February 2026 – asma's blog

The Time of the Doves

I actually really liked The Time of the Doves, and it has probably been the easiest book for me to read so far. Not because it is light, because it definitely is not, but because the writing flows so naturally. It feels like someone is sitting across from you telling you their life story in a very honest and simple way.

What stood out to me the most was Natalia’s voice. The story feels so personal and intimate, like we are inside her thoughts the entire time. Even though the Spanish Civil War is happening in the background, the focus stays on her everyday life. We see her marriage, her children, her struggles with money, and the emotional weight she carries. That made the history feel more real to me. Instead of learning about politics or battles, we see how huge events quietly shape one ordinary woman’s life.

Quimet really frustrated me. From the very beginning, when he starts calling her Colometa, it feels like he slowly takes control of her identity. Natalia does not dramatically fight back. She just absorbs everything. Watching her slowly lose parts of herself was hard to read, but it was also what made the book so powerful. The pigeons especially felt symbolic to me. At first they seem harmless, almost romantic, but they quickly become overwhelming and suffocating, just like her situation.

Even though the book deals with heavy topics like war, control, and poverty, I never found it confusing or difficult to get through. The simplicity of the writing made it even more emotional. It is quiet, but it stays with you.

Discussion question: Do you think Natalia ever truly regains her sense of self by the end of the novel, or is she permanently shaped by everything she endured?

Nada Nada Nada

Reading Nada honestly felt kind of heavy, but in a way that stuck with me. It follows Andrea, a young woman who moves to Barcelona after the Spanish Civil War to start university. She shows up excited and hopeful, imagining this new chapter of her life, and then almost immediately that optimism gets crushed. The apartment she moves into with her family is tense, chaotic, and emotionally draining, and it really sets the tone for the whole book.

What really got me was how lonely Andrea feels the entire time. She’s never actually alone, but no one really sees her either. Her family is constantly arguing, holding onto resentment, and dealing with their own emotional mess, so there’s no space for warmth or care. The house feels loud and suffocating, yet somehow empty at the same time. It made me think about how loneliness can exist even when you’re surrounded by people.

Andrea herself felt very relatable. She’s quiet and observant, and she kind of just absorbs everything happening around her. She doesn’t dramatically rebel or confront anyone, but you can tell she’s trying to protect herself in small ways. Her friendship with Ena was such a breath of fresh air. Those moments felt lighter and almost hopeful, like a reminder that another kind of life might exist outside of that apartment.

I also really liked the way Laforet writes. Nothing is overexplained, and there aren’t big dramatic plot twists. Instead, the mood does all the work. The descriptions of the apartment and the city slowly build this feeling of exhaustion and emotional heaviness. Even though the war isn’t talked about constantly, you can feel its impact everywhere, especially in how broken and tense everyone seems.

Overall, Nada isn’t an easy or comforting read, but I’m really glad we read it. It captures that feeling of being young and hopeful, then realizing that adulthood and independence aren’t as freeing as you imagined. It’s quiet, sad, and very reflective, and it definitely stayed with me after I finished.

Discussion Question: do you think Andrea actually finds freedom at the end, or is she just leaving one difficult situation for another?

Recent Posts

Recent Comments

Archives

Categories