last post of rmst 202:(

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I can’t believe its my last post! I have throughly enjoyed this little community we’ve all created and reading everyone’s blogs. This course was so unique and probably one of my favourite courses I’ve taken! I’ve never done grade contracting before and was a bit hesitant when I contracted to read 11 books. But now that I’ve finished, I feel so proud of myself and definitely feel like a better reader than when I started this class.

I remember during the first week of school I felt so intimated by the amount of blog posts we had to do! I didn’t realize how fun and flexible they could be. I loved having this space to write whatever I felt and not worry that my interpretations were bad or wrong. It was such a nice reflective piece after reading and it felt like being in a giant book club! One of my roommates and I love reading and always try to read the same book at the same time. We have so much fun debriefing the book together and talking about our favourite or least favourite part. This class felt like those moments!

I think I have mastered the art of speed reading and knowing which aspects of a novel to focus on. I used to be a slow reader and I am very happy that I got this practice of reading a lot. Reading these books also never really felt like a chore and was a little routine for me. I go to Victoria almost every weekend, which requires an hour and a half boat ride. Those rides were reserved for this course and it felt so poetic reading these books as I made my voyage across the water.

I feel like one of the biggest things I learned from this course was understanding different perspectives. I usually read books that are set in North America or that are fantasy, so it was such a treat to read books from different places and cultures. I feel like I got a taste of what life is like in other places and learned a lot about the political/conflicts in other countries, like the civil war in Spain and the colonization in Angola. Also with the blog posts, I was regularly offered new perspectives from my classmates. It was so cool to read their thoughts and there was so many posts that helped me understand the books better and give me new insights I would have never thought of before.

My list of favourite books:

  • Book of Chameleons
  • The Shrouded Woman
  • The Lover

My least favourite:

  • Money to Burn

My final question is, what’s up next book wise? What book have you been putting off because we had our class readings? Mine is the third book in the Crescent City series!

I hope everyone has a great summer xx

Faces in the Crowd: possibly four books for the price of one!

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I can’t believe this was the last book of the class! Honestly, I didn’t enjoy reading it that much. I felt confused and disoriented. It wasn’t until the day after I finished it and watched the lecture video and read other people’s blog posts that I realized I actually did like it. This book is made up of many different parts, multiple narratives, POVs, and timelines. It’s when it all came together that I was able to sit back and actually fully be able to reflect on what I read. I’m definitely not 100% sure of everything, but I have an appreciation for the writing.

The young woman narrator starts off the book reflecting back on her years spent in New York. She lives like a ghost, not really inhabiting her apartment, or going anywhere but the office, the library, and the cemetery near where she lives. Her life “currently” is as a mother of two young children, who are never referred to by name, which I found odd and don’t know why we never got their names, who seem to suck the life out of her. It is in a similar way she feels like a ghost as well, only really “living” to take care of the children and rarely leaving her house.

It is also in a similar way in which Gilberto Owen’s, a Mexican poet that the young woman is interested in who resembles a ghost as well. He actually starts to fade away and doesn’t show up in photos! Their storylines seem to melt together as the book goes on, and I questioned who was the true narrator and at what timeline we were in.

There were continuous mentions of ghosts and dying through of the book, with both the young woman and Owen referring to how they died multiple times through out their lives. It is in this way the book gets its title, Faces in the Crowd, from a poem from Ezra Pound about seeing a dead friend in the subway. I got similar feelings from this book, like seeing a ghost slipping from your view. The young woman seems to invent the past and we don’t know what actually happened and what is true. Her memories and the narration feel like a far away memory that is fading from view, so much so that you can’t remember what is actually true or not (kind of similar to the way Owen experiences blindness and how he refers to life as rubbing him away).

They seem to be mirrors of each other in a way, the young woman and Owen. The woman sees Owen on the subway multiple times and later Owen sees a woman who resembles the young woman on the subway as well. They seem to trickle into each other’s lives, almost like a loop with no set beginning of end. Is it the young woman writing the story or is it Owen writing? I wrote down in my notes that they seem to each be writing about each other, without knowing it. They each haunt each others lives as well as mirror them.

The last few pages of the book stood out to me as well. Each part shorten and “switched” back and forth from the young woman to Owen’s very rapidly, almost like they were in discussion with each other. This is when the stories really melt into each other, where events in Owen’s life seem to bleed into the young woman’s. So much so that after reading the last line of the book, I was like, is Owen the husband of the young woman/the father of the children? While it was a bit confusing, I liked the effect it created and it was a very unique way of writing I have never experienced before. The ending felt almost satisfying in a way.

All in all, I feel like I have much more to say, but don’t know how to convey it. This book really made me think! It’s definitely not the type of book I would choose for a relaxing afternoon, but overall did enjoy reading it. I am looking forward to discussing it in class so I can get a better understanding!

My question for today refers back to the young woman and her husband. Did you also think Owen was the husband at the end? Did the husband actually go to Philadelphia or stay at home? Which parts of the story did you think the young woman was making up?

The book of transformation (and lies)

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I think this book is my favourite one I’ve read. I absolutely loved how unique the plot was and the language filled with beautiful description and intriguing characters. I love an “aha” moment when reading and this book did not fail me! While reading, I was curious about the title and how it would connect to the actual plot. I actually wrote down in my notes towards the end of reading “ohhhhh, all the characters are “chameleons” who can change and transform into something/someone else”. My moment of realization that each character, even the gecko, was a sort of chameleon of transformation, changing “colour” so to speak and able to morph into someone new. Obviously Jose Buchmann is the best example, but each character in the book displayed some sort of concealment. I really loved this aspect. Even Felix, the man who lives in the house the gecko inhabits is a figure of transformation – I picked out this lovely quote that encapsulates this, “a man who dealt in memories, a man who sold the past, clandestinely, the way other people deal in cocaine.” (description of Felix). I absolutely loved this idea. It totally changed the way I thought of history because it seemed that even important people, like government officials, people who enact change and are public figures, used Felix’s abilities. It made me wonder if someone like him existed in our world and how much of history is actually real?

There were also lots of mentions and even chapters dedicated to dreams. The line between reality and dreams seemed to be very thin for not only the gecko, but each character. We learn a lot about the gecko’s human past through dreams. Even reality seems to have a chameleon nature, an ability to transform into fiction. I often also have very intricate and vivid dreams, where I have trouble remembering if it actually happened or not. I too sometimes feel like a “chameleon” in that way.

I loved the language used in this book and how important description and imagery was to the text. The book to me felt like a warm hug or an embrace, and felt much easier to read than past books. I think this is also one of my reasons for liking it so much. Because of how it was structured into smaller chapters, it felt more digestable.

One thing I was a bit confused about was the time period. When I first starting reading, I got the impression the story was taking place maybe in the late 18th century or early 19th century. I think it was because of the description of things and the clothes the characters wore. I didn’t notice any of the newer technologies I associate with the time period it was actually in. I had to do some of my own calculations from Angela’s birth year, which was 1977 and then assume she was in her late twenties or so? I did not expect it to be in the 2000s though! I just got an old fashion feeling while reading and was surprised at the time it was set at.

I loved the ending as well. The format of a diary entry from Felix himself. I was sad at the death of the gecko though! I wonder what that means for his soul and whether or not “death” meant something else. I absolutely loved the last few lines as well -” I’m reminded of that black and white picture of Martin Luther King speaking to the crowd: / have a dream … He really should have said, “I made a dream.” If you think about it there’s a difference between having a dream and making a dream.Yes, I’ve made a dream. “. It was such a beautiful way to end the book about transformation! Instead of ‘having’ something, which infers that you had no part in it,   ;made /making’ implies the self, that we had something to do with the result.

My question for discussion is about Felix and his relationship with the gecko – do you think his dreams about the gecko being a human were purely fiction or was somehow the gecko influencing them? Also just for fun, would you consider yourself an animist? I think I would call myself one!

Money to Burn (not my favourite…)

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This week’s reading of “Money to Burn” was certainly an interesting one. I can’t say I loved reading it. I personally would not classify this as a thriller, for the scariest part was how vulgar and gross the men were. It was not enjoyable to read because of their disgusting sex lives and their views upon the world. Though I did like the style of narration, like a report of sorts, giving us lots of details about each person and giving each one a time to “shine”. The characters as well very very complex (crazy), but felt individual and unique.

I found myself struggling to finish this book because of how long the stand off between the gunmen and the police went on for. I could predict the ending and it kind of felt pointless to keep reading because I figured they would all die in the end anyway. This did not make for an easy read because I wasn’t hooked or wanting to keep reading to find out what happens.

I was definitely intrigued by the relationship between The Kid and The Blond Gaucho. At first I wondered if they were just friends or potentially lovers, as they were some references and slight mentions of homosexuality and interactions between them. I liked how they appeared to be the complete opposites, but acted as each others balancer. They were intertwined together, The Gaucho relied on The Kid to communicate and The Kid relied on The Gaucho’s mind. It was interesting to see how devoted they were to each other while killing ruthlessly  with no regard for anyone else. It helped make them feel more human as they both have immense love for each other.

One quote I wrote down was – “Money is just the same as drugs: what’s fundamental is its possession, knowing it’s there, touching it, checking it’s still in the cupboard,” (pg 30). Like their drugs, they rely on money to live. It is the driving force for the whole thing, the robbery, in the first place. I think that’s why it was so surprising at the end that they burned it. Although it wasn’t that crazy to me that they did such a unexpected thing, given that they were all high out of their mind. I’m pretty sure every line was something about them sorting or injecting cocaine!

On the note of burning the money, I do understand how upset people were about it, but it made me feel kind of yucky for some reason. The money seemed more important than the actual murders that the gunmen did! It wasn’t enough that they brutally killed like 10 people and placed much more in danger to make them “pure evil, but them burning the money made them ‘devils’? I think the killing is much worse than burning the money. While money is extremely important to our society, people and their lives are the whole part! Taking someone’s life away especially for a piece of paper we invented feels so pointless and horrible to me.

What did you all think of the relationship between The Kid and The Gaucho? Did it make you feel more sympathy for them or change your view of them individually?

The Lover – a reflection

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Despite this book’s uncomfortable age gap relationship, I really enjoyed reading it. The way Duras writes “The Lover” hooked me the entire time. Her descriptions of the environment, like Saigon, to each complex and rich character, I felt so immersed in this novel. My heart was in this one! I really loved the first sentence of both the first and second paragraphs. They were so ambiguous but so intriguing!

“One day, I was already old”

“Very early in my life it was too late.”

I also really appreciated the rich, while incredibly heartbreaking, depiction of mental illness. The mother obviously struggles immensely and her stability wavered all of Duras’ life. This affected the rest of her life so much and painted the whole novel with a little bit of tragicness. The line, “I tell him that when I was a child my mother’s unhappiness took the place of dreams.” (46) broke my heart! While her relationship with the man from Cholon is an important aspect of this novel, I found that Duras’ relationship with her Mother is more complex and attention-capturing. It remained such a persistent part of Duras’ soul, and her Mother’s sadness, which she stated multiple times she couldn’t name, shadows over every part of her life.

For being so young, Duras already experienced so much, but her affair with the man from Cholon ended any hope of another chance at childhood. I’ve actually seen a little bit of the movie they made from this book but didn’t realize the connection until I started to read. I’m not sure if I could watch the movie now after reading the book.

Place is so important in this text as well. Not only place as the environment, France or the colonies, Europe or Asia, but place in relation to social status, like social class. The man from Cholon is very rich and lives a lavish life. But despite his high economic status, there is still such a gap because of his race. When he takes Duras’ family out to dinner, they won’t even speak to him, they can’t be seen together in public, or get married (not taking into account the age difference of course!). Even though the older brother is poor and so much lower in economic class, there still is superiority with his whiteness, and that he uncomfortably asserts excessively. The writing really painted this divide vividly and helped me to understand the social landscape of Duras’ adolescence.

While I did like how the book switched from first to third person, it left me feeling confused a lot of the time. Around pages 87-90, I was unsure if Duras was writing about herself in the third person or about someone else. There were parts where I was like, is she pregnant? Did the man from Cholon kill himself? Obviously, he didn’t, but some things still feel unclear to me even after reading. I honestly would go back and read this again in like a month to see if I catch anything different.

I copied one quote down: “I am worn out with desire for Helene Lagonelle.” (73). This piqued my interest as it added another layer to Duras and made me wonder if this was sexual desire or maybe a desire in the same way she is “possessed” by the man from Cholon? I would love to hear what you all think about it!

See you in class:)

The hour of the star!!

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I loved how unique this book felt. It was like a story within a story filled with such rich thoughts and complex characters. To me, it was more about the characters than the actual plot. The narrator is literally talking to us. explaining how the book will go. It is such an interesting start to a book – like a preface or an explanation about the narrator and how he thinks. When I first started reading it, I got a sense that the narrator almost wanted to talk about himself more than the actual story and Macabea.

I feel pretty silly for thinking this, but until I watched both the lecture video and the conversation video, I thought Macabea was a real person and the narrator was writing her life story from observing her in real life. I was confused because every time he talked about loving Maca or eating what she ate, I thought he was physical with her. Then I had an Ohhhhh moment and realized she was just a character! this realization definitely changed how I initially read the book because through the whole introduction before the “story” even started, I thought the narrator wanted to write an almost biographical book about the real-life person of Maca. this book confused me because it felt so philosophical and read like a long prose poem, especially in the beginning. It almost felt like the narrator was going through an existential crisis. I also thought it was interesting that the psychic had predicted that the woman before Maca would be hit by a car, and then it was actually Maca who was hit literally right after her reading!

The more I think about the book, the more thoughts I have. It does a great job of showcasing Macabea’s life and character, and the challenges she faces as an impoverished woman. When reading, I thought Maca seemed like a simple girl with no fixed personality. But she did have dreams and wishes of her own and was a person, despite what the narrator said. Macabea just feels very real and raw to me. She is not someone I resonate with, but I can empathize with her and understand why she is the way she is. I also love collaging from magazines like she did with advertisements.

I know some people might dislike the ending for being so predictable or simple, but I liked it. Not that she died but the last two lines. At first, I didn’t understand them and was very confused about the reference to strawberry season. The yes is a direct reference back to the first sentence of the book, where the narrator states that it all started with a yes. I really loved this full-circle moment and how poetic the book felt. I’m a creative writing minor and noticed a lot of poetic themes. I mentioned above that the book felt like a prose poem, with all the deep topics on life and death. This book definitely hooked the poet in me!

One quote I absolutely loved was “My God, I just remembered that we die. But—but me too?!” ( pg 77). This line perfectly encapsulates the narrator and I feel like we all have that moment of realization that our time is limited and we will die.

Overall, this book deals with many heavy themes and rich characters. I really enjoyed reading it! My question for discussion is about the style of writing in this book. Did it hook you in from its uniqueness or just add confusion?

Time of the doves -motherhood and war

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Wow! This book was so heartwrenching but amazing! the character-building and descriptions were truly encapsulating. Natalia’s life was so beautifully captured, and I felt so immersed in the story. I’ll admit at the beginning I was not into the book that much because of Quimet and how much I disliked him. I was upset at Natalia for marrying him, but it’s not really her fault because he was a literal manipulator and abuser. But one thing I really admired about this book was how complex the characters were. Each person is not entirely painted as good or bad, even Quimet. Each person is described as individually deep and complex in their own way. I think in this way it made the story even more relatable and able to capture the heart of the reader. I know it captured me!

Doves were definitely a key part of this story and highlight the start of the darkest point in Natlalia’s life. Even the nickname Quimet gives her the first time they meet, Colometa, meaning little dove. this is almost like a warning of foreshadowing what Quimet’s presence will bring her. It’s a starting juxtaposition, the meaning of doves being freedom and how much they “chained” Natalia to a life she hated. Her “time of the doves” was her lowest point, and a time where she found herself shrinking away, Natalia says, “I felt like they’d emptied me out of myself and filled me with something very strange. (pg 30)

I was confused about what the war/revolution was that was taking place. I am unsure about a lot of history, especially about war, and I felt kind of lost during this part. I thought it had something to do with the poor revolting against the rich, but the words “red” and “fascism” were used which pointed me to a more political answer. This war and the absence of Quimet triggered Natalia’s intense struggle and the saddest part is that she is so desperate she plans to kill her children and herself to spare them. I took this quote from the text because it hit home how desperate Nat was and how much her family meant to her. “If we had to die we’d die together”(pg 86). Also, the quote “With their ribs sticking out and their bodies all lined with bright blue veins, I decided to kill them.” (pg 70). This part made me very sad.

I actually didn’t think there would be a “happy” ending for Nat, but the grocer was her saving grace. With his help, she was able to have a home again, and food to eat and to feed her children. I cannot even begin to imagine how that would feel, especially for the kids, to go from starving and dying to suddenly having your own room and a new set of everything. But this book truly captured the human spirit.

My question for discussion today is about Nat and her kids – would you do anything different than Nat? Would you send Toni away to camp or even plan to do what Nat would do with the acid? What lengths would you go to protect your children?

Deep Rivers

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This week I read Deep Rivers. While I did enjoy this reading, all the vivid descriptions, and the bits of information about Peru, I had a lot of trouble paying attention and finishing it. This book felt very long to me and at times I was unsure of what was really going on. I think it could have been all the Quechua words included in the text. This was such a cool way to learn about Peru and its landscape of people and history, but also incredibly confusing at times as it stopped my flow of reading. I would forget what the words would mean and just brush past them. But one thing I really enjoyed about this book was all that I learned about the culture of Peru and the indigenous (“Indians”) in the story. There was so much information about the social hierarchy and class of that time in Peru and how important religion and beliefs were to the people. Little Ernesto was almost the perfect narrating character because he was so likable and curious about everything. He was learning so much about the world as he was just a child, but as he learned so did we.

I felt kind of thrown into the story, it probably took me at least 30 pages to get a full sense of the story and an understanding of what was actually happening. One thing I was surprised about was the use of the word “awesome” on more than one occasion. Awesome just feels like such a modern and slang word. It really stuck out to me while reading because it’s hard to picture people almost 100 years ago using that word. On the note of language, this story is used beautifully. There was so much description, especially of the people around Ernesto, like all the boys he went to school with. That was one aspect that helped to ground me in the story when the plot confused me.

One quote that especially stuck out to me was “I used to weep. Who wouldn’t? But the Indians must be kept down. You can’t understand because you’re not a landowner.” (pg 164). This made me feel quite upset because it is basically an excuse for the slavery of the Indigenous people of Peru. I definitely think a theme of this reading was the butting heads of Christianity versus Indigenous, Quechua beliefs. This was highlighted through Ernesto and his relationship to both religions/beliefs. I was actually confused about whether or not Ernesto had Quechua heritage. I think his father was white, but there were some references to Ernesto not being white that made me have doubts. There was one quote that illustrated this; “You’re a little Indian, even though you look white! A little Indian, that’s all!” (pg 93). What did you think of Ernesto’s background? My other question would be about the ending. Do you think that Ernesto wanted to die from the plague? Did he stay in Abancay or go to The Old Man’s Hacienda?

See you all in class!

An Italian Summer- Agostino by Moravia

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This week I read Agostino and it definitely was something. The whole time I was kind of weirded out by Agostino, to be honest. I actually said out loud to myself at one point is this boy attracted to his mother?! Freud would have a field day. But I do understand that this is a sort of coming-of-age story of a boy maturing and growing up. Agostino is just starting to learn about the world and about sex and sexuality and it just so happens that he has a very confusing relationship with his mother. This book was set in such a picturesque place that it made all the uncomfortableness seem even worse. I was so creeped out by Saro, the old man who is like the leader of the little gang Agostino befriends, and the whole thing with the boat ride was uncomfortable. But as much as the book was uncomfortable, I did enjoy reading it. The language was so descriptive, especially when Agostino was describing his mother. I had such rich images of the story in my head.

I noticed right from the first paragraph the interesting relationship between Agostino and his mother. He goes from referring to her as his mother, then for basically the rest of the book, just the mother, and even at one point, just a woman. Even when he still loved and respected her, their relationship felt weird. It was like her being beautiful was something that he found pride in and her attention was the most important thing. After his friend meets with the other boys who tell Agostino about sex and rudely talk about his mother, it’s like a flip has been switched within him and his mother becomes this disgusting person to him. It is not as much that the mother is actually a disgusting or pathetic person, I think Agostino doesn’t know what to do with his newfound attraction to women and his sexual discovery. Maybe because he didn’t have a father figure he didn’t know that those sorts of feelings were normal? I’m not sure.

One quote that I picked out that fit Agostino quite well was, “he had sunk so low that he could no longer live without deceit and vexation” (pg 78). Agostino hates his “old” life and has a lot of distance from his childhood and mother after spending time with the boys on Vespucci beach. Agostino realizes how sheltered his old life was and he doesn’t even seem to understand prostitution after Tortima tells him about the house with the women.

Overall, this was certainly an interesting read, and my question for this reading is, was there a certain time when you felt your childhood had ended? How did this make you feel? Did you feel resentful like Agostino?

See you all in class!

Shrouded Woman

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I really really enjoyed this reading. I think it’s my favourite so far. I loved how much information was packed into the 60 pages, and how much we learned about the shrouded woman, Ana Maria’s life. The more I read, the more I realized it wasn’t just about the life of Ana Maria but was an attempt to ask significant questions about the essence of life, love, and death. At first, the movement between first person and third person confused me, but I think it meant to symbolize death taking her and how she no longer is a person in the same way as when she was alive. I personally loved the characters in this reading, every single one was so unique and in turn, was easy to tell apart. The dynamics of Ana Maria’s family were so clearly represented and each personality added a bit of humour to what you would think would be a sad tale of a woman after she dies. One quote I loved that perfectly encapsulates the text’s deepness is “Must we die in order to know certain things?” (pg 20). Here Ana Maria is, watching her loved ones react to her death, and reminiscing on her life. She’s getting the bird’s eye view of events, and truly seeing, as if for the first time, the ones closest to her. It’s almost like she’s getting closure on the past events of her life, especially near the end of the text when her husband finally comes to see her. She realizes she doesn’t hate him anymore and but doesn’t love him either. It is then she finally starts to fade away, potentially leaving the mortal realm and going to “heaven”. Ana Maria actually tries to get the hate back when she realizes that is what’s keeping her tied to life. I wrote down in my notes- is death not caring? Because it seemed that only once Ana Maria reached that point of indifference and peace, was she finally able to fully leave her body and for her spirit to be free. Another line I loved about this was, “She longs to let herself be borne backwards” (pg 34). I absolutely loved the imagery this line created and how beautifully it was phrased. I actually pictured her sinking into the earth from her bed.

Another character that piqued my interest was Maria Griselda. I ended up feeling bad for her, so my question for this post is what are your feelings toward the beauty? Should we feel bad for her because of how beautiful she is?