This week’s book, Paris Peasant, I did find to be quite enjoyable, slightly challenging to follow, but was also hard to put down. In the first parts of the text, I do have to admit I was not completely engaged, but that changed with time. As with Combray, I really appreciated the lengthy descriptions, although could sometimes get a little tiring, I just find that it helps so much with being in the shoes of the characters. This was my first time reading a book based on surrealism, which I found incredibly interesting. I found it easier to really understand the surrealist points that the author was trying to make with his extremely descriptive writing style. I really found it to be almost a lens for the book, and made a lot of assumptions on my own, connecting the themes in the novel to surrealism.
First, I must say that the author did a great job of really engaging readers in this “surreal” and out-of-consciousness setting, which was Paris. This really demonstrates the theme of surrealism as Paris is seen in the novel as sort of a break from the “outside world”, but is actually going on in Paris at this time as well. I made a connection as well that not only did the setting make sense in a historical sense to use, but as is known for being a “magical place”, Paris really serves as an oasis or a perfect world.
As well, as I previously touched on, there were points that I found difficult to follow in the book. I found that throughout the book Aragon let his thoughts trail off, and felt incomplete. As a reader that sometimes starts to drift off, I found myself re-reading these parts, thinking that it was myself that had the incomplete thoughts. However, I do recognize that this is part of the author’s technique or surrealist writing to really hit home with the unconscious thoughts.
My question to the class is: Were you able to make connections with any “surrealism” in your life and the way that Aragon depicts it in the text while reading.
Hi! I loved reading your blog post, and I love the way the novel was written; I, too, did not understand parts where he went into length about things. I never knew what surrealism was before reading this text. After learning about it, I understood how Aragon wrote the text and how to just sit back and enjoy it instead of analyzing everything. The only thing I can think of with surrealism in my own life would be when I have created paintings that had no initial thought of it to be something. I let my mind flow and connected colours and shapes with my feelings. I still don’t fully understand surrealism, but I hope to learn more about it and maybe then I’ll be able to make more connections with my own life.
Hi!
I completely agree with your point of view on this book. It was a unique and challenging read, and I feel like it was more so because of the surrealism too.
Hi!
I completely agree with your point of view! I do believe that the complicated writing adds to the surrealism as well. I do not think that I personally was able to make any connections to surrealism in my life to how Aragon wrote about in the book, but maybe I need to look harder!