“Some things it was better not to say” (106)
Unfortunately, I am going to have to disobey this quote as well as the famous saying “if you don’t have anything nice to say don’t say anything at all”… because if I didn’t say anything then I wouldn’t meet the contract ha!
In case you can’t tell already, I personally did not enjoy this book at all. Maybe it’s a recency bias, but this might have been my least favorite so far? I am not saying it’s a bad book! It just was not my preferred style. In fact, I think this book was quite brilliant, just not enjoyable. From right at the beginning, I felt an uncomfortable sense of urgency and chaos from Rodoreda’s writing style with her excessive use of the word “and” (I am estimating an average of ~25 times a page!) Further, her constant repetition of ideas and facts, like her mother being dead in the first few pages and much later in the book, her various struggles with managing motherhood, work, the doves, and surviving in the time of war. These circles of comments induced excessive stress in me for some reason, and just gave me a headache if anything. While yes, this ability of Rodoreda is quite impressive (to elicit such a response in a stranger just with written work) — alike to Moravia’s ability to create such discomfort with his “Agostino”– as the one experiencing the negative symptoms, I was not a happy reader.
Another reason I did not particularly like this book was the characters. I am inclined to say that I did not actually like a single character. I felt bad for characters (like Natalia left widowed) and I found certain characters amusing (such as Quimet’s mom and her obsession with bows), but there was no true character that I liked. This seems to be somewhat of a trend in some of these novels, but I think this is the first where I truly did not get won over by at least one perspective. For example, even Natalia had me upset at many parts throughout the book. I found it so frustrating to read her hitting her children, especially when it was for no reason.
Don’t even get me started on Quimet too. I hated him right from the beginning and his behaviour had me both confused and frustrated in every scene. The worst was his hypocrisy. He is constantly telling Natalia not to do things but then does them himself. For example, he is always furious when she brings up Pere, even when it is not her fault. However, he feels more than justified to compare her to “Maria” and flaunt her name at any given opportunity. Maria, Maria, Maria… Quimet, don’t you know “that ain’t [your] baby girl”?? – Justin Bieber
One thing I found very interesting while looking through all the blog posts was just how much it seems everyone enjoyed this book (except me…). Honestly, I began to doubt myself… Did I even read the correct book for this week? But alas, I did. So, my question for you all is, if you did enjoy this book (as it appears the majority did), what made it so amazing? What is it that I am missing, this appealing aspect that I’ve seemed to have ignored?
I am very open to being proved wrong and welcome it!
“…her constant repetition of ideas and facts…” I seriously doubt I can convince you how good this novel is! But honestly I don’t want to do it either. This constant repetition has a meaning, not only because it imposes a rhythm on the reading but it shows us the train of thought of someone like Natalia. It is a return of pieces of memory to give them another meaning… Memory works a little bit in this manner. And sometimes the characters that seem unpleasant to us at first can also be the most complex. Was there anything that stood out to you positively? I hope you find this week’s class discussion interesting!
Hi Daniel! I definitely see the beauty in repetition, and often adore it. However, it was just lost on me in this one. One thing that stood out positively to me was the plot. I have to say, unlike some of the earlier reads, this book was one that did have a very interesting and complex storyline.
Partaking in the class discussion definitely allowed me to enjoy his book more too. I think talking about it and going back to find quotes allowed me to find new joys in it.
Hey, your blog was fantastic to read! I’m so glad we’re on the same page about Quimet b/c he is THE WORST.
Thank you for your insight on this book. I agree with your saying that Rodoreda used “and” too much on this book. I think it is either a translation problem or a characteristics of language she was originally using. I also felt some kind of distraction while reading though.
It is totally your impression that this book was not as quite amusing as the other book, and I think it is not wrong; you don’t even need to doubt your self! I personally think picaresque-like style book like this depicts the tragic life story more effectively. Although it would not be favoured to every people, I think Rodoreda chose the best option she could make. (and I personally like this kind of style)
Hi Page!
your blog title is hilarious like WHAT???? To answer your question, I think the appeal was in the rollercoaster this book was. There was barely any moment where anyone was at peace. Heck, even the ending tells the readers that Natalia herself is doubtful of how long this happiness will last. I think that’s why people liked it: it’s emotion-provoking. It’s exciting, it’s heartbreaking, it’s frustrating ( *cough cough Quimet). It’s a lot of things, but what it isn’t is boring.
Page I am so happy I found your blog post, both because of your banger title and relatability. I too when I started reading this book did I get ankle broken by the repetitiveness and ‘and’ usage of Natalia. I genuinely had to put the book down again and take a dyslexia quiz because I was becoming the Joker. By the end of the book, I personally found myself content. There were some emotional moments that really pulled my heartstrings and drew me into the narrative, such as the hydrochloric acid scene and when she dropped of Antoni at camp. Your post was a great read and I’m excited to read more of your blogs in the future 🙂
Hello Page, I actually really respect your opinion, points were certainly made. I also didn’t really like this book as much compared to ones from the other weeks. More than that, I actually find that discourse online about the book overall (not from this class) sometimes describes Natalias situation without the nuance of what role Quimet plays in her life and that actually also weirded me out quite a bit…especially because sometimes they describe the marriage as a “happy” one…Which I feel like is sort of sus if thats your main view on it. But anyways, yea I also agree that many characters in this book felt very dislikable and that largely has to do with how skillful the writing is to make them of substance, only a substance we do not like.