I see a steady decline in my enjoyment of these readings but it is much more blamed on final burnout rather than the quality of the books. I hope my blog posts continue to attempt to give them justice as we have discussed; the authors might not be bigger than us but their books are.
This novel written by Javier Cercas gives us introductory knowledge to the Spanish Civil War, setting the scene for the book and the tension it owes. The book is divided into three sections: one, how Cercas came to know of Rafael Sanchez Mazas’ story of perseverance; two, a first-person account of Mazas’ war experience and how he escaped his execution and three, how Cercas comes in contact with the soldier who allegedly spared Mazas’ life. I enjoyed that the book had references to reality and autobiographical passages that refer to historical figures relevant to the novel. It was almost difficult to follow whether or not the book contained hints of fiction, and if so, where were they? I enjoyed the way the text was written so that we, as readers, were walking through the text alongside the narrator. As though we were both unsuspecting of what was ahead of use. It truly enhanced the reading experience. This ties into our course theme of the surreal and the unreal and even reminded me of our reading by Perec titled W, or the memory of childhood. Our current reading narrates tales of the past in order to keep these stories alive, to remember relevant names and to extract lessons. The story is cut into different sections, all with a different purpose much like Perec’s text. the switch between the unreal and the real to give us a sense of reality and grant weight to the text but to also allow us some subjectivity in our reading; to freely ask questions and think critically about the texts implications and intentions.
I enjoyed how this text instilled in me the feeling that fiction and non-fiction are distinguishable by fact and fact alone. Reading fiction allows us to reflect on our reality and non-fiction contains an element of fantasy or fiction. I have always felt that we are characters in someone’s story and inspiration for a world that is yet to exist. I appreciate this text for reminding us of that.
Do you feel in a state of surrealism often and do you delve into it or disregard it?
“I see a steady decline in my enjoyment of these readings but it is much more blamed on final burnout rather than the quality of the books.”
Oh, I’m sorry to hear that! But you can do it… just a couple more weeks!
“Reading fiction allows us to reflect on our reality and non-fiction contains an element of fantasy or fiction.”
I would also add that Cercas is equally interested in what both fiction and non-fiction miss… the secrets of history, or the “unsayable” that, he argues (in almost the same terms… on pages 118 and 244), is “what rules us or makes us live or matters.”
Hi! I can definitely relate to feeling confused about whether certain aspects of the novel were real or not! The fact that the novel featured real life individuals as characters and even a protagonist who shares the same name as the author really blurred the lines between fact and fiction!
Hi Suroor,
I can empathize with how you’re feeling about the books; I am slightly feeling the burnout too lol. Anyways, I think that the idea you mention about how Cercas’ text allows for subjectivity and for us to question the text’s intentions; I think that is always a super interesting concept, thus why I absolutely love novels written from the perspective of an unreliable narrator. However, I personally felt that the connection just wasn’t there for me in this novel. The contents of the novel did have me questioning certain aspects of what is factual and fictitious, but did not leave me ‘changed’ as a reader; I don’t think that novels really need to invoke a ‘changing’ type of sense in its readers, but I didn’t really love the story. Also, to speak to your question that you pose about surrealism; I looove surrealism (in healthy doses lol, and when Im in the mood for it). Especially in artistic contexts, I love delving into the meanings (or made-up non-meanings, if that makes sense lol) of paintings. I think that could also totally be applied to when reading novels.
“I have always felt that we are characters in someone’s story and inspiration for a world that is yet to exist.”
I really like this! It reminds me of the interconnectedness of real and surreal, and the relationship this connection has with fiction and non-fiction. I also think that the book hinted at the “fiction” by including Bolano’s advice for Cercas (the main character) to make up an interview. His quote that all stories are true to the readers hinted at fiction, while also opening an interesting thought that a what is real or unreal isn’t quite distinguishable in the literary world.
– Daniel Choi
“I enjoyed how this text instilled in me the feeling that fiction and non-fiction are distinguishable by fact and fact alone. Reading fiction allows us to reflect on our reality and non-fiction contains an element of fantasy or fiction. I have always felt that we are characters in someone’s story and inspiration for a world that is yet to exist. I appreciate this text for reminding us of that.”
It’s interesting you say this because I truly believe that there is no objective history. I was assigned a reading on historiography for a religion class and the idea that historians can always be objective when narrating historical facts is simply not possible because they weave bits of historical facts the way they want, and not necessarily how the actual events unfolded. Also, sometimes the line between fiction and non-fiction is blurry and sometimes fiction is more believable than non-fiction. Also, sometimes fiction is an attempt to say the unsayable in a different way.
Hello! I think that when I am expecting something to be in a state of surrealism, it’s easier for me to embrace it and allow myself to be wrapped up in the confusion and the other-wordly feeling of it. However, when it takes me by surprise, I’m left feeling frustrated that I can’t line everything up in a neat, ordered line. This book confused me at first but eventually, after I realized that there’s no way for me to clearly distinguish fact from fiction, I leaned into it and was able to appreciate it more.