Initially, I didn’t like The Time of the Doves. For a while I couldn’t figure out why. I found that some kind of energy was missing from the book. When I made it to page 79, however, I realized why I had found the book unappealing up to that point, and from that moment onwardContinue reading “Inner Life and Agency in Rodoreda’s Time of the Doves“
Posted in Blogs, Rodoreda | Tagged with agency, narration, thetimeofthedoves
Unlike the past weeks where I had doubts about which books to choose, I knew for a fact that I wanted to read Elena Ferrante’s My Brilliant Friend. In the beginning of the year, I had just finished the HBO original, Scenes from a Marriage, and the HBO adaptation of My Brilliant Friend was recommended under […]
Posted in Blogs, Ferrante | Tagged with friendship, narration
The Society of Reluctant Dreamers was a unique read – but not for the reason that I expected. What fascinated me about this book is the setting, the Portuguese-speaking regions of Africa. This is an area that I am not very familiar with, so I do admit that it was difficult for me to follow the plot in certain parts.
Another aspect of the book that stood out to me was how modern it was compared to the other texts that we have read this semester. The period that the book was set in is fairly recent, with the epilogue taking place in 2017. Daniel’s character was interesting, especially because of his dreams and how they were influenced by his reality. It made me ponder how our subconscious thoughts are often influenced by our life and the people in them. This is similar to the associations made in the lecture to Freud and his beliefs of dreams being a manifestation of one’s unconscious thoughts.
Furthermore, I found it fascinating that the author decided to combine the political storyline of the book with magical realism. Politics are notoriously controversial and rooted in the ‘harsh reality of life’ – so it’s quite interesting to see how the narrator’s thoughts are largely communicated through his dreams. I found the politics a little hard to keep track of throughout the book, especially because I was completely unaware of the entire situation.
Also, I found the initial dialogue between Daniel and the hotel owner to be kind of odd, especially when they discussed Hitler’s kindness to animals. I suppose it did achieve the purpose that the author intended, which was to make us uncomfortable at the idea of a truly terrible person having any goodness in him.
Overall, I found Agualusa’s The Society of Dreamers to be a unique concept with an intriguing execution. By combining dreams with politics, Agualusa pushes readers to mull over how our reality can merge with something as stressful as politics. My question to the class would be: what do you think of the act of dreaming and what does it say about our subconscious?
The Society of Reluctant Dreamers was a unique read – but not for the reason that I expected. What fascinated me about this book is the setting, the Portuguese-speaking regions of Africa. This is an area that I am not very familiar with, so I do admit that it was difficult for me to follow the plot in certain parts.
Another aspect of the book that stood out to me was how modern it was compared to the other texts that we have read this semester. The period that the book was set in is fairly recent, with the epilogue taking place in 2017. Daniel’s character was interesting, especially because of his dreams and how they were influenced by his reality. It made me ponder how our subconscious thoughts are often influenced by our life and the people in them. This is similar to the associations made in the lecture to Freud and his beliefs of dreams being a manifestation of one’s unconscious thoughts.
Furthermore, I found it fascinating that the author decided to combine the political storyline of the book with magical realism. Politics are notoriously controversial and rooted in the ‘harsh reality of life’ – so it’s quite interesting to see how the narrator’s thoughts are largely communicated through his dreams. I found the politics a little hard to keep track of throughout the book, especially because I was completely unaware of the entire situation.
Also, I found the initial dialogue between Daniel and the hotel owner to be kind of odd, especially when they discussed Hitler’s kindness to animals. I suppose it did achieve the purpose that the author intended, which was to make us uncomfortable at the idea of a truly terrible person having any goodness in him.
Overall, I found Agualusa’s The Society of Dreamers to be a unique concept with an intriguing execution. By combining dreams with politics, Agualusa pushes readers to mull over how our reality can merge with something as stressful as politics. My question to the class would be: what do you think of the act of dreaming and what does it say about our subconscious?
It definitely would’ve been to my advantage to know more about history and especially Spanish history to follow this book better. When I’m reading about historical events and names my eyes tend to glaze over and I find myself finishing a page of the book without retaining anything that was written on it. That being […]
Posted in Blogs, Cercas | Tagged with fiction, history, memory, narration, Spain, truth, war
“This is going to be a horror story. A story of murder, detection and horror. But it won’t appear to be, for the simple reason that I am the teller.”
Bolaño’s Amulet is a powerful read, to say the least. The introduction (as quoted above) is poignant enough to captivate a reader and make them ponder about perspective. Personally, those lines developed a stream of consciousness in my mind that began to wonder about how war and revolution always have multiple sides to them, whether it may be the perspective of a civilian, an activist, a politician, or a child.
Auxilio Lacouture played more than one role in her life – she was a poet and a mother to many. Moreover, she symbolically resisted the army’s invasion of her university by hiding in the bathroom for around two weeks. As she began to recount her story, the introduction of the book became clearer than ever. I forgot about her situation and the horrors that she would have experienced. This was kind of unsettling to realize but also interesting because the narrator’s intended purpose was achieved.
I suppose that this was somewhat unsettling for me to read, especially because I could not get a proper idea of Auxilio at the moment. She came across as a very powerful personality who knew what she needed to do in any situation. This was exemplified by the distraction that she provided herself with for the two weeks she spent in hiding.
Additionally, I believe that the lecture helped provide a new understanding of the setting of the book. The intersection of identities (cultural and otherwise) expresses how the consequences of revolutions extend beyond just the locals of a country. Moreover, one of the points mentioned in the lecture really stood out to me – how this novel by the author is a clear break from the magical realism that Latin America is usually associated with.
Overall, I found Amulet to be an introspective read. I enjoyed the unique setting that it was placed in. Lastly, my question for the class would be: did you think that the narrations of Auxilio’s past served as a powerful distraction from the events in the book? How do you think this experience would have impacted her (physically and emotionally)?
“This is going to be a horror story. A story of murder, detection and horror. But it won’t appear to be, for the simple reason that I am the teller.”
Bolaño’s Amulet is a powerful read, to say the least. The introduction (as quoted above) is poignant enough to captivate a reader and make them ponder about perspective. Personally, those lines developed a stream of consciousness in my mind that began to wonder about how war and revolution always have multiple sides to them, whether it may be the perspective of a civilian, an activist, a politician, or a child.
Auxilio Lacouture played more than one role in her life – she was a poet and a mother to many. Moreover, she symbolically resisted the army’s invasion of her university by hiding in the bathroom for around two weeks. As she began to recount her story, the introduction of the book became clearer than ever. I forgot about her situation and the horrors that she would have experienced. This was kind of unsettling to realize but also interesting because the narrator’s intended purpose was achieved.
I suppose that this was somewhat unsettling for me to read, especially because I could not get a proper idea of Auxilio at the moment. She came across as a very powerful personality who knew what she needed to do in any situation. This was exemplified by the distraction that she provided herself with for the two weeks she spent in hiding.
Additionally, I believe that the lecture helped provide a new understanding of the setting of the book. The intersection of identities (cultural and otherwise) expresses how the consequences of revolutions extend beyond just the locals of a country. Moreover, one of the points mentioned in the lecture really stood out to me – how this novel by the author is a clear break from the magical realism that Latin America is usually associated with.
Overall, I found Amulet to be an introspective read. I enjoyed the unique setting that it was placed in. Lastly, my question for the class would be: did you think that the narrations of Auxilio’s past served as a powerful distraction from the events in the book? How do you think this experience would have impacted her (physically and emotionally)?
Amulet by Roberto Bolaño was a very fascinating novel. I have always enjoyed books that blur the line between fantasy and reality, and I think Auxilio Lacouture’s recount does precisely that. In the violent context of the Tlatelolco massacre in … Continue reading →
Posted in Blogs | Tagged with fantasy vs. reality, mystical characterization, narration, time, Womanhood
Perec’s W is a fascinating read for a multitude of reasons. The book starts with a disclaimer warning readers about the dual nature of the upcoming story – an unusual thing to begin a story with!
I found the idea of calling the book ‘W’ because of the double ‘V’ incredibly smart. I came across another interpretation of how the choice of the double ‘V’ was creative because of how ‘vie’ in French translates to life in English. This is pertinent to the book because of the two parallel stories and how they influence each other.
Perec’s description of pictures in the somewhat autobiographical portion of the book is what stood out to me the most. I would like to think that he went the extra mile with his descriptions of the images because of how desperately he wanted to remember his childhood and his parents. The idea of placing importance in memory is a very interesting concept for many reasons. The desperation to cling to one’s childhood is unfortunately very common, especially as we age and desire to cling on to the “good old days.” Moreover, given that the author lost his parents at a young age, he is more inclined to preserve any memory.
One of the moments in the book that highlighted this idea of broken memory is when the author describes the three memories that he recalls from his school days. They progress from blurry to gradually more coherent and eventually lead to a fourth memory. The following quote stood out to me the most when he was describing his memories:
“…remains so deeply imprinted on my body that I wonder this memory does not, in fact, conceal its precise opposite: not the memory of a medal torn off, but the memory of a star pinned on.”
This particular quote reminds me of flashbulb memories and how the emotions associated with these memories are often triggered because of the intensity of the event. This moment would have definitely stood out to a child because of the intensity of the injustice that they would have felt.
Perec’s parallel adventure story provided us with a story of a young boy whose name was taken by a soldier for safety. I feel like this particular choice of events is especially relevant because of how it depicts a man taking on the identity of a child, while in the other half, he tries to recall his childhood.
Lastly, to end, my question for the class would be: how did you find the worldbuilding of the island W?
Perec’s W is a fascinating read for a multitude of reasons. The book starts with a disclaimer warning readers about the dual nature of the upcoming story – an unusual thing to begin a story with!
I found the idea of calling the book ‘W’ because of the double ‘V’ incredibly smart. I came across another interpretation of how the choice of the double ‘V’ was creative because of how ‘vie’ in French translates to life in English. This is pertinent to the book because of the two parallel stories and how they influence each other.
Perec’s description of pictures in the somewhat autobiographical portion of the book is what stood out to me the most. I would like to think that he went the extra mile with his descriptions of the images because of how desperately he wanted to remember his childhood and his parents. The idea of placing importance in memory is a very interesting concept for many reasons. The desperation to cling to one’s childhood is unfortunately very common, especially as we age and desire to cling on to the “good old days.” Moreover, given that the author lost his parents at a young age, he is more inclined to preserve any memory.
One of the moments in the book that highlighted this idea of broken memory is when the author describes the three memories that he recalls from his school days. They progress from blurry to gradually more coherent and eventually lead to a fourth memory. The following quote stood out to me the most when he was describing his memories:
“…remains so deeply imprinted on my body that I wonder this memory does not, in fact, conceal its precise opposite: not the memory of a medal torn off, but the memory of a star pinned on.”
This particular quote reminds me of flashbulb memories and how the emotions associated with these memories are often triggered because of the intensity of the event. This moment would have definitely stood out to a child because of the intensity of the injustice that they would have felt.
Perec’s parallel adventure story provided us with a story of a young boy whose name was taken by a soldier for safety. I feel like this particular choice of events is especially relevant because of how it depicts a man taking on the identity of a child, while in the other half, he tries to recall his childhood.
Lastly, to end, my question for the class would be: how did you find the worldbuilding of the island W?
