The society of reluctant dreamers, Agualusa I Think this book could be considered surrealist because it brings things that are not real into reality, in the way that Daniel is able to speak with different people throughout his dreams which is a thing I enjoyed a lot. Another thing I liked is how you can […]
Jose Eduardo Agualusa’s The Society of Reluctant Dreamers was a very interesting read. It felt surreal in one hand, but also had a lot of relatable, applicable lessons to take away as a reader. The first thing that stood out to me was protagonist Daniel Benchimol’s unstable state. Although in the early pages Benchimol stated […]
This novel had me spiralling fro numerous reasons; however, for the purpose of this blog post, I shall focus on the contrasting chapters alone. It is rare that I come across a reading that I relate to so closely and envy the author for their ability to encapsulate a rare feeling so vividly. The feeling […]
The Paris Peasant by Louis Aragon is a wonderful culmination of intricate surrealism and elaborate imagery. I found myself deep…
Louis Aragon’s Paris Peasant, at first glance, presents a deceiving title. On the surface it rings true: the main character is a middle class Parisian, a wanderer who is afforded the luxury to observe social institutions, characters and machinations, rarely without comment. Yet when peeling back the many layered onion that is the surrealist novel, […]
Film by Luis Buñuel and Salvador Dalí
In all honesty and transparency, this was a really challenging book for me to get through. I found it extremely confusing and almost always felt myself questioning what I was reading. Aragon’s words felt (for lack of better words) jumbled together as if we were listening to the constant thoughts and images running in his …
This week I was challenged with the novel Paris Peasant by Louis Aragon. Although I found myself struggling to find a plot, the key themes and meanings behind the text stood out to me and I think I was able … Continue reading
Louis Aragon’s Paris Peasant was certainly an easier read for me than Proust’s Swann’s Way was. I imagine it is to do with the translation, though of course the writing style of the original author. In fact, I found myself thinking about translation a lot while reading this book. There were parts that had very interesting metaphors and jokes that I would love to see in the original language. I especially noticed this in the F.M.R. section where even the translator made a note that the original pun worked so much better. I suppose this is one of the weaknesses of translation; you can never conserve all the layers of meaning within a word or a phrase because you always have to choose one. If you can find a way to make it work with more than one meaning then you’re lucky.
Louis Aragon’s Paris Peasant was certainly an easier read for me than Proust’s Swann’s Way was. I imagine it is to do with the translation, though of course the writing style of the original author. In fact, I found myself thinking about translation a lot while reading this book. There were parts that had very interesting metaphors and jokes that I would love to see in the original language. I especially noticed this in the F.M.R. section where even the translator made a note that the original pun worked so much better. I suppose this is one of the weaknesses of translation; you can never conserve all the layers of meaning within a word or a phrase because you always have to choose one. If you can find a way to make it work with more than one meaning then you’re lucky.
