Amulet by Roberto Bolaño

This week’s reading was on Amulet by Roberto Bolaño. I was intrigued by the very first words in this book, “[i]n our misery we wanted to scream for help, but there was no one there to come to our aid” (Pertonius). This seemed like a very dark start compared to the previous book’s we’ve analyzed. Along with the first page starting with “[t]his is going to be a horror story. A story of murder, detection and horror” (p.1). I expected something completely different when i read the word murder and horror. I really enjoyed this book’s narrator. She said after this statement, “[b]ut it won’t appear to be, for the simple reason that I am the teller” (p.1). Initially, I was quite confused by what that entailed, but as the story went on her personality lighten the mood. I immediately read the narrator, Auxilio Lacouture with a rambling, humourous tone. This statement made me think of that was “[a]h, it makes me laugh to think about it now. It makes me want to cry? I saw it all and yet I didn’t see a thing. Am I making any sense?” (p. 22) Another moment that caught my attention of Auxilio’s personality was when she was remembering meeting Arturo’s mother for the first time (p.39). Overall, I found it really interesting how the author captured a female ‘s narrative through this character.

Auxilio’s experience of being trapped in the bathroom is something unimaginable. While reading this statement I felt the sense of panic and overwhelmed by varying emotions that she must’ve been feeling alone.

“But, Hey, I said to myself, all I need now is for it to be cold and a beret to drop on my head, and then I heard a voice saying something like, All clear, Sir, and five seconds later, someone, maybe the son of a bitch who had spoken before, opened the door of the bathroom and came in” (27).

After watching the lecture and reading the lecture transcript, I gathered why Auxilio was in this position. I’m used to the previous books we’ve read having an introduction especially if based off true events. I also found it really fascinating to have the lecture video feature a guest speaker, Ryan Long. I was really intrigued by the fact he shared, this author tends to reference his other books then you can make further connections of the characters or plots as you reread his novels.

Since the class discussion about The Time of the Doves’ title, I have been trying to analyze the significance behind them. So, my question I pose to the class is, why do you think Bolaño chose amulet as the title of this book? Do you think there’s another title that would be better suited?

W, or the Memory of Childhood by Georges Perec

This week’s read of Perec’s “W, or the Memory of Childhood” I found the most challenging so far to follow the story. Initially after reading the introduction, announcing there are two alternate texts I was intrigued. Despite my confusion with separating the two texts the change between italics helped me figure it out. Oddly enough, I also noticed that I am the type of person that mentally reads it in a different tone when it changes to italics.

One story was based on the fictional tale of W island while the other was an autobiography of the narrator’s childhood. I was more intrigued with the autobiography portion of this read. One part that stood out to me was when the narrator stated, “ I have no childhood memories” (pg.6). I felt sympathy for the narrator, no memories of his deceased parents would be challenging to recover from. On-Page 29,  it really hit me when the narrator said “I am comforted a little by knowing he possessed sensitivity and intelligence”. A common method for grief is to reflect and cherish the happy moments but I couldn’t imagine how to feel if I couldn’t remember any moments. Another part that stood out to me through the theme of memories is, “I don’t know where the break is in the threads that tie me to my childhood. Like everyone else, or almost everyone, I had a father and a mother, a potty, a cot, a rattle, and, later on, a bicycle which apparently I never mounted without screaming with terror at the mere thought that someone might try to raise or even remove the two small side-wheels which kept me stable. Like everyone else, I have forgotten everything about the earliest years of my existence” (pg.12). This quote made me think of my own childhood and how memories start to gap. I was fascinated by the concept of how something can seem so clear one moment but then the accuracy seems to fade as we remember. This then made me wonder is that what the narrator is trying to convey in the first part of the quote about the “break in the tie”.

There was a part of this read where it was a list of 26 things about his parents and family members. I found that section really interesting to read and especially this last sentence, “[t]heir memory is dead in writing; writing is the memory of their death and the assertion of my life” (pg. 42).

The questions I pose to the class, why do you think memories seem to fade over time? In this instance, do you think the narrator lost or chose to block out his childhood memories as a coping mechanism?

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