Author Archives: jasmine choi

endings… and nostalgia; Where do we begin?

Posted on April 8, 2026 by jasmine choi

endings: long books — I don’t know why I always feel challenged to write an ending that is satisfactory. At this point, I’ve written quite a few conclusion blogs for Jon’s classes. Some are better than others. Some are forgettable. A few are memorable. I wonder if it has to do with nostalgia. Sentimentality, of […] Continue reading →

Tagged | Comments Off on endings… and nostalgia; Where do we begin?

I’m looking for an X but I have a W. Hubris begets hubris and I have a puzzle that I will never finish—[life a user’s manual by georges perec]

Posted on April 2, 2026 by jasmine choi

I’m looking for an X but I have a W. Hubris begets hubris and I have a puzzle that I will never finish—[life a user’s manual by georges perec] Je cherche en même temps l’éternel et l’éphémère. And so; the puzzle is never finished. good God… I almost want to leave it at that. There […] Continue reading →

Tagged , | Comments Off on I’m looking for an X but I have a W. Hubris begets hubris and I have a puzzle that I will never finish—[life a user’s manual by georges perec]

I’ve got a knife, have you got a knife too?. — [the savage detectives; pp. 589–648]

Posted on March 26, 2026 by jasmine choi

I’ve got a knife, have you got a knife too?. — [the savage detectives; pp. 589–648] Cesárea Tinajero… where have you been? I wanted more with Cesárea Tinajero, and maybe that’s by design. I think that no one got what they were looking for.  Maybe, that’s by design too. We never actually find out what’s […] Continue reading →

Tagged , | Comments Off on I’ve got a knife, have you got a knife too?. — [the savage detectives; pp. 589–648]

killing words and having heart; something about obscurity and (tragi)comedy. —[life a user’s manual by georges perec]

Posted on March 18, 2026 by jasmine choi

killing words and having heart; something about obscurity and (tragi)comedy. —[life a user’s manual by georges perec] I sometimes think about how this book would look, on-screen perhaps. The only real answer that comes up for me is Wes Anderson. Something about how Perec can give you a thousand and one innumerably and seemingly worthless details, […] Continue reading →

Tagged , | Comments Off on killing words and having heart; something about obscurity and (tragi)comedy. —[life a user’s manual by georges perec]

What’s outside the window? — [the savage detectives; pp. 400-588]

Posted on March 11, 2026 by jasmine choi

What’s outside the window? — [the savage detectives; pp. 400-588] Waiting, waiting, waiting… I don’t even know what I am waiting for anymore. One thing about long books that has been tested in me is the patience. The commitment is motivated by the academic and classroom setting, but the patience is nonetheless tested. What is it […] Continue reading →

Tagged , | Comments Off on What’s outside the window? — [the savage detectives; pp. 400-588]

Perec is schooling me. Gestalt is my friend but I don’t quite know her. —[life a user’s manual by georges perec]

Posted on March 5, 2026 by jasmine choi

Perec is schooling me. Gestalt is my friend but I don’t quite know her. —[life a user’s manual by georges perec] If you were to ask me to recount the events of this book thus far… I would be put into a haze. Some kind of Parisian, puzzling, eccentrically-complex, foggy haze. It would be as if […] Continue reading →

Tagged , | Comments Off on Perec is schooling me. Gestalt is my friend but I don’t quite know her. —[life a user’s manual by georges perec]

I would like to see Cesárea Tinajero dance. — [the savage detectives; pp. 206–399]

Posted on February 26, 2026 by jasmine choi

I would like to see Cesárea Tinajero dance. — [the savage detectives; pp. 206–399] While my respect for Arturo Belano and Ulises Lima steadily decline, my intrigue for characters like Cesárea Tinajero and Xóchitl García and María Font and Lucious Skin keeps growing. (RIP Ernesto San Epifanio). I wonder if there is a point to it. […] Continue reading →

Tagged , | Comments Off on I would like to see Cesárea Tinajero dance. — [the savage detectives; pp. 206–399]

teeth–kissing; mother–psychotherapist — [amulet by roberto bolaño]

Posted on February 12, 2026 by jasmine choi

teeth–kissing; mother–psychotherapist — [amulet by roberto bolaño] I do not think I have much to say about Amulet. Yes, I have read it before. I remember some parts more than others, but both times I have read it in a blur. The first time I read it was a few years ago now. I was listening […] Continue reading →

Tagged , | Comments Off on teeth–kissing; mother–psychotherapist — [amulet by roberto bolaño]

(digressions:) the pith & puzzles — [life a user’s manual by georges perec]

Posted on February 5, 2026 by jasmine choi

(digressions:) the pith & puzzles — [life a user’s manual by georges perec] The pith of the story happens “On the Stairs”… the pith is the real heart, I think. I say ‘pith’ to mean the kind of scrap on an orange, lemon, or the many other various and related citrus fruits. The white, damp, styrofoam-y, […] Continue reading →

Tagged , | Comments Off on (digressions:) the pith & puzzles — [life a user’s manual by georges perec]

those dogs; the visceral realists — [the savage detectives; pp. 143-205]

Posted on January 29, 2026 by jasmine choi

those dogs; the visceral realists — [the savage detectives; pp. 143-205] Though it has been refreshing to read so many different perspective, other than the singular García Madero’s, it has been difficult to keep with all the characters. Confusing, at times, but I think that is part of the intrigue. I find myself trying to figure […] Continue reading →

Tagged , , | Comments Off on those dogs; the visceral realists — [the savage detectives; pp. 143-205]