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Monthly Archives: March 2022

Cercas x Mazas In Soldiers of Salamis

Cercas’s novel was a very nice blend of truth and fantasy to it just like Bolanos Amulet. The main difference is the narrators and authors. Bolano felt like a big-league writer who was already very established. while Cercas is a person who is struggling to find his groove in the writing industry and has a very rough personal life. I can honestly relate more with Cercas more because I can relate with him and he feels like just a regular person like any other person that’s trying to get by in life. His journey to relevancy really got him to connect to an individual he even never met before in Sanchez Mazas. Even though they lived in two different timelines, The connection between them was very crucial as Cercas was able to overcome his demons by writing, researching, and telling the story of Mazas while we get to learn more about the his history and the conflicts of 60 years ago. But the character the seemingly stole the show was Antoni Miralles, the well respected soldier with prestige. His moral character was very admirable and the little things like hiding a smoke from the nuns or showing emotion when dancing with his partner shows how human a soldier can really be. More importantly, this novel gives us the biggest question to ponder, is he the soldier that spared Mazas’s life? I’d like to think so.

The theme of this book revolves around the concept of memory and history. How 60 years have gone by and how those conflicts and war still affect present time. People are still so fixated in uncovering the histories of the olden days as they want to prolong the memories of their ancestors whether it is good or bad. The more they uncover, the more they realize how society ended up to where it is because of the actions of the past. A really great point Cercas mentioned was that not only the winners of war or life are remembered, but even the losers and anyone can be remembered as long as individuals have the willingness to learn their stories. Hence, why the dead are still alive to this day through storytelling and remembering history.

Finally, I really adored how the utilization of literature gave us a fiction novel with a nice plot and story while also giving us a true history lesson about the characters and the events that was depicted, It was a perfect blend of both.

my question for this week is do you agree with authors such as Bolano and Cercas stretching the truth in a way to further excite the book they’re writing?

-Xyrus Ramos Aparri

Amulet by Roberto Bolano

The amulet was a confusing mess of history but Bolano somehow made it a must-read. The suspense was killing me only to realize that the horrors were never really going to appear because the narrator constantly dodged those bullets and got to see the better sides of the stories she shared. The first part of the book I believe was the peak, as Auxilio was trapped in the 4th-floor bathroom while the police and military were raiding her university. I thought the officer was going to find her and capture her, but instead, we got to hear her “memories” instead, and honestly, that provided more excitement than the typical rising conflict scenario.

Every character had depth and had a reason for the readers to be invested in. Elena and Arturo were the standouts, and the son of Lillian was definitely the eeriest character. Elena was Auxilios self-proclaimed best friend and would always be worried whether Elena was not around or missing. Although, the friendship did seem one-sided as Elena focused on love with Paulo near the end and constantly left without a trace. But Auxilio would always be there longing for her friend to return. Her relationship with Arturo was a little more complicated as she was his teacher and provided as some sort of secondary mother figure, but at the same time a friend once he returned from the army. The mystery of Arturo’s experience seemed horrifying to the point where he started hanging out with the other sewer boys. It seemed like he was very much humbled and decided to go back to his roots and also act as a leader for these struggling kids. The most important part of the book for me involved the confrontation between Arturo, Ernesto, Auxilio, and The “King” about Ernesto’s debt. I expected some blood and tragedy to occur but instead, Arturo was more focused on helping the slave child and making sure he was to be saved. Whatever happened to the kid seemed horrific, but the book constantly dodges these horrible moments and that seems to be the “horror” part.  Constantly narrowing disaster, but still reminding us of the events that still transpired really got me invested. And the fact that I kept bracing myself for the worst, but only getting to see Auxilios connections with many important figures were still eye-opening. The journey was endless, but so were conflicts and terror.

My question for this week is what kind of memories would you want to fall back on? Back in time? Forward in the future? what would be your bathroom moment?
Xyrus Ramos

Thoughts on The Indiana General (AKA The Old Gringo)

The Old Gringo was definitely one of my favorite reads so far in this course. The book title really caught me off guard and I was surprised with how the storyline went. Knowing that the term “gringo” is used by the Latino community to describe a caucasian white male. If I may add, a caucasian that’s usually a bad person. However, this old gringo was a very respectful and wholesome man that volunteered to go to Chihuahua and aid in a civil war currently taking place. He felt at peace with his life and even kept insisting throughout the story that he was ready to pass on. The people from Mexico were very skeptical of this man and it seemed like they did not take the gringo seriously as he was already of old age and the fact that he was “different” from them. I liked how they tackled the animosity between South America and North America, and how this old man was proving the stereotype wrong and insisting on helping out with a conflict he does not need to be a part of. Like I mentioned, the old gringo seems at peace with his own world since all his family members are all gone, but not satisfied with the world around him so he probably came to a conclusion to discover the conflicts of the world.

The amount of knowledge the Indiana General shared and the stories he heard from the people in the community were truly inspiring, and this book really had that adventure, western-like vibe, especially his conversations with Arroyo. From the moment Ambrose hit that coin with his pistol, a special relationship formed with them and although it was mostly disagreements and butting heads,  I sensed respect with them. This book expresses the concept of courage which Ambrose showcased with his fearlessness and heroic acts towards Arroyo’s soldiers and refusing to commit heinous acts while Arroyo kept trying to push his moral values. I felt like Arroyo felt envious of Ambrose and how “good” the gringo really is a person. With a person with nothing to lose, all he can do is gain. With retrospect to Arroyo, who had everything to lose and he seemed to definitely succumb to the pressure. It was only poetic that it was Arroyo who made Ambrose’s wish come true as he kills him. But at the end of the day, The Old Gringo found peace with himself, and probably hope after witnessing the Mexican revolution and trying to change the tide for the people struggling there.

My question is, Is Ambrose truly a good person in your eyes? Or do you think he is hiding some demons that we don’t know of?
-Xyrus Aparri

Thoughts on W, or The Memory of Childhood

I absolutely adored the concept of this book by Perec and I thoroughly enjoyed every chapter whether it made sense or not.  The themes of fantasy and reality are really expressed here and it shows that the author may be contemplating the choice of W over the realism of his memories. The “real” portion of his book comes straight home his childhood memories or memories from other sources to explain where he came from and try to unravel the mystery of his parents. Even then, what he is pulling out may not be the entire truth, but being able to bring about his past and trying to comprehend what he has experienced is a feat in itself. I think adding the elements of the fictional storytelling go hand in hand as both are stories regardless of the genre. It does not matter if one is verbatim from one’s experiences or inside the mind, the story progresses itself and both share their own fantasy or realistic values.  I believe this is the best way to deal with fragmented memories, especially ones that come from the earliest childhood. it definitely showcases how difficult it is to have a recollection n of the past and that every flashback will be very hazy and confusing in some way. So, by adding a fantasy alternative in the book we can see that we should treat these memories with care and not fully believe in the author’s words. Furthermore, just as a fantasy novel, we should thoroughly enjoy and create an image of the author’s life and family and be a part of that journey. Memory is beautiful and looking back at nostalgia will always be a fantasy since the past cannot be lived again, so the authors way of utilizing it was very unique and made it a must read.

Another thing to add involves the setting it took place and the disturbing events that occurred during the timeline. Maybe the author purposely structured it in a way where he doesn’t actually want to truly remember his entire history just as the world is trying to forget the horrors of the 1930s-1945s.

Overall, It was indeed a very pleasant read.

My question for the week is what would your autobiography be like? Would it just be a strict story regarding your entire life or are you gonna spice it up and add a unique flavor to it? I personally think mine would include a lot of quotes and song lyrics cause its easier to express myself that way.

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