Week 13 – Conclusions

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Wow, time flew by kind of fast! I feel like compared to my other classes this one went by so fast…maybe because we only had to attend class once a week (not complaining). As I’m writing this blog post I realize just how engaging this class was, and that I’m going to miss it quite a bit. I liked how we got to engage with our classmates, the prof and TA through blog posts and in class discussion, it made learning a lot more interesting. If only all my classes were like….*sigh*.

Anyways, congratulations to everyone for reaching the end of this course! It doesn’t matter who read how many books because at the end of the day it was the engagement through blogs and class discussions, that mattered. Everyone brought forth their differing opinions and it was fun to see the different takes people had on the books. Thinking about it now, this class was like a fun book club and one that will be missed. I really hope I have a class similar to this, where I feel more engaged and connected to the syllabus.

Moreover, I think this course has helped me change the way I read and analyze books. Even books with stories that seem clear, always have more to them. You can always interpret stories in a different way and find “hidden messages”, you didn’t realize before. Also, taking this course helped me read some amazing books (not Borges) that I might not have chosen myself. I was able to step out of my “comfort zone” and experiment with different stories/genres. There were books I read that I never would have picked up from the bookshelf, so I’m glad this class allowed me explore those different books.

Lastly like many others I chose this class for my literature requirement. However, sometimes I would forget that this was a mandatory course because I had so much fun in it. I was able to explore my creativity in this course and think critically, in a non-forced way. I controlled the pace of my learning and what I wanted out of this course, which was greatly appreciated. Some classes can feel like a chore at times but this class was anything but that. I hope my future classes or discussions can be this riveting and engaging.

Thank you all for making this class so fun!

Final question: Is there a particular book we read that will stay engraved in your mind? If so, which book and why?

Week 13 – Fever Dream

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Huh?

This book lost me. It wasn’t as bad as Borges but I still felt lost and confused. I mean I think I understood the overall concept of the book but the little details here and there just confused me. I don’t know if I like or dislike this book, for me it’s just there, like something I don’t quite know how to feel about. I will say though, whether it was intended or not this book did a good job of making the reader feel uncomfortable and frustrated at times with the narration of the story.

Going back to how I felt reading the book, there was something about David’s character that made me feel uneasy. His interaction with Amanda was so strange and I always felt unnerved whenever he spoke. Everytime David said “that is not important”, I wanted to scream. Like why isn’t it important??? What do you know that we don’t know?? Every single time he said “that is not important” I anticipated something big to happen next because I had this uneasy feeling that there was going to be a big revelation. I don’t know what it was about David’s character that made me feel like we were playing a game, like somehow his mentions of certain details not being important, were all part of some kind of puzzle. It truly felt like David was playing a game with Amanda, like somehow he knew the end of the story but wanted Amanda to tell it. Maybe I just didn’t understand David as a character or maybe I just hated him. Either way his character was quite confusing and frustrating to me.

Moving on, the reason behind Amanda’s sickness was interesting. The idea that Amanda (and Nina) had been plagued by the poisonous water was a unique idea and wasn’t something I was expecting. Sometimes during the story I would forget that Amanda was sick, just because of the interaction between David and Amanda and how she was telling the story. I wish the importance of agriculture pesticides was explored more or mentioned more clearly during the book. Also, the symbolism behind the worms was interesting. They kind of represented the illness that was contracted from the pesticide spray in the water. Worms are tiny little things that grow and slither around you, without realizing, kind of like the illness that spread in Amanda.

Overall, this book was interesting and confusing, it truly felt like a fever dream. 

Question to think about: Why did the author chose to convey the importance of pesticide poisoning, in such a creepy and unnerving way? Did it add something more to story?

Week 12 – Papi

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I loved this book. The narration from a child’s perspective really made the story stand out, and had me hooked from the beginning. There’s just something about viewing the world from a child’s perspective that keeps you captivated with whatever story they have to tell. Thinking back to the other novels we have read, I would say the narration in this was far more believable. Children tend to be honest about what they see and experience, and while there were parts that were more fictitious, it wasn’t enough to make me second-guess the narration.

Moving on, I couldn’t help but think about the show Narcos, as I read the book. In the series (and in real life) Pablo Escobar was a notorious drug dealer, who committed other crimes (like murder) that no one but the people he sent to do the crime, knew about. In a way he was an enigma to his family, especially his daughter, just like Papi in the book. While we don’t learn or see much of his daughter throughout the series, I couldn’t help but picture her narrating this book. In the series she grows up with her father being absent most of the time, and doesn’t understand what kind of man he is. For example, when there’s a bombing at her house, that makes her lose hearing in one ear, she’s too young to realize it’s because of her father’s lifestyle that she gets injured. She kind of lives in this “bubble” that only exposes so much of her father. Anyways, I won’t go into further detail about this show but for those who haven’t seen it, I definitely recommend it.

Back to the book, there was something about the flow of the novel that made me feel slightly uneasy. At times it felt like we were getting somewhere with who Papi was, but then he would “disappear” and you began to feel lost again. It was kind of frustrating that his character was such an enigma, but it also added to the effect of what the narrator had to be feeling in the novel. I also couldn’t help but feel slightly unsettled by the way the narrator continued to love her father, despite the kind of man he was. He showed her his good and bad side, yet despite that she loved him. I guess this went to show just how much trauma she had from her father’s absence, and how she didn’t know how to deal with it. Overall, the book was an interesting read, and the elements of sadness and fantasy made it stand out.

Question to think about: Throughout the novel the narrator retells the story as a mix of make-belief and real events. Which got me wondering, do you think the “made-up” aspects of the story was a way for the narrator to deal with the trauma of having her father be an absent figure in her life? 

Week 11 – Distant Star

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This was an interesting book, definitely one of my favourites that we have read. It wasn’t what I was expecting, but I was pleasantly surprised. Something that really stood out to me was how different the overall writing style of the book was, in a way it was a lot less magical then the other books we have read. Also, I found the way the characters were written and the way the story was narrated to be quite interesting. I was definitely captivated by the way the story was progressing.

Throughout the novel I couldn’t help but fixate on two characters, Carlos Wieder and the narrator. I found Carlos to be such an interesting and complex character. He was seen and described as being a brilliant poet who wrote poetry when flying his airplane (which is so cool), and attracted a lot of admirers for his poetry. The way he is described makes him seem like a normal character, however when it’s later discovered that he is a serial killer, there is something new added to the story. Something I kept coming back to with his character was how you can’t really escape your past. It didn’t matter that Alberto changed his name and essentially started a new life for himself, he still couldn’t escape that desire or need to kill people and portray it in some way. I found it ironic how when he was known as Alberto, he was a mysterious poetry student that not many people knew too well, and then when he changed his name to Carlos, he became this famous poet. The attention and power he had as this brilliant person who writes poetry with his airplane in the sky, ended up becoming his downfall. In a way he became more corrupt as he grew more famous, and he allowed his true-self to be shown when he displayed those horrific photos. It seemed that Wieder/Ruiz-Tagle couldn’t escape his love for poetry…and killing.

Moving on from the character of Carlos, there is one piece of imagery that I haven’t been able to move on from, and that was Lorenzo’s attempted suicide. With everything else that was going on throughout, it felt kind of out of place to mention suicide, but also made sense at the same time. Regardless of that, the way it was described “Then he went under again. This time too he kept his eyes open: he turned his head calmly (as if under anaesthetic), looking for something, anything, as long as it was beautiful, to be his last memory.” (pg.81), was one of the most poetic lines written in the novel. This writing style and imagery was such a stark-contrast from overall writing in the book.

Question to think about: Why was poetry a central theme throughout the novel? The actual concept of poetry isn’t really expanded on, like actual poems, but instead its used as a foundation for the storyline. I’m just curious to know why Bolaño chose to use poetry, as a backdrop for a, relatively, dark-themed novel.

Week 10 – I, Rigoberta Menchú

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This was a difficult book to read. It wasn’t a piece of fiction that someone had conjured up, instead it was a recounting of an actual person’s story. Since Mama Blanca we hadn’t read a story that was based on a person’s life, so reading this was a bit hard to register because of the overall content. I know from the lecture it was mentioned that there might be parts in the book that were made up, but if we disregard that the content is still quite heavy. I think this might be the most “content” heavy book I will read in this class, and I don’t really know how I feel about it. I can’t really say I like or dislike this book, but what I will say is that it was the most emotionally taxing book so far.

There’s one line from the book that really got to me and has stayed in my head for a while. In chapter 13, the lines “I was very depressed about life because I thought, what would life be like when I grew up? I thought about my childhood and all the time that had passed.” (pg.176), is something I can’t forget. The quote itself seems so out of place, in the book. If you forget the context in which the quote was said, it seems like something that would be said in young adult book, movie or tv show. I feel like its a line everyone can relate to, I definitely started questioning my future before I turned 20 because I kept thinking about everything I hadn’t accomplished in the years before. The future felt so vague and scary, and I can’t imagine what it was like for Rigoberta. It was essentially a turning point in her life because, in my opinion, that’s when she started thinking who she is, in terms of her race and gender, and how she has the ability to make a difference. Or maybe I’m just reading too much into it…

Moreover, the books content having to do with discrimination and inequality was quite eye opening and moving. It’s not like race and discrimination isn’t talked about, but the way it was described here in such clear detail added another layer of realness, that you don’t get to read about often.

Question to think about: It was mentioned in the book that Rigoberta started becoming a leader within her community. However, it wasn’t until the deaths of her family members that really pushed her into being an activist. My question is, do you think that if members of her family hadn’t died she wouldn’t have become as big of an activist like this?

Week 9 – Captain Pantoja and the Special Service

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This was an interesting book. When I was choosing which books to read, the synopsis of this one seemed intriguing and it ended up being exactly that. The way the book was written was quite interesting, the comedic dialogue had an underlying layer of seriousness that made the overall book, satirical.

The character of Pantoja was so different and interesting to me, he isn’t like any character I’ve ever read. I found it so funny and ironic how at the start of the novel he wanted to uphold his principles and not take part in something he found to be ethically wrong. Yet, as time progressed he ended up becoming so committed to the job, like he sent out formal questionnaires to the soldiers to know who wanted the “service”. He took his role so seriously, that he even ended up taking part in the service by getting involved with Olga. Pantoja’s character was like those in movies and TV shows who don’t want to get involved in something, and then when they do, they’re too involved. It kind of reminded me of Narcos and the character Javier Peña, who in season 2 doesn’t want to get involved with the Cali Cartel but ends up working with them, and gets in too deep.

Furthermore, the whole concept and plot of the novel is interesting. Like the entire purpose of the Special Service is to satisfy the sexual desire of men, at a regularly appointed time. Just thinking about that is so humours. This desire that men, particularly the army men, have is kind of seen as a “weakness” that needs to be fulfilled in order for them to do their job correctly. I dunno, writing about this makes me laugh. I’m thinking about how I have a regular skin care routine that I need to do, to stop my acne from growing and for the army men they have this regular service that is supposed to stop there desire from growing. Moreover, it is interesting how this bureaucratic system was meant to control the desires of the men, but instead it ends up growing because of special “project” becomes popular.

Overall, this book was an interesting read and if it wasn’t so long I would read it again. I’m curious about the Llosa’s other works and might do a bit of research to see what other books he has written.

Question to think about: In the start Pantoja rejects carrying out the special project, and then ironically, he ends up taking part in it himself. Why do you think the author chose to have his character end up like that? Did having Pantoja give up his principles add something more to the overall story?

Week 8 – One Hundred Years of Solitude (Part 2)

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Well, I finished the book during the reading break, which in hindsight I realize was a bad idea.  I was struggling to figure out what to say this week, so I decided to just focus on the last chapter, which in all honesty was interesting but also kind of disappointing. There was a lot that was done in the last chapter that tied up the book, but also simultaneously left the reader wondering about the ending. Personally, I felt like the ending was kind of abrupt and that there was kind of a build-up throughout the novel that kind of fell through at the end. I don’t know what I was expecting because it was kind of obvious what was going to happen, but nonetheless it felt anti-climatic. I guess the “simple-ish” ending added to the realistic aspect of the book. In reality not everything has or needs a big, splashy ending. Anyways, besides the way the book ended there is one piece of imagery that I can’t forget, and that’s the ants.

When Ürsula and José had their child and it was born with the tail of a pig, I knew the kid was going to end up having the same fate as the rest of the family. However, I never anticipated for it to be so gruesome and quick. I expected there to be a mention of the kid growing up and dying or maybe just being forgotten about, but instead we get told that the baby was devoured by ants. The imagery from the lines “And then he saw the child. It was a dry and bloated bag of skin that all the ants in the world were dragging toward their holes along the stone path in the garden.” (pg.553), is so clear in my mind. I did not expect Márquez to write about a baby succumbing to such a brutal death, and I don’t think I’ll ever forget it. The imagery is just so haunting and it makes my skin crawl just thinking about it.

Overall, I would say this was a good book and I did enjoy it. I had read Márquez’s “Chronicle of a Death Foretold“, and didn’t really enjoy it but this book made me change my mind about his writing style. He really knows how to capture magic realism in such a beautiful way.

Question to think about: Every character dies a sad death at the end of the novel, however Márquez writes the most gruesome death for the newborn baby. Why do you think he chose to kill the baby like that? Did being eaten by ants add something more to the story?

Week 7 – One Hundred Years of Solitude (Part 1)

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I really enjoyed this book, it was an interesting read. There were times when I did get a bit lost or confused, but the confusion tended to dissipate as I continued reading. I also did have a hard time remembering which character was which, and who they were connected to, because all of the characters seemed jumbled up to me but also interconnected in a way, kind of like a spider’s web. With that being said, I had a hard time writing a blog post for this book. The story was relatively straightforward and there wasn’t all that much going on, yet somehow I couldn’t figure out what I wanted to say. After thinking about it for a long time, one big theme popped out to me in the novel and that was time and family.

All the characters in the novel are tied to their families history, which is unfortunately plagued with bad luck. It seems like no matter what they did, the characters would always be tethered to their family’s past, like there’s an invisible string (Taylor Swift reference) that cannot be broken and will force them to experience their own bad luck. This idea that everyone’s fates are predetermined adds an element of sadness for the reader, and it made me wish for some of the characters that the saying “family isn’t always blood”, was applicable in this story.

Furthermore, there was something captivating about reading a story where you knew the end of every characters story because despite that you kept hoping that someone would be able to escape the “curse”. There was also an added sense of realism because it showed that the past cannot always be escaped, which I think a lot of us can relate to. Anyways, with the idea of predetermined futures for the characters it made the story seem circular in a way. It seemed like a never ending cycle, where everyone was bounded to the same fate.

Also, a bit of a side-note but this book reminded me so much of the book East of Eden by John Steinbeck, maybe because I read it again recently. In that novel the characters tried to see if they could escape the evil in their family, similar to how the characters in this book were trying to escape their families history. For those of you who liked this book, or didn’t, I definitely recommend this book.

Question to think about: The idea that no one can escape their family’s past is a big theme throughout the novel. So, in your opinion why do you think Márquez created this world where every characters future is predetermined?

Week 6 – Pedro Paramo

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This was a somewhat confusing but welcomed read. Compared to last weeks Labyrinths, this book was a breath of fresh air. While nothing will ever be as confusing as last weeks read, I will say this book did come a close second. The narration between Juan and Pedro was confusing and a bit hard to follow because the timeline would go back and forth, without a clear separation. For those of you who have watched the show Dark, the jumps between timelines in this book were similar to those in the show. Anyways, I found myself paying really close attention to what was being said and to who was saying it. While I was reading it, I felt like I was essentially reading short stories that had to be pieced together, kind of like a puzzle. Once I was able to piece together what was happening my final conclusion was that the book was sad. When combining the story of the people in the ghost town, the kind of person Pedro was and how Juan would never get the chance to meet his father, all made the story so sad to read about.

It was sad to think about how Juan came to Comala with the determination and promise to his mother to find his father, only to find out through the dead townspeople that he died. When I first started the book I thought it would be about a son finding closure for his childhood without his dad. However, I felt it instead became a story about loss, death and hopelessness. It seemed to me that every character was living in a state of hopelessness that resulted in their death. With Pedro he lost his childhood crush and it put him into this state of despair, which made him cause destruction to those around him and it eventually costed him his life. For Juan he lost his mother and came to the town hoping to find his father and claim his inheritance, only to find out he is dead. It seemed like whatever the characters were hoping to achieve or gain, never happened and they ended up falling into a state of utter despair. The idea that whatever hope the characters had would only resulted in loss and hopelessness, added a sense of realism to the story. It really highlighted the fact that in life not everything we hope for can be achieved and that you can go through life living only in despair.

Question to think about: By using themes of hopelessness and despair, what do you think the author trying to convey throughout the story? That life can only be full of hopelessness?

Week 5 – Labyrinths

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I didn’t like this book. We’ve read some interesting pieces for far in this course, and I have to say this one was my least favourite. I had such a hard time following along with the stories and this book started feeling like something I had to read for the sake of this class, rather then it being something I wanted to read till the end to see what happens. I can honestly and confidently say that I did not understand this book at all and I am still having a hard time making any sense of it. There were so many themes and different things going on that it frustrated me so much, that nothing connected. I have so many negative thoughts going through my mind about these short stories, but I can’t seem to put them into words. The only thing I can say clearly is that I have feelings of resentment towards the author, for creating something so confusing.

While I do have negative feelings towards the book, I will say that its title “Labyrinths” truly encompasses the book. I felt like I was trying to navigate the different stories throughout the book, in search of a deeper meaning that would tell me exactly what Borges was trying to convey to the audience. What was his main goal? What kind of answers to a deeper question did these stories answer? While I was reading I got the feeling like I was trapped in a maze, looking for the exit, that would never be found. Another thing with the stories was that some of them seemed to be somewhat connected to each other and others did not, kind of like an actual maze where some paths are connected and others lead to dead-ends.

I will however say, the story The Shape of the Sword stood out to me and was essentially the only story that made sense to me. There was a sort of raw and realness to it and it was one of the few stories that brought out some kind of emotion from me. The style of storytelling between the narrator and Englishman was interesting to read because it felt like a real dialogue between two people who just met. Which was a nice change from Borges usual writing style (in my opinion). Furthermore, the conversation between the two characters was honest and raw, that I could see myself having a conversation like that with a friend. The line “Then a sob went through his body” (99), was something I could picture clearly in my mind and understand the emotion being conveyed in that moment. Overall, even though I didn’t enjoy the reading and found myself constantly frustrated, I will say that this particular story was intriguing and I thoroughly enjoyed it.

Question to think about: Do you think there was an underlying message behind these short stories? And if so what was it?