repetition, romancestudies, romanceworld, romanticliterature
Let me start by saying I apologise for the late post. I was caught up in another assignment and completely lost track of time. About the novel, I found it to be a very interesting and even somewhat appealing read in small degrees. I am well aware that I use the word ‘interesting’ about almost […]
Posted in Blogs, Perec | Tagged with literature, reflections
Hi Everyone, This week I decided to read some blog posts by you guys before writing my own. I found it really interesting to see that there was a large divide between people who enjoyed the ‘double story’ style of this novel and the people who found it confusing. I personally have a lot of […]
Posted in Blogs, Perec | Tagged with literature, romancestudies, romanceworld, romanticliterature, ubc
The novel’s structure is novel, as if Island W tells one storey and my childhood memories another, seemingly unconnected but merging in places. What I think is the interest of this book is the certain contents of its description. Everything described is like a real scene, but it’s actually just existed in the author’s memory. … Continue reading Reply on “W or the memory of childhood” →
Posted in Blogs | Tagged with literature, Louis, Romance Studies
While reading Georges Perec’s W or The Memory of Childhood, I specifically felt parallels with “Combray”. In “Combray”, the narrator reflects on his past, with the perspective he has in his present; in this way, his reflection of the past reconstructs his present, and offers a change to his future. Similarly, in W or The […]
Posted in Blogs, Perec | Tagged with Bricolage, literature, modernism, narrative, postmodernism, recollection, temporality, writing
Mercè Rodoreda’s novel is definitely one that leaves you feeling some type of way, only what way you can never be sure. After reading this narrative, I sat down and contemplated how I felt about it because my mind was blank and I couldn’t gage what I thought about it. Even now, as I write […]
Posted in Blogs, Rodoreda | Tagged with literature, reflections
Clarice Lispector’s article is indeed very obscure for someone like me who doesn’t have much exposure to literature. In the article, she asked herself “could I now start thinking”? But the whole book is full of profound and philosophical thinking, making readers unable to help thinking along the author’s words. She discusses every little detail … Continue reading Reply on The Passion According to G. H →
Posted in Blogs | Tagged with Clarice Lispector, literature, Romance Studies, The Passion According to G. H
