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Final Post

  At the start of this semester, I was unsure of what to expect from the texts. I was excited at the prospect of reading new books every week by authors that I would not have explored otherwise. This course allowed me to become acquainted with more cultures, literary movements, and geographical regions. Moreover, it allowed me to explore new themes such as betrayal, family, and death in unique ways.  I also thoroughly enjoyed the discussions in class because of the varying opinions that we got to explore. More than anything, I appreciated the fact that we were able to express all of our opinions, both negative and positive. I believe that allowed us to really understand the various layers of the text and analyze the texts in the best way possible. I also enjoyed writing the blog posts and how they allowed us to explore whichever part of the text we felt the strongest about.  The text that stood out to me from this course would be  The Shrouded Woman  by María Luisa Bombal. I enjoyed he
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Agualusa's The Society of Reluctant Dreamers

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
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Bolaño's Amulet

  " 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 unset
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Fuentes' 'The Old Gringo'

  I found Fuentes' novel,  The Old Gringo , a little bit hard to read. The plot was convoluted, and I didn't quite understand the nature of the relationship that most of the characters shared. However, reading the lecture notes definitely made me feel better because I realized that that was done intentionally.  Personally, I found the whole plot of the book kind of odd because of how the idea of the Mexican Revolution was romanticized in the old American's mind. For example, when the narrator likens being a gringo in Mexico and dying there to euthanasia, I felt like the old man was undermining the ramifications of the Mexican Revolution. This is somewhat reminiscent of how people tend to treat wars that do not concern them directly as something that could serve their pleasure. Moreover, he chose to insert himself into the situation at his age just to die in a blaze of glory.  Additionally, I was kind of uncomfortable with Harriet Winslow's role throughout the book. She
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Perec's '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 u
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Rodoreda's 'The Time of Doves'

  The Time of the Doves  by Mercè Rodoreda is a captivating story with a unique protagonist. Initially, I wasn't quite sure how I felt about Natalia, the narrator. My emotions swung from sympathy to shock to frustration while reading about her. However, as the book progressed, her character developed as she learned to adapt to her circumstances. Oddly enough, this made me enjoy the book even more. It was interesting to see how she navigated life in a begrudging marriage and during a war.  I found the dynamic that Rodoreda created between Natalia and Quimet symbolic of the traditional 'submissive woman/dominating man' dynamic. Quimet was a controlling man who more or less declared that Natalia would be his wife after one encounter in the town square. Additionally, he finds ways to measure up the pain that she has felt with himself to prove that she cannot outdo him in any way. This was evident when he compared having a tapeworm to childbirth, claiming that they had been thro
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Sagan's 'Bonjour Tristesse'

  Sagan's  Bonjour Tristesse  was an interesting read. I enjoyed reading about the privileged Cécile and her problems, more so because her issues seemed both superficial and deep simultaneously. While reading this text, I couldn't help but make parallels to Moravia's  Agostino  because of how the genders have reversed in Sagan's text. Cécile is more mature about her feelings for her father as opposed to Agostino, a boy at the verge of puberty. I found the bond between Cécile and her father quite interesting because of the possessiveness she has over her father and how she views him more as a friend than a father in most situations.  I was quite perplexed about what to feel for Anne, as our narrator herself kept swaying between love and hate for her. Initially, she was excited at the prospect of her joining them, but over time she grew more impatient with her because of Anne's need to 'fix' her. Moreover, it was hard to tell who was being 'dramatic' a
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