Honestly, even though José gets his education and succeeds in life, the whole story made me very sad. I felt sad for M’man Tine, who literally worked herself to death in the sugar cane fields. I felt sad for José’s mother, whom he rarely saw because she was always working somewhere else. I also felt […]
Carmen Laforet wrote this at 23. What. How. Time’s a-ticking for me I suppose. The main character, Andrea, had my heart from the start, her desire for independence, her dreams of Barcelona which are swiftly crushed by her dysfunctional family. At first, it’s her Aunt Angustias that seems the most overbearing, telling her that “in […]
Posted in Blogs, Laforet | Tagged with coming of age, family, poverty
With the first chapter of the book we are at once conscious of the unspeakable absurdities of life, of a thumping rhythm of isolation carrying its beat across desolate roads, into unsolved conflicts, and through crowds of unknown faces, leading us towa…
Posted in Blogs, Laforet | Tagged with family, fiction, Home, life, literature, nada, poverty, reality, reflection, relationships
I really liked this book and managed to read it in one sitting, unlike Proust. I read it in the original language, Spanish, and I was a tiny bit lost at first. Honestly, I think it might have been easier for me to read it in English. I don’t know if my Spanish vocabulary has […]
I spent my week reading this book, sometimes on the bus, sometimes lying on the bed. I genuinely could not read this piece all at once, as the events and the plot twists made me feel bad for Silvio. I can hear distant voices, brilliant fireworks, but I am here alone, held down in my […]
Hi Everyone! Last book of the semester, congrats to everyone for almost making it to the end! This week I read My Brilliant Friend written by Elena Ferrante. I think this book lands in my top 3, along with Arlt for sure. This book discusses themes of friendship, class, poverty, love, relationships. It is truly […]
Posted in Blogs | Tagged with class, friendship, love, My brilliant friend, poverty, realistic, relationships, Wealth
The story of My Brilliant Friend revolves around the friendship of Elena and Lila, while also touching on the themes of gender, poverty, and class. Elena, the narrator of this book, is a studious girl who excels in school. She is a typical “good” girl who follows expectations and does what she is told. On […]
Posted in Blogs | Tagged with friendship, gender, poverty
“Women, they have minds, and they have souls, as well as just hearts. And they’ve got ambition, and they’ve got talent, as well as just beauty. I’m so sick of people saying that love is all a woman is fit for.” (Alcott, Little Women) A wearying message arrives to Elena: Her friend has vanished. Yet, […]
Posted in Blogs, Ferrante | Tagged with communism, duality, education, Feminism, girlhood, life, poverty, society, Womanhood
It’s my pleasure to end this class with this great book!!! “We grew up with a duty to make it difficult for others before they made it difficult for us” (37). In such a place, there is no genuine friendship between adults; they share only a common interest. The relationships between families appear relatively indifferent, […]
Posted in Blogs, Ferrante | Tagged with class, friendship, girl help girl, poverty, women
“After all, what is robbing a bank compared to founding one?” – Bertolt BrechtAfter reading halfway through this novel, I thought they were about to go back to this quote and relate to it, but nope. This book reminded me of the Netflix show, Mone…
