April 2022 – RMST 202

It’s crazy that we are wrapping up the course already! Thank you so much to Jon, Jennifer, and Patricio, for all the hard work and effort put into this course every week. This course was one of a kind and I’m so happy to have had the freedom to explore literature from the romance world.

My favourite books I read were Bonjour Tristesse, The Old Gringo, and Amulet, which is pretty surprising because they are all drastically different. The fast-paced family drama of Bonjour Tristesse is really what kind of book I expected from this course whereas The Old Gringo, and Amulet were more unexpected, powerful stories. I really enjoyed our class discussion of Bonjour Tristesse when we analyzed all the characters! It showed that the book wasn’t just a cliché romance plot set in the French summertime, it was deeply layered by the complex characters and their motives. Amulet definitely moved me because of it being based on a true story. Auxilios resilience and overall thirst for life through her friendships and poetry was really inspiring. Then set in the politically tense PRI era Mexico, it ended up moving me unlike any book in the course. The Old Gringo brought the aspects of both of my favourite books and brought it into one. Although the romance struck me as a little bit off putting, the journey of the old man as he ends up in an unlikely group of revolutionaries was exciting and intriguing. Although all of the books offered different perspectives, contexts, and stories, these 3 truly stood out to me.

At the beginning of the course one of my biggest concerns was translation and how that would effect the story. I’ve learned that some things simply can’t be translated as they lose their strong meaning. For example “Bonjour Tristesse” or “el pueblo unido jamás será vencido” (Amulet, p.75). But for the most part, the work of the translators has been seamless and the language difference didn’t have a negative effect on my reading experience. For the class, did any of you notice translation detriments in the books we read? Did that effect the way you read a certain book?

Overall, I’ve thoroughly enjoyed this course. I feel like now I’m not afraid to pick up translated books from all over the world, and i’m looking forward to reading more in the future 🙂

Thanks again for an amazing semester!!

Wow the final book! I’m glad Agualusas The Society of Reluctant Dreamers was my final read because it made my top 3 for sure. I was very interested to read a book set in Angola because unfortunately i’ve only ever learned about its colonial history and the Portuguese expansion so I can now say I know a little more about the country itself.

I found Agualusas narrative fairly easy to follow compared to our previous reads. Possibly because its more character driven or I just enjoyed the plot more. It mostly follows Daniel who is a struggling journalist in Angola during a time of transition (although he does make trips around South Africa and Brazil). I liked Daniel as a narrator because, unlike some of the books we’ve read, we get to know him really well and we get an insight into his childhood, early years, and his daughter through the many journal entries and letters. The italic journal aspect reminded me of Perecs W and The Memory of Childhood but rather than being two completely distant stories, the journals in Agualusa aided my understanding of the book more. I enjoyed this aspect a lot as it transported me further into the lives of the characters, I almost forgot this book was fiction.

In addition I felt so involved in this book, my emotions were all over the place. Some parts read as a comedy, others (especially the the story of Daniels beloved lion cub called Moshe Dayan pg.25-30, poor guy) almost made me cry. There were even pretty dark aspects (like Hossi’s history). Overall it was a very multi-faceted story that could get overwhelming very easily but I think Agualusa organized it very nicely.

I was really intrigued by the title The Society of Reluctant Dreamers and wanted to try and unpack the meaning. I think dreams are our most raw and real thoughts because we can’t control them, thats what makes them reluctant. Dreaming is a human characteristic that we all share. We don’t choose to dream and we can’t force ourselves to either. Dreaming can be euphoric but also traumatizing, it’s almost like a surrender, to dream. As a kid one of my biggest curiosities was why we dream, do they have any meaning or significance, do they predict the future? I still don’t know the answer to this but I also think that there is no answer. I think the quote on the introductory page says it best:

“Let us always remember that to dream is to look for ourselves” Bernardo Soares/ Fernando Pessoa

So, for my question to the class, I wanted to ask what does this quote mean to you? What do you think was the intention of the author of opening the book with it?

Month: April 2022

A Conclusion to Romance Studies

Thoughts on Agualusas The Society of Reluctant Dreamers