Hey everyone!
I was really excited to read the Paris Peasant because unlike the last book we were reading a large portion of it. I figured this would lend me some clarity with regards to the plot of the story. The description of it being an easy read was also very enticing. Usually, when I read a book the first few pages are hard to read because it introduces the setting of the book and the plot and so you would be learning a lot. When I first started this book I was trying to cross this stage but despite the continued reading, I could not exactly decipher what was going on in the story. I chalked it up to the confusion that occurs at the beginning of every book. The second day I tried to continue the book, I tried to think about what exactly happened in the book and was disappointed to find out that I still was not entirely sure. So I went again and reread some of the pages only to be left in the same position I started with.
Reading the book is a kind of jumpy experience for me. It moves onto different points and I can only pick apart some aspects of each point. The book does not in my opinion feel like it has a unifying plot that progresses through the continuation of the book. It rather feels like the ongoing observation and thoughts of the narrator. The book can be better described as a series of ongoing descriptions of the narrator’s daily happenings and locations in the city of Paris. In my opinion, starting at the beginning of the book versus another point in the book does not give you much difference in clarity as the book does not have a linear progression. In some ways, it reminds me of reading diary entries. It has a somewhat similar writing style to our last reading, Combray. The biggest question I had while reading the book was, what is the unifying theme or themes of this book? I think as mentioned by our professor this is a very unconventional book and requires an open mind when reading. It really expands your thoughts on how books can be written and what assumptions and expectations we have when we choose to read a book.
Overall, reading this book felt like a new experience to me and made me realize that I do appreciate some level of organization and steady progression when reading a book. This could mean that I need to foster a more open mind and really appreciate the descriptions in a book.
muskan shukla
January 24, 2022 — 6:54 pm
Hey,
I completely agree with your comment about how the novel seems to be a series of observations made by the narrator. Honestly, the unifying theme in the two texts we’ve read so far could be the sense of timelessness or the fact that the narrators both view the worlds they are in with a different lens. But overall, an excellent analysis!
Muskan Shukla
Jennifer Nagtegaal
January 24, 2022 — 7:19 pm
I find this an interesting observation, Muskan! “In some ways, it reminds me of reading diary entries”. Perhaps, instead of a traditional diary, we are reading the diary of a city, or even (love?) letters to a city… I wonder if you could elaborate more, and perhaps with a specific reference or two! Those may help to generate some conversation here on the fascinating connection that you put forth…
Jennifer Nagtegaal
January 24, 2022 — 7:25 pm
Apologies… that should read “Ashvi”! So many blogs! So many students 🙂
NIER
January 25, 2022 — 7:56 pm
Although Aragorn did not clearly name the development of a story, when we read from the perspective of this peasant, I personally think that this is another way of extending the direction of the novel. The reader follows the peasant’s footsteps and learns little by little what a boulevard that was about to be demolished in prosperous Paris at the beginning of the nineteenth century looked like. I think the interesting thing about this book is that there are many details, very funny metaphors that foreshadow the background of that era, and it is worth thinking about.