Hi, everyone. Welcome to the week 11 blog. The cherry blossoms in UBC are in bloom. I wonder if you have gone to see them, they are really beautiful. I took a lot of photos! OK, Back to the book. This week I read “The Book of Chameleons” whic…
“The Book of Chameleons” explores at identity and memory in post-colonial Angola through a captivating blend of magical realism and historical fiction. José Eduardo Agualusa creates a story full of symbolism and reflection via the protagonist Félix Ventura’s journey of self-discovery. A fascinating and thought-provoking book, the novel explores the power of narratives to alter […]
Posted in Blogs | Tagged with quest, reality, self-identity
I would have never guessed that this week I’d end up reading a book that’s narrated by a gecko. But I will say it didn’t disappoint. The Book of Chameleons engaged me within the first pages. The descriptions and imagery were intricate and beautiful. I think I would love to live in Félix’s house from […]
Posted in Agualusa, Blogs | Tagged with Dreams, past, reality
“Félix Ventura. Guarantee your children a better past.” (Agualusa, 16) In José Eduardo Agualusa’s “The Book of Chameleons,” reality is not a fixed entity but a malleable construct, subject to manipulation and reinterpretation. At the heart of this captivating narrative lies Félix Ventura, a peculiar character who deals in an extraordinary commodity: he crafts pasts […]
Posted in Agualusa, Blogs | Tagged with Deception, identity, Natural World, reality, truth
Hello everyone! This week’s book is The Hour of the Star by Clarice Lispector, a short text that follows the diary or stream of consciousness of a narrator, Rodrigo, writing about a girl he had seen, Macabéa. Frequently, the narrator would questi…
Posted in Blogs, Lispector | Tagged with class, poverty, reality
Hello everyone! This week’s book is The Hour of the Star by Clarice Lispector, a short text that follows the diary or stream of consciousness of a narrator, Rodrigo, writing about a girl he had seen, Macabéa. Frequently, the narrator would questi…
Posted in Blogs, Lispector | Tagged with class, poverty, reality
The Hour of the Star by Clarice Lispector is the shortest novella I’ve read, and I thought it was unique, but also weird. In this story, there are two narrative storylines, the first line is the narration from Rodrigo S.M.’s point of view. Rodrigo S.M. is a male writer who seems to be bored with life […]
Posted in Blogs | Tagged with Clarice Lispector, death, ending, poverty, reality, tragedy
This week’s novel Black Shack Alley by Joseph Zobel talks about the life of the main narrator José who lives with M’man Tine. This novel uses a linear narrative to tell the story of his experiences in Black Shack Alley and pursuing education to address the problem of colonialism, racialization and class inequality. I wanted […]
Posted in Blogs | Tagged with black, education, Joseph Zobel, life, love, race, reality
Hey everyone! I’m really excited to talk about this week’s reading, “The Shrouded Woman” by Maria Luisa Bombal. Firstly, the themes that were covered in general were super intriguing to me. I love thinking about life, love and the afterlife on my own time and am generally a fairly existential thinker so I personally really […]
Posted in Blogs, Bombal | Tagged with desire, Dreams, family, life, memory, perspective, reality, temporality
Nadja was a book I wouldn’t typically pick up outside of a classroom setting, and it definitely made for an interesting read. The story follows André Breton,the author, as he recounts his encounters with a mysterious woman named Nadja. The book i…
Posted in Blogs | Tagged with nadja, reality, Surrealism
