Aragon’s Paris Peasant

Hello everyone!

In this week’s post, I’m going to be reflecting on my reading of Louis Aragon’s Paris Peasant. I’ve been sitting here for the past 20 minutes or so after reading the novel trying to figure out if I liked it or not. I don’t know why it’s difficult for me to pinpoint exactly what my thoughts are about this text, but I keep going back and forth. I mean, there were definitely aspects of it I really liked such as Aragon’s ability to make everyday, mundane objects and activities seem far more interesting and exciting. His descriptions truly made me feel as though I was wandering around the city and being guided through Passage de L’Opéra. Despite his lengthy descriptions, there is still some sort of ambiguity surrounding the places he references such as when he describes the gardens and parks in Butts-Chaumont –very mysterious, yet very captivating. Moreover, I found the whole being “a-novel-that-was-not-a-novel” aspect of this text to be extremely intriguing and creative. I loved seeing the visuals pop up between the text as it gave the novel a journal/scrapbook feel which I enjoyed. They also helped in breaking up the extremely long descriptions and “stream of consciousness” style writing, almost like they were placed there to encourage the reader to pause and take a breath before continuing to read. Furthermore, I found they helped in creating more depth and pulling us, the readers, into the world and experiences Aragon writes about; making us feel as though we are actually there, rather than just reading about it.

However, having said that, similar to last week’s reading of Proust, this text also forced me to be okay with not fully understanding what is going on, and well, that is something I have yet to get comfortable with. I believe this has almost everything to do with the writing style. Both Aragon and Proust use a “thought-like” writing style where it feels as though they are simply transferring their train of thought onto paper. Although I do appreciate and admire the beautiful description and imagery created through this style of writing, I’m not sure whether I have the patience for it. Had there not been a fixed due date for me to read Proust’s Combray and Aragon’s Paris Peasant by, I don’t think I would have ever finished reading them. Even if I did, it most likely would have taken me months –if not longer– to actually get through either novel. Nonetheless, I know that when you do step back and fully immerse yourself into the words –like I attempted to do and feel as though may have only slightly accomplished–, that’s when you start to see the beauty in them. I will definitely be applying this thought more actively while reading the rest of the novels for this course (and otherwise!).

And lastly, for the question: What is something in your life that you tend to overlook, but when you take the time to really think about it/experience it, you realize that there is so much more meaning and beauty behind it? I chose to share this question because I find that both texts (Proust’s Swann’s Way [Part One: Combray] and Aragon’s Paris Peasant) seem to highlight and draw our attention to appreciating the beauties in everyday life.

: )