Month: January 2026

Categories
The Shrouded Woman

Someone needs to make a tragic telenovela inspired by this book ASAP

Hi blog!!

Bombal’s Shrouded Woman made me feel like I was back at home, being made to watch the evening novelas (the Portuguese word for telenovelas) when my grandma visited our house. What an experience!!

I need to start off by saying that the point of view from which we read this book is genuinely one of the coolest POVs I’ve read from. The changes in time throughout the scenes confused me a bit, but I got used to it. It is such a creative choice, and it works so beautifully.

Onto my thoughts on the actual story. Throughout my reading, I felt like I was watching different characters go through very similar, if not the same exact, cycles our main character goes through in her life. For example, we have Ana Maria and Ricardo’s relationship repeating itself through Anita and Rodolfo. For Ana Maria and Ricardo, we had a teenage infatuation that ended up being one-sided on Ana Maria’s part. But, since they fooled around, Ana Maria got pregnant with his baby. She then tries to use that as leverage to get Ricardo to take responsibility and marry her, hoping he will love her the same way she loves him. In this case, Ricardo claims he has no responsibility for the baby and leaves for Europe, leaving Ana Maria heartbroken, which leads to her losing the baby. On the other hand, we have Anita, Ana Maria’s daughter, who is in love with Don Rodolfo. When he falls in love with Maria Griselda, Anita cannot accept that, so she forces herself onto him and ends up pregnant. Unlike Ricardo, Rodolfo takes responsibility and ends up married to Anita, even if it’s a miserable, loveless marriage. We see this idea of cycles repeating themselves throughout the different generations of Ana Maria’s family over and over in the book, and I found that to be incredibly interesting. This repeating of cycles also really helped to emphasize how important each of these expereinces were to Ana Maria. I thought this was an awesome way to weave a connection between these characters’ lives beyond their biological connection.

But this is not a happy book. In fact, it deals with incredibly heavy topics like suicide and rape. And yet again, we see these topics being emphasized by having them appear in both Ana Maria’s life and the next generation’s lives as well. For instance, we see suicide through Ana Maria almost killing herself after Ricardo rejects her, then Fred’s wife, Silvia, straight up shooting herself in front of him because of Maria Griselda (which, by the way, Maria Griselda is such a tragic character, oh my god, I feel so bad for that woman). Seeing these tragedies repeat themselves feels like watching a horrible cycle repeat itself, and you have no power to stop it. But it also makes for such an interesting reading experience, because Bombal really forces you to recall the previous experiences and to watch as Ana Maria sees things happen again through the lenses of her own children. It was very smart writing, but a very tragic story.

Overall, I liked this read. I do have to admit I searched up a family tree for the characters to make sure I was interpreting everyone correctly, but even then, it was a very interesting novella.

Now, most importantly, as the title of this blogpost suggests, someone needs to make this into one of those ultra-dramatic, streams at 10pm on cable TV, and all the aunties and grandmas watch it, telenovela (also known as a soap opera). The emotional whiplash of some of these chapters was truly insane (like the moment where Ana Maria is saying she hates her husband, and then proceeds to go “ohmygod he has a WRINKLE?!”), and that one scene where Ana Maria and Antonio are arguing? That would have the aunties going CRAZY in front of their tvs and their crochets. AND ALSO the amount of betrayal and cheating? insane. So please, if anyone knows any Latin telenovela producers, let them know this book might be a gold mine for a series.

I leave y’all with this last question- do you guys think Bombal intended to make these coincidental events something akin to a cycle, or do you think they were just coincidences looking to make the reader feel ‘nostalgic’ about previous happenings in the book??

Thank you for reading :))

Categories
Mad Toy

What did the “coming-of-age story” genre do to Robert Arlt that made him come out swinging like that?! and what is this arsonist child doing here?!!

Hi again blog :))

Thank the heavens this week the reading had normal lenght sentences (looking at you, Combray). I absolutely adored reading Mad Toy. The pacing of the story was amazing, and I really felt as if I was looking at snapshots of Silvio’s life. I thought I would feel the gaps in the story, but in reality, the passage of time between one chapter and another did not hinder my reading experience at all. In fact, I really enjoyed these time intervals.

Roberto Arlt really heard the sentence “coming-of-age story” and said “BET”. He expertly portrays how a person’s perspectives and ideals change as they grow older, and how, as much as you can denounce ever feeling a certain way when talking about the past, those ideals never completely leave you. Silvio’s growth from being certain his future was with his crime gang, to going through the shttiest job ever, to getting his first reality check through his gay roommate, to being okay with his life selling paper AND being on the other side of his earlier life dreams, is such a beautiful depiction of what every teen goes through. We always think adult life is all daisies and roses, and then we get our metaphorical asses handed to us, and we get reality checked to the next plane of existence, so that we can get up and learn to be okay with the fact that life does suck sometimes, but you have to try to make the best of it. Everyone needs to have their crime gang go on break to eventually figure out that selling paper is okay for now, you know?

I had a delightful time seeing Buenos Aires through Silvio’s eyes. Not because he had an easy life, or because he was a particularly happy person (that man needs a therapist yesterday), but because I was fascinated to watch his perspectives change with time and experience. Silvio is a genius. He is incredibly smart, he knows so much about maths and sciences, and yet he is stuck learning a trade to make a living instead of being able to do what he truly loves, which is writing, studying, and inventing. This initial shock, which morphs into acceptance, is something I once again think so many teens go through. It is still heartbreaking to see Silvio get put down over and over again, but it also made me think that so many people probably feel seen by what he went through. And for these people, hearing how, at the end of the day, Silvio still finds joy in his life, is something incredibly important.

I want to talk about so many other things because I genuinely adored this book, but the last thing I will mention is how awesome the blend of varieties of Spanish and other Romance languages was. As someone who went to school with people who spoke all kinds of Spanish, that really made me feel at home lol.

I also have to mention arsonist Silvio. I know boys always have that one thing they hyperfixate on as teens, but having that be building cannons (yes, multiple) seems a bit concerning. Still loved that though, arsonist Silvio was very fun.

Stealing is no stranger to Silvio, and Silvio is no stranger to stealing. But Mad Toy shows us how even if you know how to steal, having everything be stolen from you fundamentally changes you and your morals.

I am very glad I read this book, it was awesome!! I leave you guys with one final question: What are your thoughts on Rengo being a metaphor for chapter one Silvio? Cuz I thought he was one hell of a metaphor, and the fact that Silvio turned him in is what really solidifies an important part of his growing up story.

Thanks for reading!!! :)))

Categories
Combray

Hrooonk, mimimimimimi… or not?

Hello again blog :))

So….. Combray huh….. When I read the part of the introduction that says Proust’s texts are known to be complex because of his “famously long sentences”, I braced myself for a text full of sentences that an English teacher would be disappointed at. But reading this book and seeing one sentence span 10 lines on page 12 of reading, I realized I grossly underestimated what kind of monster “famously long sentences” was warning me about. The number of clauses within one sentence would get an English teacher to retire. This was a tough read, but not because I did not find the story compelling, but because the text never managed to capture my attention because of how it went on and on and on…. So I feel like I remember the first half of the book a lot better than the second half, since I was actively forcing myself to lock in and pay attention. Nonetheless, here’s what I thought about Combray-

This book managed to communicate the theme of recognition in a way I have never seen before (pun intended). It discussed how the small changes to something or somewhere can completely warp your perception, and you may no longer feel safe in that place because of that. We see that right at the beginning of the book, when he very extensively talks about the light figures spinning around his room. He complains that these lights sometimes make the room unfamiliar to him, changing the space beyond his scope of recognition. Introducing the theme of recognition by explaining what happens when it’s not there truly blew my mind. 

Further into recognition, I have to mention the infamous Madelaine scene. Proust managed to articulate what a sudden burst of memories feels like beautifully through this scene. It reminded me of what it feels like to sit with your friends, and hear them tell a story you can’t remember, but it slowly comes back to you as they continue, and suddenly you remember everything and go OOOOOOOOOH YEEEAAAAAHH THAT HAPPENED. 

One thing Proust did that impressed me was that he constantly called back to light. From the light figures in his room to how the sun hit the church windows, he constantly brings attention to how the sun and light affect the environment around him. I would say he did it subtly, but when you write sentences as long as he did, things have a hard time staying subtle. 

Something else that really impressed me was just how sad everything was. He was happy to remember Combray, but so many of the things he describes are tinted with sadness and sorrow, including how he felt. I couldn’t tell if everything was that sad because he was just depressed, or if it was both depression and pure sorrow. 

I feel like maybe he kept bringing our attention to the light as a contrast to all this sadness. Almost like the light at the end of the tunnel, the goods and the bads. For example, the light figures were in his room because even though he was upset his mother was not with him, he ultimately had good memories of the space. 

Last thing before I go, I need to bring up the kissing mommy and mommy tucking me in thing. What the fuck…? Just… What?? Look, at first I was like “okay it’s weird, but he just reeeally wants to be tucked in”, but then he goes on to talk about M Swann, and we think he moved on, but then he closes that out with “but I didn’t like that he came over because mommy wouldn’t tuck me in and kiss me goodnight” OUT OF NOWHERE. I was speechless and pissed off. Just, what….? 

Anyways, I am grateful this is apparently the toughest read of the semester, but it was still a very cool read!! Awesome motifs, but we need a moment of silence for the English teachers out there. 

 

 

 

Alrighty, see ya next time!!! :)))

Categories
intro!!

Why hello there stranger

Hi blog reader! My name is Julya, I use she/her pronouns, and I’m a second-year psychology major who’s considering either minoring or double-majoring in linguistics. I have no idea what I want to do with my life yet, but I know I love to study the human mind and human behaviour, as well as any and all things related to languages. I am Brazilian (born and raised in São Paulo, Brasil, with an S because that’s how you write it the right way, aka in portuguese), but I am half Greek because my dad’s side of the family is all from Crete. My dad’s generation of kids was the first to be born in Brasil after my grandparents immigrated, so we joke that my dad is “nationally made with imported parts”. My mom’s side of the family is a bit of a mixing pot, since each of her grandparents came from a different place (Portugal, Italy, Lebanon, and Brasil). So technically, I am part all of these, but for the sake of convenience, I usually just say I’m half Brazilian, half Greek, and part Lebanese when someone asks about my middle name.

I moved to Vancouver for college, and so far, I have been loving it, although the “we have sunlight from 07:30-16:30 in winters” and the “rain, just enough to make you do something about it but not enough to be actual rain” parts of Canada still trip my brain up. Some of my hobbies and interests include reading, playing games (board games, video games, RPGs, etc), solving puzzles, most things arts and crafts (like drawing, colouring, crochet, origami, anything artsy and hands-on), and any and all things related to music (listening, singing, nerding out over how musicians use dissonance, bragging about my younger brother going to music school and how he’s the best singer I know and how I am so proud of him, literally everything).

me and my brother :))

So… why am I taking this class?? A small part of it is that I needed something to fulfill a degree requirement, but that is a very tiny part. The big reason is I love studying Brazilian culture and art and its evolution. And while I have had the opportunity to read some of the classics of our literature, I wanted the opportunity to read more. Furthermore, I wanted to understand what was going on in other places in the world while the history I know was happening. This class seemed like the perfect opportunity to combine all of that, since I would get to read a bunch of cool stuff written during my favourite time period to study Brazilian arts in. So far, all my expectations have been beyond met. This course seems like the most interesting and perfectly formatted way for me to go about exploring this. It also helps that I love discussing books. I expect to have a lot of fun, read a lot of good books, have very productive discussions, and learn things about life and maybe myself that make me slightly uncomfortable because I projected onto something in a book wayy too much.

I took RMST 300 last semester, and it was the most fun class ever. It felt as if two of my other classes had given birth to it, those classes being linguistics and Latin. Even though these classes are very different from one another, they both focus on language and how it’s changed the world around it AND how it’s been changed by the world. So I am very excited to explore the evolution of language through a new, less linguistics and more literature, way.

And yes, you read that right, Latin. Why Latin? I always thought it was cool, so why not? It’s the most challenging but most rewarding class in my roster, and I love it so much. I also think being able to tell people I speak Latin is the most badass thing ever. Whenever I tell someone I do Latin for the shits and giggles, they, without fail, look like I am crazy. Maybe I am. I have fun tho.

Anyway, to sum it up, I am so excited for this course and to read some cool books, so we’ll see how it goes!! :DD

Thank you so much for reading :))

 

 

 

PS- I am so bummed Clarice Lispector and Italo Calvino are in the same week. I was so excited to read both of those. I love both of them so much. Why did you do this to me. I’ll cope, but I will also grumble about it a bit because it’s funny. But why.

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