When reflecting back on this class and all the novels I had the pleasure of discovering and reading I find myself a bit awestruck by the sheer amount of incredibly diverse, yet astoundingly reminiscent of one another these various works were. While I do love reading I found this class a tad challenging in that I’m a prolifically slow reader however I found that each and every novel we tackled left a lasting impression on me. Some where distinct in their form and style, others their subject matter, while others still in their commentary or the ideas they inspired in me. The most gratifying thing about this course has been that each story or piece created a space for my mind to explore the various messages, both explicit and implicit, being communicated through writing and that on its own is a wonderful thing to me. Compounding this, however, is the rich discussions we all had during class as well as in sharing our thoughts in these blogs. The particular format of the class, allowing for creativity and insight through sharing and comments on blog posts, allowed us to engage with the material and with each other in a way that strengthened our understanding of the material while also socializing and strengthening our ideas through collaboration. On the topic of the shared latin history of these stories I cannot say for certain if the romance languages link these narratives in any mutually exclusively way. What I can say however is that the threads of indivuality and place in society, as well as in finding meaning are present throughout all the novels and perhaps that’s one way in which each of these novels is connected. I had a truly wonderful time reading and exploring these novels. My final question to the class is what do you think links these stories together? Did you enjoy the novels you read? Were your experiences in class shaping your interpretations of the text?