Author: palak

Overall a fun-ish read! I think this novel Deep Rivers was very interesting and I especially like the authors descriptive writing style. Throughout the book there was a strong focus on Indigeneity which was shown in many ways. To me the representation of Indigenous culture through nature and music stood out the most. In Ernesto’s experience nature has this sense of magic, especially when he is near the river. The river is something that is living  (aligning with the title of the novel), not just a background setting. The river seems to understand Ernesto, personifying it. Music also holds a lot of memories for Ernesto. I found it interesting how the power/magic of nature seems to fade when Ernesto is at the boarding school ( a very white colonial place). This reminded me of how nature is often treated in our modern society as something to be used. This goes against the reciprocal way many Indigenous communities understand their relationship with nature ( from what I know).

Ernesto being mestizo (mixed) also connects to this idea of water which is always flowing and sometimes branches out etc. Throughout the novel, he himself reminds me of the river as he is constantly moving between two cultures that he is part of . This made me think about people who grow up in different countries, like children of immigrants or first-generation kids. Even though the situation isn’t exactly the same, there is still a sense of being culturally mixed and learning how to exist as different versions of yourself depending on the context. This can be confusing and can make it really difficult out where you really belong.

The boarding school experience in the novel also felt very relatable to me. Ernesto being sent to a Christian boarding school reminded me of when I transferred from a public school to a Christian private school in middle school. One thing I didn’t really enjoy about the novel was that Ernesto often seems like he is mostly observing instead of making choices. Sometimes it felt like he was just there, which made parts of the story feel slow. However, I did like that by the end of the novel he finally chooses his own path.  I also enjoyed learning new words from a language I was largely unfamiliar with before reading this book. I think the title Deep Rivers is very fitting as seen in the multiple ways it the idea of rivers fits into the novel from Ernesto’s identity to just how deep seated Indigenous culture is, to how important nature is.

Question; I wonder what a sequel to this book would be like, especially since it ends when change is just starting and many things are left unresolved?

I really enjoyed this weeks reading of the Shrouded Woman. I think it was an easier read compared to the previous books we read and I was also very captivated throughout the book.

One of the key themes (for me) in this book is that it is written from the perspective of a woman, and follows her reflection on life. It was really interesting seeing how even after she is dead the protagonist’s beauty is mentioned, symbolizing the focus placed on physical appearance, especially for women in society.

In the lecture video it is mentioned that “the narrator depicts as she is departing it, as finally she is able to draw some threads and connections together to imagine how its various parts interact to constitute a whole.” Through reading Shrouded Woman I thought about the importance of community and the impact and other people have in shaping our life. This can be seen as various characters are introduced as they come to visit Ana Maria and she shares her perspective on them. Ana Maria’s first love represented an era where she was growing and learning. This section had me feeling kind of emotional especially as she mentioned “must we die in order to know certain things” (176) – talking about how she would forever be connected to her first love, despite not realizing that during her lifetime. Her dad is introduced and seems to represent a typical male leader role, especially when she mentions how her dad suffers in silence – ” He will suffer in solitude, rebellious against any reference to his affliction, against the slightest display of sympathy, as if his grief were not within reach of anyone” (178). This to me felt like the dad kept his grief and sadness all to himself to conceal what he though of as a weakness. Alicia is introduced as being super religious, yet very sad. Her sadness and sorrow were said to be reflected in her physical body, which once again reminded me of the importance placed on physical appearance for woman, as Alicia was praised for having very blonde hair when she was a child. This part -” What would I not give though, my poor Alicia that you might be granted here on Earth a particle of that happiness you think is reserved for you in heaven” (180) was also very impactful because to me it felt like the protagonist’s opinion was suggesting that Alicia’s religiosity was a way to cope with her sadness. Another strong female character is Elena, who is described as being let down by Ana Maria’s brother for being in some ways too vibrant (he couldn’t handle all of that). The novel touches on how woman are slandered for wanting to be themselves and free – “Yet slander will always pursue her! That is the tribute women like Elena must ever pay for their liberty” (182). Overall I really really enjoyed reading this book :))) A Question I have is – I wonder if written now how much this book would be different, especially in regards to being written from a female perspective? ( How has more equal rights changed being a woman now,  but also what has not changed).

Well, that was a very interesting read! I particularly enjoyed the descriptiveness used by Proust which I believe succeeded in painting a picture book of the emotions he aimed to convey. This text was kind of difficult to read ngl, because it had very very long sentences (which were basically paragraphs to be honest). Despite this I enjoyed the thought behind how the Swann his family knew existed in some ways only in their minds. His family was unaware of the image, prestige and connections Swann had with very influential people. I think the beginning segment of sleep was also interesting, especially in the way he mentioned that when we are sleeping we become sort of a part of the inanimate objects present in the room. That was also very interesting when discussing how a person in ways travels in their sleep, such as the way the author travelled to his past. I personally love a good metaphor which gives creative life to often mundane parts of life!

There were also some other parts which I thought were intriguing while reading and caught my attention. For example, the multiple mentions of the caste system reminded me of how important that system was during that era. It is a bit irking how important social structures and rules are in impacting people’s ways of thinking. For example the grandaunt mentioning the lawyer who married royalty.  The protagonists relationship to his mother also had me thinking a lot tbh. Overall, I think the relationship is very sweet and the author did a good job expressing a young child’s perspective and sweet affection for his mother. However many many times it was kind of strange and reminded me of Freud. Especially when it is mentioned that he gets very annoyed that his mother would not let him kiss her several times in public as she does in his room, especially because the father is there was very much Freud inspired. The child’s perspective on adult conversation was also cool and I enjoyed the way various characters are introduced and presented and their traits. One of my favorite lines in the chapter was when the character is symbolizing the letter he gave to his mom acting as a thread connecting them. I thought that was so cute.  I also really thought it was cute that he understood punishment was coming but still went after his deep desire to say goodnight to his mom. It was also a nice plot twist how his dad showed so much understanding. Overall, one of my most favorite parts was the explanation behind the thought process for the book the grandmothers gifted. It was so insightful! I wonder in our day what that type of gift giving would be like?

Hello, I hope everyone is having an amazing day and start to the new semester. My name is Palak! I am a third year student studying psychology. I am born and raised in beautiful British Columbia. However, I grew up in the Fraser Valley, which is kind of different than Vancouver (the gas is cheaper). Something kind of interesting about me is that I have a twin sister. In my free time I enjoy cooking, baking, working out and shopping!! I also really really really love going to concerts (which is very bad for my bank account – along with shopping).

Through this course I aim to challenge myself and learn a lotttt about literature! Growing up I was  a very avid reader. I remember throwing myself into fantasy worlds. I would pull all nighters visualizing the specific worlds painted through the texts. The thing I remember most about those days is the feeling I would get. In many ways the world felt bigger and my problems felt smaller. However, my passion for reading slowly dwindled as other worries and stresses increased. It felt like reading was something I could only do when I had ample free time which never seemed to come. Sometimes it felt like reading fiction wouldn’t be productive and that I should only read self help books. Luckily I have moved on from that very limiting mindset. I understand that literature (whether fiction or autobiographical) teaches me something about the world. It provides me with a lens and gives me better understanding of the people and societies I may or may not interact with. Through this course I am also really excited to try out a new type of format. In my degree basically all the course I have taken have been standard exam or essays with strict rubrics. So far, this course seems to be set up in a way where I can feel comfortable expressing myself and my opinions without feeling bound by the limits of right and wrong answers. I think this structure will be really beneficial in helping me get out of my comfort zone and actually generate a sense of trust in myself and in my thoughts without just involving memorizing content, which is basically what I have done for the past 3 years. I can not wait to actually get into the books and throw myself into the different worlds presented in them. Im also excited to read my fellow classmates blogs!!