This book was simply just ‘okay’ in my opinion. Not the best but also not the worst. I think that it was written well however I just think that I don’t particularly find much interest in the subject and themes surrounding war. I often find that war books are so depressing and sad which obviously makes sense because war is such a difficult time for a society to go through but that doesn’t mean that I necessarily enjoy spending my time reading about it.
The way the author would only slowly reveal information in the book is an interesting concept. After reading past a certain point in the book it became clear that not only is the reader left out of a bunch of information, but also so is the narrator. Its a very interesting concept to have the reader unravel the plot and basically main story alongside the narrator.
It is mentioned early on in the novel that Maza would tell his story to pretty much any one that would listen. It’s cool to think of the way that Maza would have such a deep appreciation for Javier for spreading his story even after his time. After hearing about Maza and his journey I think that its definitely safe to say that he is someone who places a lot of value on having his story live on and feel like he has some sense of legacy that lives on. This becomes even more special and unique of a situation because this story is based loosely on true events and true people. I think that knowing these people have actually existed at some point in time makes this story so much more meaningful and interesting because its deepens the novels meaning by making it a normal story to being about someones life story.
Although it seems like the highlight of the novel is about Mazas’ story, a big portion of the story is also about Javier’s life and his struggles. At the beginning of the book it is introduced that Javier is very unhappy because of his personal life circumstances and because he had to give up his life as a fictional worker and become a journalist which isn’t something he is very happy about. My question for the class is: What significance did Mazas’ story play in Javiers life? Javier came across Mazas’ story at a bad pace in his life, do you think it helped him get his life together and give him passion for journalism?
Is this a “war book,” I wonder… I might argue that it’s actually a “peace book,” in that it’s interest is more in what happens after war is over, in the legacies of war, and in how people do (or don’t) make peace after a time of civil conflict. Perhaps this says something about the significance of Sánchez Mazas’s [NB his correct name by the way] story for Cercas?
Hi Daelyn! I definitely think that Mazas’s story was important to Cercas (the narrator) because it initially represented some search for absolute truth about history, sort of like how journalism wants to uncover truths about the contemporary world. In that sense, the interesting narrative Mazas’s story could provide might have driven Cercas to wanting to discover that truth, which I imagine ultimately taught him (and us in the process) some important truths about the knowability of history.
Hi Daelyn! I agree with you on the opinion that having characters who are based on real-life people adds a sense of relatability and deeper emotional connection to a text. This book wasn’t a complete hit with me either, but I believe that at the very least I gained some value in learning about a war and about the history of a country that I didn’t really know much about before picking up this book.