To be honest, I am not quite sure what to think of The Time of the Doves. On one hand, I found it to be quite a long read and it was hard to pinpoint what was happening in some parts because I would lose focus. Yet, I still think it was an interesting read. […]
Posted in Blogs, Rodoreda | Tagged with Belonging, family, love, power, relationships
??? Why are all those lovers (that we have read) so toxic?? Natalia’s identity and self is being gradually erased during the marriage and the war. Firstly, at the very beginning, she meets a young man who invites her to dance with him. She rejects him not because she considers her own wishes, but because […]
Posted in Blogs | Tagged with identity, love, The Time of The Doves
A lively swing of events rolls into place at the beginning of the novel, full of musical brilliance, unknown voices, and objects scattered across empty spaces. This is a book of wavering stars. And in this midst of it all there is a shadow of contempla…
Posted in Blogs, Rodoreda | Tagged with childhood, death, family, Home, life, literature, love, memories, poverty, reality, reflection, relationships, The Time of The Doves, war
Black Shack Alley left me feeling a certain numb sadness that I can’t quite describe. It felt like I was watching José slowly lose himself and his joy/passion as he followed the path of education and achieved these milestones, and it was quite sad to watch this progress. I could feel my mood dropping throughout […]
Hellooo once again blog :)) (please know I went a medium bit above the word limit, so this is a longer one, sorry not sorry) This week’s read was Agostino by Alberto Moravia, and I can openly admit I went into this book with the wrong expectations. When I read the blurb in the “choose your […]
Posted in Blogs | Tagged with Agostino, childhood, class, desire, Freud, love, sexuality
I enjoyed reading Agostino, but it’s also a very uncomfortable experience for the reader. My impression that I got while reading: the novel is stopping before anything truly happens in a deliberately unsatisfying way while hinting towards repulsive content. Despite the novella having so many scenes alluding to sexual encounters, I don’t think the word […]
Posted in Blogs, Moravia | Tagged with childhood, desire, love, relationships, sexuality
I went into this book expecting it to feel devastating, depressing, and sob-inducing based solely on what I knew about the premise, but I actually gained a more positive perspective on a lot of things in my life. On friendship: “Friendship, a sentiment in which one never knows solitude as one does in love. Friendship, […]
Posted in Blogs, Bombal | Tagged with friendship, life, love
Hi blog!! Bombal’s Shrouded Woman made me feel like I was back at home, being made to watch the evening novelas (the Portuguese word for telenovelas) when my grandma visited our house. What an experience!! I need to start off by saying that the point of view from which we read this book is genuinely […]
Posted in Blogs, Bombal | Tagged with betrayal, death, love, The Shrouded Woman, youth
Firstly, Bombal’s novel was absolutely novel to me. It’s perspective from the grave was quite interesting as it allowed us to deep dive into the environment of Ana Maria, right into each character. Ana Maria’s juxtaposition of being both the centre of attention but also pushed to the side stood out to me as it …
I was aware from the start Ana Maria was dead and I assumed we’d be recounting her regrets and contentments. However, the approach by which Bombal decided to do so was something that threw me off guard. I should say it felt like each memory was so vividly intertwined that it painted a picture without […]
Posted in Blogs, Bombal | Tagged with betrayal, love, RIP ana maria, The Shrouded Woman
