Month: January 2026

I keep changing my mind on whether I liked the second part of the book better or the first. At first, I did not like the book at all but I feel like I’m getting used to it now. Now that I’ve read more of the book I’m starting to like the first half of the book better than the later even though I didn’t initially like it. I liked the journal style entries that Garcia Madero provided because it felt easy to read. The interview style of writing is also kind of nice because it provides more people’s perspective rather than just Garcia Madero. It gives the feeling of being inside all these different character’s heads rather than just Garcia Madero’s subconscious thoughts. However, I think I liked Garcia Madero’s journal entries more. I also feel like including the city with the dates along with the names make it feel like an important interview being recorded and it feels very professional as if it can be used like a historical record. But despite the title and names I’m struggling to keep up with all the different narratives.

Consequently, I find it kind of hard to write about this book because I really just have no idea what to write. Unlike Shadows of the Wind where it’s hard to put the book down with the Savage Detective it feels like I’m not reading it as I should. I know that sounds odd but I feel like I’m probably missing some key details or I’m missing something important that I should have grasped. I feel like a detective trying to connect the dots with all the details given. And the thing about all the characters is that I feel like there are so many of them that I start to forget who is who and what story or details belong to which person. It certainly does not help that I have a terrible memory.

 “But the truth is that I only slept with Ernesto a few times, so why should it be my fault if people got all worked up over nothing? I also slept with Maria Font, and Arturo Belano had a problem with that. And I would’ve slept with Luis Rosado that night and then Arthur Belano would’ve kicked me out of the group.” Page 152. 

It’s kind of crazy how sex with multiple women is so normalized in this book. This quote shows an example from Luscious Skin’s interview where he says how he’s slept with multiple women. Even in my previous blog post I mentioned how Garcia Madero kept going from women to women. For example, the waitress and Maria. This seems to be a recurring theme in the book and it makes me question whether this was not frowned upon during that time period? Like I know in today’s day and time cheating has become so normalized even though it’s frowned upon so was this the case then too. Or is it just that Bolano has some weird obsession with the intimacy shown in his book. 

Discussion Question: Do you think there’s a reason why we are hardly shown any poems even though that’s what the visceral realists are supposed to be about?

Hi Guys!

The book I have chosen is The Shadow of the Wind by Carlos Ruiz Zafon

My initial reaction to this book was that I actually think I like it and will enjoy it. I have been reading a lot of literature recently and a lot of it is boring and hard to understand. Therefore, this book was a good change because not only was it significantly easier to understand but it was also quite interesting. The book starts off with the protagonist being taken to the cemetery of forgotten books. At first, I was like what is that even but turns out it’s a secret library and I love books with mystery and this gave off that exact energy. However, I was confused on why it is called the cemetery of forgotten books. 

The part that stood out to me was that Daniel’s dad says, “This is a place of mystery, a sanctuary.” “Every book, every volume you see here, has a soul.” I found this meaningful and it made me think deeply about any book we read. It made me think about how each time I pick up a book from the library its spirit is growing. At the cemetery of forgotten books, Daniel’s dad told him to pick out one book and he ended up picking out “The Shadow of the Wind by Carax.”

The part that further intrigued me was when Barcelo told Daniel that he has the last copy of Carax’s novel. It made me wonder why the rest of the copies were burned and what is so special about this book that Barcelo is treating it like silk. Additionally, Carax going missing and people not knowing if he died or fled kept the storyline more interesting. However, the odd part here was Daniel’s interest in Clara who is Barcelo’s niece. I found this odd because she says she is almost twice his age meaning he is a minor while she is an adult. 

Apart from that, I believe each part of the book kept me hooked and I wanted to keep reading to see what happens next. For instance, the part where Daniel was standing on the balcony and saw a figure out in the dark who was non-chalantly smoking. Then he mentions that this exact scenario took place in the book by Carax; however, the figure in the book was the devil. It made me curious about who that figure could be and made me want to keep reading. Furthermore, when Clara would share with Daniel that a stranger questions her about him it made me question whether it could have been the same figure who was watching him on the balcony. 

Each part contributed to the bigger story and it keeped me hooked to the plot and it was something I really enjoyed reading. I can’t wait to continue reading it.

Discussion Question: What do you think is the significance of the Cemetery of forgotten books and why was Daniel told to keep it a secret?

Hi Everyone!

My initial reaction to the book was that it is boring and I have no idea how I will be able to get through all the pages. I’m not quite used to reading this genre of books and it certainly does not help that I have a terrible attention span. However, what I did like was that the story was told through Garcia Madero’s diary as this journal entry style made it easier to read. However, at times it felt very personal and I felt like I was invading his privacy even reading it.

For example, his sexual scenes were very descriptive and it was weird how he kept going from girl to girl. First it was the waitress in the storage room, then Maria, and then he was also thinking about Angelica. A lot of the details he mentioned felt irrelevant. It felt as if any woman he talked to the only thing he cared about or wanted from them is sex. He also acts like he is “the man” and is above others around him but he just is not. For example, when Garcia Madero, Maria, and Lupe were walking and Maria said, “If Lupe’s pimp shows up you’re defending us.” He thought he would be able to impress Maria but later goes on to say he hopes he doesn’t show up after hearing about him.

It made me wonder if the author intended to make him so unbearable and unlikeable. Although I’m not surprised that a seventeen year old boy is sexist, it was definitely unpleasant to read. As the book went on, it felt less about the visceral realists and the poetry movement and more about the personal story of Garcia Madero’s personality change. Even when the poets did meet up there wasn’t much discussing poems or how to advance the movement. Another aspect I did not like was that it felt like there were so many names and people being thrown at me that I was not able to keep up with who is who and who serves what purpose.

Furthermore, he mentions how he only went to Law school because of his Aunt and Uncle however, his passion lies in Literature and Poetry. This resonated with me because I majored in Political Science to get into Law School because of peer pressure and I honestly do not want to go to law school whatsoever.

Hi everyone! My name is Diljot K. Ghuman and I am currently  in my fourth year. I am studying Political Science at UBC and I hope to finish my degree soon. I had initially wanted to pursue Law however, now that I’m towards the end of my degree I’m unsure if that is still the route that I would like to take. Nonetheless, I love what I am currently studying as it keeps me up to date with what is happening all around the world and the new policy’s being proposed.

A bit about me is that I was born and raised in Surrey and I grew up playing soccer for Surrey FC. Whenever I get time, I still go to Newton Athletic Park and play around with my friends. Sports have been a big part of my life and apart from soccer I have played Basketball, Volleyball, Ball Hockey for my school team throughout high school. I also used to do Karate and that is something I hope to pick up again soon. I’m currently a Screening Officer at YVR airport and I work there on the weekends. In my free time, I like to play golf and I love doing outdoor activities. I love to try out new cafes and restaurants with my friends.

I have recently started a book club in which we have monthly meetings and we try reading different genres. My favorite genre is romance and some of my favorites are Call It What You Want and Picking Daisy’s on Sundays. When I initially took this class, I thought we would be reading about romance, however, I quickly realized it is more romance literature and romance languages. This will be quite different from the readings I’m used to doing so I believe it will be challenging, however, I think it will also be fun and beneficial as I will be learning a new skill. My expectations for this class are to be able to read difficult text and actually be able to understand it. A lot of the time I’ll be reading something and I’ll have to reread it several times before I’m able to fully comprehend what the text is saying. I hope this class will help me learn skills to be able to comprehend text in the first try. Furthermore, I’m looking forward to reading the book and I like the idea of reading or getting to choose one book of your choice. The book I have chosen is The Shadow of the Wind.