Author Archives: yiyi lou

I took the reading break to finish Book 3 of Conversation in the Cathedral, and I feel completely drawn into the world. Somehow, the fragmented narrative which disregards chronology did not take away from the immersion — though occasionally, I Continue reading Week 9: It’s just a game to them, Zavalita.→ Continue reading →

If The Savage Detectives was a movie, we’d have seen “Ten Years Later” across the screen. Suddenly we make a jump ahead of time, bigger than any other so far, and no one remembers visceral realism anymore. Most people who Continue reading Week 8: Ten Years Later→ Continue reading →

Annabelle mentioned in a previous blog post that the first part of The Savage Detectives reminds her of Catcher in the Rye, in which the most poetic and surrealist episode being when Holden imagines children running to the end of Continue reading Week 6 : Catcher in the Valley→ Continue reading →

A little historical context of the story: Peru fell under the military dictatorship of Odría after the Coup of 1948, which will last until 1956. Under his regime, the APRA or Peruvian Aprista Party, a left-wing anti-imperialist party, was harshly Continue reading Week 5: Oh, Zavalita!→ Continue reading →

Alberto Moore’s entry begins as such: “What Luisito says is true, up to a point. My sister is an utter lunatic, yes, but she’s charming, only twenty-two, a year older than me, and an extremely intelligent woman” (p.162). It got Continue reading Week 4: What’s This Written For – I love Perla – Memory Palace→ Continue reading →

On Saturday I went out with a friend I’ve known for 12 years, with whom I only recently reconnected, after losing touch for 2 years. We ate at the Richmond Center food court. Moon asked me if I drink these Continue reading Week 3: The Sincerity of a Confession Over Beers→ Continue reading →

The novel begins with Garcia Madero explaining to his poetry teacher what a rispetto was. When I read this, I had a hunch that tension between the High and the Low, or between the Snobby and the Down-to-earth, would be Continue reading Week 2: The High and the Low — What is Good Taste?→ Continue reading →

Perhaps I should explain my blog title to our non-French-major friends. It’s a reference to Jean-Jacques Rousseau’s Reveries of the Solitary Walker, which collects his last few essays. My name is Lily. As you know now, I’m a French major Continue reading Introductory Blog Post — Lily Lou→ Continue reading →