Hey Everyone, Wow, this novel had a lot to unpack. It covers sociological concepts like the reproduction of inequality, as well as romance, betrayal, and jealousy through the story of friendship. The friendship between Lila and Elena reminded me of the Gossip Girl characters Blair and Serena, as these young women navigate their changing lives […]
Posted in Blogs, Ferrante | Tagged with Elena Ferrante, friendship, gossip girl, literature, memory, My brilliant friend, romancestudies, romanticliterature, ubc, Womanhood
I really enjoyed this book and I wish I had more time to spend reading and enjoying it. I found there to be a lot of different dimensions within it, such as the relationships and dynamics between the girls and the other characters, the opposing classes, the use of language and education, the violence, the […]
Posted in Blogs, Ferrante | Tagged with childhood, class, death, education, family, memory, modernism, violence
The text The Society of Reluctant Dreamers by José Eduardo Agualusa is set after Angolia’s independence, which also reflects government structures and changes in that structure. The novel’s narrator, Benchimol, recently got a divorce and thus goes to a resort or hotel to be able to rest and recuperate. He’s also a journalist whole tends […]
Posted in Agualusa, Blogs | Tagged with deja-vu, Dreams, memory
This week’s reading The Society of Reluctant Dreamers by José Eduardo Agualusa revolved around dreams. Dreams have always fascinated me, as it probably should for any psychology major. The lecture mentioned how dreams are often considered to be opposed to practicality, and while I believe that can be true at times (with all of its […]
Posted in Blogs | Tagged with Dreams, memory, psychology
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
