I can’t believe we are already at the end of the term. It doesn’t seem like that long ago that I was writing my introduction post. In the past 12 weeks, I have been exposed to so many texts and authors that I otherwise would have probably never encountered. I loved the freedom we had to choose which books we would read each week. I’m not the biggest reader, but I was surprised by how manageable reading 1 book a week was to add to my schedule. While it was a little difficult to get into the habit, it started to become routine and now I feel accomplished looking back at all the texts I was able to get through.
The connections that were starting to form between all the texts were really interesting to see. Whether it was the themes or the narratives, I was able to start seeing patterns of what they had in common. I have really enjoyed the different themes that we as a class have explored. I couldn’t write this conclusion without mentioning memory as it was such a central theme in so many of the texts. I started to look forward to seeing how the authors would describe memory each week. I think the ones that stood out to me in this sense and that explored memory the best were W. or the Memory of Childhood, Amulet, and Combray.
Looking back to all the books I chose to read this term, I think my favourites were The Time of the Doves by Mercè Rodoreda and Bonjour Tristesse by Sagan. I know they are very different but, I really liked the narrators in these two books. I found them easier to follow along with because they were both interesting women and while reading their stories I was excited to see what they were going to do next. I liked to see how they dealt with situations when it felt like they were backed into a corner and while I might not have agreed with every decision they made, I think they were authentic to themselves and it made for a more engaging read.
Thank you, Jon, Jennifer, and Patricio for making this a great term. I have enjoyed reading all the blog posts and hearing everyone’s opinions in person. To end off my final post, my question for the class is what were some of your favourite themes that we have encountered this term?
Posted in Blogs, Conclusion | Tagged with memory
I can’t believe we are already at the end of the term. It doesn’t seem like that long ago that I was writing my introduction post. In the past 12 weeks, I have been exposed to so many texts and authors that I otherwise would have probably never encountered. I loved the freedom we had to choose which books we would read each week. I’m not the biggest reader, but I was surprised by how manageable reading 1 book a week was to add to my schedule. While it was a little difficult to get into the habit, it started to become routine and now I feel accomplished looking back at all the texts I was able to get through.
The connections that were starting to form between all the texts were really interesting to see. Whether it was the themes or the narratives, I was able to start seeing patterns of what they had in common. I have really enjoyed the different themes that we as a class have explored. I couldn’t write this conclusion without mentioning memory as it was such a central theme in so many of the texts. I started to look forward to seeing how the authors would describe memory each week. I think the ones that stood out to me in this sense and that explored memory the best were W. or the Memory of Childhood, Amulet, and Combray.
Looking back to all the books I chose to read this term, I think my favourites were The Time of the Doves by Mercè Rodoreda and Bonjour Tristesse by Sagan. I know they are very different but, I really liked the narrators in these two books. I found them easier to follow along with because they were both interesting women and while reading their stories I was excited to see what they were going to do next. I liked to see how they dealt with situations when it felt like they were backed into a corner and while I might not have agreed with every decision they made, I think they were authentic to themselves and it made for a more engaging read.
Thank you, Jon, Jennifer, and Patricio for making this a great term. I have enjoyed reading all the blog posts and hearing everyone’s opinions in person. To end off my final post, my question for the class is what were some of your favourite themes that we have encountered this term?
Posted in Blogs, Conclusion | Tagged with memory
In this final week of class, I have chosen to read The Society of Reluctant Dreamers, which I found was an interesting story that ties in dreams, memories, and politics: the rich that benefit, the poor that suffer, and the quiet ones. The novel starts out with Daniel Benchimol who was getting a divorce from […]
Posted in Agualusa, Blogs | Tagged with blog, Dreams, love, memory, politics, protest
“The war isn’t over, my friend. It’s only sleeping.” (p.131) At first, it was refreshing to be reading a book set in the modern-day. Seeing mentions of social media and smartphones was a slight surprise after reading older pieces of literature. However, very quickly, I began to forget what time period it was set in. […]
Posted in Agualusa, Blogs | Tagged with Colonialism, dreaming, Dreams, history, memory, revolution, war, writing
At first glance, the title of this novel caught my attention. I really wanted to leave off this semester on a more positive note – and thought that any novel to do with dreams must do so! This was actually one of my favorite books we have read this semester. I enjoyed every single page […]
Posted in Agualusa, Blogs | Tagged with dream, memory, politics
I liked this book, the intertwining storylines of politics, romance, and dreams made it an interesting read. While the dreaming and romantic narratives provided interesting psychological thought and emotional elements, the commentary on the political tension was my favorite element of this book. I enjoyed that the dream narrative was not imposed upon by Freud’s […]
Posted in Agualusa, Blogs | Tagged with Dreams, dreamworld, memory, politics, time, week 12
This week we were tasked with reading the Soldier of Salamis; I don’t mean to sound harsh, but I just did not enjoy this book. It is a book that disinterested me, was too long, and was kind of confusing at times. I hate to be like this, and will try my best to write […]
Posted in Blogs, Bolaño, Cercas | Tagged with Civil war, memory, narrator, Relationship, repetition, soldier of salamis, Spain, true or false, truth, Weekly Book Blog, writing
Javier Cercas’s Soldiers of Salamis was really unique in how it seemed to blur lines between reality, history, and fiction and pose interesting questions about knowability in the process. Throughout the first part, I felt that the book was more “lifelike” than many of the others I’ve read, probably because it takes place more recently and […]
Posted in Blogs, Cercas | Tagged with history, memory, reality
Cercas’s novel was a very nice blend of truth and fantasy to it just like Bolanos Amulet. The main difference is the narrators and authors. Bolano felt like a big-league writer who was already very established. while Cercas is a person who is struggling to find his groove in the writing industry and has a […]
Posted in Blogs, Cercas | Tagged with events, history, Mazas, memory, novel, Salamis, war
I struggled for quite a while to get into Solders of Salamis. I’m not sure that I enjoyed it completely, but it did give me a lot to think about in relation to history and loyalty and writing. The Spanish Civil War is one that I haven’t studied very deeply. The little that I do […]
Posted in Blogs, Cercas | Tagged with fidelity, history, memory
