Amulet written by the Chilean novelist Roberto Bolaño is a great book! I liked reading it from start and never found myself counting how many pages they were left until I got to the end. Similar to many of the books we have read I noticed the theme of ‘memory’ coming up again. From the first few pages Auxilio Lacouture, the protagonist of the novel says “I’ve got no memory for dates anymore, or exactly where my wanderings took me;” As we continue reading I noticed Bolano uses a dreamlike tone. In addition, I quickly picked up on the forgetful, repetitive and diary-like syntax of the narration. I loved the way it was written because it felt personal almost like we were in the reader’s mind. Not just like other books, when we kinda know we’re in their minds. This time it felt like we were sitting right beside them while they would ‘wander’. From stating a claim, then go back on the claim, then supporting that claim. Sometimes, it felt like we might have been going in circles.
“Maybe it was madness that impelled me to travel. It could have been madness. I used to say it was culture. Of course culture sometimes is, or involves, a kind of madness. Maybe it was a lack of love that impelled me to travel. Or an overwhelming abundance of love. Maybe it was madness.”
I loved reading this line! I read it over and over again. It reminded me of me! Often, I find myself going on tangents. Ruminating over a thought until that thought is something completely different or simply a reiteration of the very first thought. It’s not necessarily fun but it usually gives people the chance to gain clarity, reassurance or comfort. In my case, it’s usually for all three! I’d say that Auxilio does it for the same reason. Sometimes, it isn’t necessary at all or it’s for something extremely small! Like their tangent about the vase. I thought to myself, ‘oh we’re still talking about that?’ or the little figurines when they said “they were so pretty. tiny and pretty.” Though there might not be a ‘good reason’ for rumination, it allows the reader to have a choice between making their own questions about their past, future, present. As well as, having the choice of answering the many rhetorical ones Auxilio asks. For example when Auxilio says, “Am I making any sense?”. We could agree that the narrator here is talking directly at the reader. Wh they are describing Don Pedro Garfias, they often repeat themselves. “Don Pedro Garfias, such a melancholy man, so sad about Spain and the world in general”.
Food for thought:
- Do you think that Auxilio spends time ruminating to comfort, soothe, reassure herself? Why might other people repeat themselves or seem forgetful? Does this only happen during extraneous circumstances or new environments?
- Do you think that breaking the fourth wall by addressing the reader directly, allows us to become closer to the narrator? Does it have any other goal?
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Thanks for reading. 🙂