Conclusion

I’m really glad I had the opportunity to take Romance studies and learn about the romance world. We read a lot of great novels and to be completely honest, I have never read that much in my life before. However, I am happy that I did because at the beginning of the semester I had …

Elena Ferrante’s My Brilliant friend

My Brilliant Friend by Elena Ferrante is a novel about the friendship between the narrator Elena and Lila. This novel follows many themes that we have noticed in previous readings such as childhood and memory. Although it seems like Elena is in competition with her best friend Lila, I believe Elena does care and looks …

Week 11: Amulet by Roberto Bolano

When the narrator Auxilio Lacuture began Amulet by describing that she was telling a horror story I thought it would be a story of a homicide or a murder mystery. But I was wrong, the horror Auxilio faced was much more painful than a murder mystery. Auxilio seems like a drifter, she has no concrete …

Week 9: Norman Manea’s The Trenchcoat

I found The Trenchcoat by Norman Manea to be a bit difficult. I felt lost at times and I was unsure of what was happening in the book at moments. The plot begins with a dinner party in which the guest feel awkward and obligated to be there. Perhaps because Ioana’s husband Ali is co-workers …

Week 8: Georges Perec, W, or the Memory of Childhood

W, or The Memory of Childhood By George Perec is a novel that contains two narratives at the same time. This is what initially made the novel sort of difficult to read for me read. It did begin to confuse me more and more when the narrations were not making sense of each other. However, …

Week 7: The Passion According to G.H

The Passion according to G.H by Clarice Lispector was disturbing yet intriguing. The way the novel is written allows the reader to experience what the narrator is experiencing. I found this novel very interesting because there were no other characters besides the protagonist and also because its entirety consists of internal dialogue. This is what …

Week 5: Agostino By Alberto Moravia

Agostino by Alberto Moravia was an interesting novel, to say the least! The protagonist Agostino who is around the age of puberty experiences unsettling feelings towards his mother during their holiday. The themes of sexuality are predominant in this short novel and they tend to override Agostino’s formation of thoughts which lead to his misfortunate …

Reflection on Proust’s Combray

The major themes surrounding Part 1 in Swann’s Way by Marcel Proust have many applications in our daily lives. For instance, memory and re-visiting earlier happier and even sad memories predominate Combray. From the narrator’s memories of his inability to sleep without his mother’s kisses to his attempt to understand the adult’s conversation and even …

Week 1: Introduction

Hello everyone! My name is Jaisleen and I am a second-year arts student. So far my major is undeclared however I do plan on majoring in Political science because I love learning about the way political structures and organizations impact us. I took this course to fulfil my literature requirement and blindly thought we would …