Temporal Awareness in Laia Jufresa’s Umami
After finishing Umami, I was not sure if I should examine it through a primarily spacial or temporal view, as both are incredibly important to understanding the ideas that Laia Jufresa incorporates within her work. Ultimately I took a cue from the way that Jufresa herself organizes the novel, with the chapters and sections of the book representing phases and years, so I believe that there is a greater empahsise on time and temporality within the novel, but I also believe that physical space plays an important role within the work as well. Even within individual pages, it is shown how the lives of the characters are shaped by events, no matter how small, with no exact date given, other than an approximate idea of what year that they take place in. Events such as small conversations about life, and meanial tasks such as chores, doctor’s visits or cigarette breaks, are treated with the same immense respect that is shown for the more important events that shape the characters lives. Other events, which in other novels would be treated with greater importance, such as heart illness, cancer, hepatitis etc. are merely small footnotes for describing the lives of the family members, who recall small gatherings, birthdays and graduations with more importance.
There is also a distinct correlation that is shown with Jufresa’s novel, between the passing of the years/seasons, death, life milestones, with the growing of the milpa and the coming of the Emperor Umami. Luz is shown as having a significant impact on the remaining character, even years after her passing, because of the memories and recollections that each character associate with her, such as the construction and growing of the corn, beans and squash within the milpa. Luz and Emperor Umami, could be seen as existing outside the perception of linear time, and I believe that the format of the book clearly demonstrates this understanding of non-linear time.