War and poverty has sucked the life out of these people. Even Cintet “…said how sad he was that peaceful, happy people like us had gotten mixed up in a piece of history like that” (pg. 63). Even as Natalia goes about her life without the passionate revolutionary feelings that Quimet possesses, war impacts her […]
I’m feeling a frenzy of emotions right now, I don’t know what to write about. Maybe because I’m in forestry where they don’t believe in heating??? My hands are frozen but I’m kinda sweating too? And I’m hungry. Really craving baby octopuses right now but I’ll settle for some Tims hash browns. First thoughts were […]
Mercè Rodoreda, 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…
I have to say, I really did like the writing style, it was the only thing that got me through most of it because the length (Last minute reading) was kind of intimidating. While there were a lot of things I loved about this story, I also realized that books ragebait me way too easily […]
This book left me feeling quite despairing. I knew we were going to lose M’man Tine as soon as things started looking up for José but it still devastated me. She fought so hard for that boy, and he in turn was kept going with the hope of making her life better when he finished […]
Black Shack Alley follows author José growing up in 1930s Martinique. The story is split into three parts, and each part follows José in a different stage of his childhood, in a different place. First of all, I really loved José’s grandma’s character in the book. I like how she’s portrayed as kind of […]
Kinda ranted in this one…
Question: Is education truly freedom if you have to give up yourself to get it?
-LS
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 […]
