I felt uneasy when reading through all the thoughts that spiraled in Natalia’s head, all indicating the pent-up and unprocessed trauma she had faced and continues to face. The ending, however, makes a decent attempt to grant this hero her own happy ending, thus calming my nerves down a little.
The title itself made me wonder about the importance of the doves in this novel. The doves were introduced as very filthy birds who had essentially made Natalia their servant as she would go around cleaning, feeding, and taking care of them. Her husband, Quimet, was absolutely horrible. That was literally the first thing that came to my mind as it introduced him. I was shaken at the thought that Natalia was staying with him even after how badly she was being treated. With no respect for her personal space, both literally and figuratively, where the doves kept crowding her house and where his insecurities would prevent her from even enjoying a few moments shared with her friends. It showed his possessive nature and how he truly felt as though he had a right over her. The number of red flags that showed every time he would be in the scene was unbearable at times. His character alone had the ability to make me stop reading, but, alas, I had committed to finishing it, so I continued on.
One of the most disturbing parts of the novel for me was when Natalia decides to kill her own children because she didn’t want them to be living in those horrible conditions. Her intentions to harm the dove eggs kind of foreshadowed this decision because she seems quite serious about following through with it. It’s by God’s grace that she meets Antoni who gives her and her children a better life for if no one were to come around, I’m sure she would have gone forth with the initial decision. I remember just trying to imagine what it must be like for a mother to have to consider killing her own flesh and blood, it’s just unfathomable to me. I understand the helplessness and her desire to take them out of the suffering, but the guilt she would have had from her actions would have been far too all-consuming for her to go forward with it.
I can say that even though I was fairly excited for this book to be a wild ride, I certainly didn’t expect the twist and turns. The ending made it all worth it tho :))
My question is how do you think Natalia’s character would have developed had she found a guy similar to Quimet’s friend?
Jon
March 1, 2022 — 1:47 am
You guys are so hard on Quimet! But what attracts Natalia to him? Do we think of him differently after he goes away and is later killed?
Xiang Li
March 1, 2022 — 5:15 am
hi, Vidushi! I also had a similar impression of Quimet and Doves to yours while reading this book. The pigeons initially seemed to bring excitement and hope to life, but later they made Natalia’s life even more chaotic. For your question, I don’t think Natalia’s life will change much because she was innocent when she was not suffering, and this innocence will inevitably bring similar suffering to her in the future.
suroor mansouri
March 1, 2022 — 3:31 pm
Haha! I love the way you just went in on Quimet. I can’t say he doesn’t deserve it because with every protagonist, there is a under-lying antagonist and Quimet was no supporting character. However, do you think applying the same empathy we gave Natalia to Quimet would change anything? It seems shes content enough to stay with him and have his children. Team #ScrewQuimet though
rebecca chan
March 2, 2022 — 1:14 pm
Hi Vidushi! I totally agree with your thoughts about Quimet. He really is a walking red flag! To answer your question, if Natalie would have been a lot happier if she wasn’t in the toxic environment that Quimet created.
jada bekar
March 2, 2022 — 5:01 pm
Hi there,
Your question is quite thought provoking! How I would respond to this ties to your description of Quimet. With his possessive and controlling tendencies, Natalia’s identity becomes lost in his ideologies, desires, and values. It would be interesting to see how Natalia’s character would have developed without the strong influence of Quimet. I feel like she was truly lost in him and her trauma carried that on even after his death.
ashvi ivan
March 2, 2022 — 9:39 pm
Hi! I absolutely agree with your views on Quimet. It seemed like Quimet was so controlling and self-centered that everyone around him had to work around him. This is especially the case with Natalia who had to lead her life based on Quimet’s decisions.
If Natalia was not so busy revolving her life and every decision around Quimet’s decisions, she probably would have had a different character trajectory. We see her character changing even with the introduction of Antonio who is much more considerate.
Aquila Underwood
March 2, 2022 — 11:11 pm
Hello! I loved reading your response, it echoed a lot of my own feelings exactly. I also totally agree on your views of Quimet. I don’t think anything can really excuse his acts of abuse, sure in other parts of his life he could be an okay guy but really we never see him doing anything good other than providing food and money every now and then. There also seems to be no reason that Quimet acts the way he does so I find it near impossible to sympathise with him – especially as everything that harms him seems to be his own doing (or fake). Honestly though, I think this story would not have existed without Quimet, he is such a large part of what drives Natalia to extremes and creates the sickening/stifling atmosphere thorughout the story.
Danielle
March 3, 2022 — 12:00 am
Hi Vidushi,
I really enjoyed reading your post! I totally agree haha Quimet is actually the worst.. I was so angry while reading the book! I think that the title Time of the Doves is significant because when Natalia first met Quimet, he nicknamed her the word that meant dove. I think that “dove” seems like a rather affectionate nickname but as time went on, she realizes that what she expected out of her marriage did not happen— he did not respect her nor cherish her as one would a beautiful, pure dove.
ASTHAKUMAR
March 3, 2022 — 12:52 am
Great post Vidushi! To answer your question, I think more should’ve been implicitly or explicitly mentioned about the reasoning behind Natalia’s choices to know for sure. But at some points, I felt like Natalia needed a man by her side (no matter what kind) to make her feel whole, or complete..or perhaps fit into the “ideal type” she imagined for herself.
ASTHAKUMAR
March 3, 2022 — 12:54 am
Great post!
To answer your question, I feel like more could be said in the book about the “why” behind Natalia’s actions. Nevertheless, I feel like her character needed a man to feel whole, or complete. Alternatively, to fit into an “ideal” image she had of herself, so it wouldn’t matter what kind of man, per se.
Spencer Hunt
March 3, 2022 — 10:47 am
Hi Vidushi, I really enjoyed your post. I agree with you Quimet was terrible. I think what made Natalia choose him was her inability to think for herself. In the beginning, Natalia was very uncertain of who she was. And when Quimet said “we are going to marry” she just did what she was told.
Taia O'Neill
March 4, 2022 — 2:50 pm
Hi,
I really enjoyed your blog post. To answer your question, I think that she would have developed more positivity and would be a lot happier if she found a guy similar to Quimet’s friend, but at the end of the day it just depends on the plot and how things in life would go.