March 2022

Soldiers of Salamis by Javier Cercas

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I liked how this novel, although it was separated into 3 parts, tied together. Some of the other texts we’ve gone over throughout the semester have been confusing or difficult to put together due to uncertain timelines, memory rambling, or whatever it may be. This one seemed to stay on track for the most part.

The opening of the first page was interesting. I enjoyed the narrator’s way of exposing his personality, by playing – what seemed like – a game of 2 truths and a lie. When the point of view of a story is like the main character is talking to you, it sometimes can feel like they’re just talking at you, but this helped with keeping me engaged because he was representing himself naturally. Like how one corrects themselves in the middle of their sentences. It made the experience more personal.

However, for the actual story I didn’t find it very intriguing. I can appreciate the chain of events and lengths the narrator went to within their journey, but I found the presentation of information more enjoyable. It reminded of a more typical storytelling. Giving information piece by piece as you found it at the time. Though sometimes writers can overdo it by providing information too easily, I felt like Cercas executed it well.

One thing that stood out to me was the literal presentation of text page by page. It could have just been the PDF version I had, but there would be pages completely filled (like a wall of text – which I usually don’t like) then after a while a couple of pages would have a slightly larger font size and give insight to what the author had just written. At first it was annoying, but it grew on me. It allowed a break from what could seem overwhelming and acted as little tidbits that provided context. To say the least it was very different, but I like different.

I haven’t really said much about the content or plot of the story, I guess because I didn’t find it that interesting (as I said above). I will say though, that for something once again regarding war, it added a slightly different element. As it speaks of how Mazas was set free with the help of another soldier and the innerworkings of war.

My question for this novel is, how did you react to the way Cercas presented his story? Did you find it to not leave enough to the imagination or was it just enough? I think some may find it as telling to much, but it’s probably due to the narrator being a journalist and generally going from point to point.

Amulet by Roberto Bolano

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This novel was interesting. I especially liked the conviction and control the narrator uses at the beginning. Letting us know she is in charge of telling the story. The opening lines of the text are so thought-provoking, as they preface the story as being of horror but refusing to tell it as such a story. Also how she pours out a bunch seemingly about herself within the first few pages. We get to know about her process while she writes almost all of her thoughts down – line by line. These types of narration are what I like. It’s like a conversation – someone truly explaining their thought process, detail by detail. It helps me keep engaged with the story and listen to it with curiosity.

The approach that the narrator takes by making a horror story seem not-so-much like one was imaginative. It was like she was very level-headed and great at (for lack of a better term) comforting herself, while also softening the blow of how terrifying of an experience she had for readers. Auxilio’s more relaxed and ordinary way speaking when narrating aids in a gentle output of a panic story, as well as making her seem more believable. When novels are overly detailed and dramatic, I start to sense a bit of ingenuity and too much exaggeration – like they’re trying to sell and push the story too hard. Whereas this is a good middle-ground, it unveils the story to be believable without excessive convincing.

However, I did question some areas – as she was doubting herself when recalling some incidences. But memory is interesting, as over the years it can become misconstrued and lack some details wherein we may input our own or what we’d like to believe.

Being in such a position as Auxilio, I have no idea how I’d handle it. I’d like to say I do well under pressure, but this is more than an astronomy test that I didn’t study enough for. It comes down to life and death, not just a quick right moment at the right time either, spanning over almost 2 weeks. The amount of contemplation I would be going through is inexplicable.

I wonder how the story would have turned out if it was written from a horror or thriller perspective. I’d imagine that I would be even more engaged as those are my go-to genres for reading, movies, and more. So my question is, do you think you would have enjoyed the novel more or less if it was depicted from a horror-story stance? And why?

The Old Gringo by Carlos Fuentes

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I’m not sure if it was just the version of the novel that I had, but certain parts of the story resembled poetry to me. Not only with how it was written, but how it was visually represented on the pages. With some sentences cutting short and then finishing them in subsequent lines that have been spaced out. Sometimes even stretching a couple sentences over half of a page to a full page with so much spacing. I liked it though. It gave me something to engage with more. A wall of text on each page can feel overwhelming, so this broke it up a bit and allowed me to take time to process things better.

The story as a whole was not so interesting to me though. I’m usually into mystery-type of stories, but maybe more recent ones that I can relate to more. This novel tackled some concepts, like a civil war and a death wish that Bierce had. Which objectively didn’t intrigue me. Although war is an important concept, it’s just not something I find compelling to read about. And the fact that Bierce had a death wish was dispiriting. I could never bring myself to such a thought – I actually, disregarding reality, would like to live as long as the world does. Even though that may not be such a pleasant experience, that’s something that sparks my curiosity – like what it would be like so long from now – I want to be there for it.

Furthermore, the way the relationships are depicted as the novel plays out are strange. The whole forceful sexual encounters and incestual-seeming (but not) bond between the old gringo and Harriet. It wasn’t easy to wrap my mind around. It was disturbing, but also just difficult to understand how one could be attracted to someone that they felt was like their daughter. That was just not something I’d properly thought about before – I guess it had caught me off guard.

I wouldn’t say I enjoyed nor disliked the text. This novel was just a story with an odd concept. Maybe I would have been able to connect to it if I knew more about that era and how the times were.

For this week my question is, what do you think drives one to a death wish? It could be the unknown, or the fact that you do know there is an end. Maybe you would have to be in some sort of existential state of contemplation. Let me know!

W, or The Memory of Childhood by Georges Perec

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This novel confronts the theme of memory quite differently than the others we’ve previously read. Most of the texts I’d read before this speak from a point of memory, past-tense, and experience, whereas Perec approached memories that weren’t there. It brought an alternate perspective of how some have the privilege of accessing and reflecting on such memories, and others not so much – for various reasons. An assumption I made based on the lack of childhood memories was that it was due to trauma, mainly because of the war. Many can dissociate from a time in their life when it’s tied to some sort of trauma, war being a likely trigger.

Although I haven’t necessarily lost my sense of childhood memories, I do relate to how the past can become twisted or jumbled up in one’s mind. Thinking about certain times in my life prove to be either recounted as differently than they were or just completely missing from my mind. However, I can’t seem to pinpoint when I lost the clarity or how it was lost. Having this self-reflection period made me connect with the novel more, it’s nice when a text can make you think.

Something that I question though, is the title. Maybe it’s a play into the whole loss-of-memory theme, but it seems like Perec is unsure of it. Just the presence of “or” being there, like it’s up for debate or something. Then again, it could be to do with the double story. Where one is intertwining with the other, so there’s two titles combined. It would be interesting to know whether it was purposeful or out of hesitance.

A connection that was though-provoking between the two stories was the island and the Holocaust. The fact that the narrator could make this connection, unless it was unintentional, shows me that there is some recollection there. With the violent games and the concentration camps. Though it could be that it just happens to correlate, it seems more like it was thought out.

Having that the narrator appears to have lost some parts of their childhood, assuming it’s due to trauma from the Holocaust, I wonder how common it is for for others who survived it as well. I may have to do some research on that. In that I will ask, do you feel like you know your childhood well, and why? Even more so, for the parts you may not remember, is it due to trauma or why do you think those parts are missing?