Month: January 2026

As I cozied up to start the next section of The Savage Detectives, I was very curious to see where the story would take me. I want to know what happens to Lupe, and I wonder how Garcia Madero will continue to mature.

At first, I felt a bit lost in this new narrators and settings; it was like beginning a new book (or a couple) all over again. Eventually, characters like Ulises Lima, Arturo Belano, and Luscious Skin, as well as the visceral realists and the magazine Lee Harvey Oswald clicked into place from the first section, and by page 166 I felt confident with my grasp of the different stories from different sources. Unfortunately, due to the time between readings and how many other things I am reading right now, I can’t remember how everything fits together. All of these narratives feel like they are introduced as interviews – is this being done in the search for Cesária Tinajero?

I found something compelling in the first few pages as the narrator describes a crush on a boy at her school. This perspective on attraction felt refreshing after Garcia Madero’s.

The writing style – fluid, “speedy” and long sentences –  as well as the content – meeting new people and going to new places sometimes too fast to keep track – reminds me a little bit of On the Road by Jack Kerouac. With both books, I found the pacing exhausting to read, so much happening so quickly.

I enjoyed Laura’s takes. She observes about Belano, “And then I realized that deep down the guy was a creep,” and “The whole visceral realism thing was a love letter, the demented strutting of a dumb bird in the moonlight, something essentially cheap and meaningless” (152). Later, she likens the visceral realist movement to a male bird’s mating dance: “that’s what Arturo Belano was like, a stupid, conceited peacock” (172). I think Laura is tapping into what Carlina, Lily and I talked about two weeks ago, how visceral realism feels a bit performative. Later, Luis says to Luscious Skin, “I’m sorry to have to tell you this, and don’t take it the wrong way, but I couldn’t care less about the visceral realists (God what a name)” (175) I felt a bit seen.

Another pertinent quote, this time from Perla, says “Not for long, really, which goes to show how relative memory is, like a language we think we know but we don’t, that can stretch things or shrink them at will” (166). I feel memory is a crucial element in the passage for this week, as different characters recount their (sometimes contradictory) memories. How do you approach your understanding of this passage based upon memories that may or may not be faulty?

Of all the new narrators, I found Perla, Laura and Barbara to be the most compelling to me. Maybe because they are women and are over the visceral realists, and I like Barbara’s voice as a narrator.

Very obvious lack of sex compared to the first section, yet I noted here I felt more sexual violence towards men with the story of the French troops.

Question I still have: where is Garcia Madero?

Going into my reading, all I knew about Les Misérables was the blurb on the back – which promises a “spine-tingling chase” through the sewers of Paris! I chose to read the first chapter, called An Upright Man, (page 1-34) of the first section, called Fantine.

The story begins in a small Alpine town where a new bishop, Monsieur Bienvenu, has just moved in. He is immensely good: he gives up a large manor to exchange with the local hospital, which was too small for the number of patients. As the Alpine day draws to a close, a stranger comes to town, disheveled, dirty and furtive; this is Jean Valjean. He is turned away from the local inn, and spends all evening trying to find a place to stay. Just as he gives up to spend the night outside, a kindly woman points him to the bishop’s house.

Here, he is welcomed, given dinner and a clean bed. Though M. Bienvenu remains unaware, we learn that Jean is a convict. I was interested to learn his crime: he stole a loaf of bread to feed his sister and her seven children. This made me think of the question “what if you steal bread to feed your family?” I wonder if its origins come from this book. Part of being a French major has been learning about French bread culture (the French love bread), so it was interesting to see that element strongly in the first chapter.

We see how much suffering Jean endured for this loaf of bread – grueling labour for 19 years. But as he goes to bed, full and in clean sheets for the first time since his incarceration, he cannot get the bishop’s silver plates out of his mind. In the wee hours, he steals them and runs away.

The next morning he is brought back to the bishop by three gendarmes. Instead of an admonishment, the bishop gives him two silver candlesticks and sends him on his way. The silver, he says, “belonged to the poor. And who was that man? A poor man, evidently.” I found this extreme forgiveness and benevolence touching – M. Bienvenu seems almost too good.

Next, we find Jean alone on a mountain road, when Petit Gervais, “One of those pleasant and gay youngsters who go from place to place, with their knees sticking through their trousers” goes by. The boy drops a single coin – 40 sous – and Jean hides it under his shoe. The boy pleads and cries for his coin, but Jean does not budge. Finally, Petit Gervais runs off. Suddenly, as the coin glints up at him, Jean realises what he has done – with a backpack full of silver, he has stolen from a child. He runs after the boy, but to no avail: Gervais has disappeared.

“What a wretch I am!” exclaims Jean, and he falls into tears for the first time in 19 years. The chapter ends with his repentant return to the bishop.

I really enjoyed this first chapter! I found the language level harder than Bolaño, and much slower paced, which I did enjoy. For The Savage Detectives, I found I could read very quickly, while here, I had to plod (“plod” has negative connotations I feel – I plodded happily) through to make sure I didn’t miss anything. I enjoyed the historical distance between 2026 and the mid-1800s – references to carriages and millet seeds were lost on me – while also enjoying the timelessness of forgiveness, self-consciousness, and redemption. I am excited to see what Jean does with his second (maybe third?) chance.

For a question, what do you think about redemption as a theme in literature? Are there other stories that come to mind?

Hello everyone! My name is Annabelle, and I am a fourth-year French student. I was born in Vancouver, grew up speaking English, took French through high school, and started in FREN 301 at UBC four years ago. Being a French major is cool – I’ve gotten to try poutine downtown, analyse Québec culture through comics and even go on exchange to Paris and Lyon! Along my way, I have gotten involved beyond French with the FHIS department – and I recognised a few faces in class yesterday. I absolutely love reading; while the school year does slow me down and I do not read as much as I used to, I feel very grateful to have not “fallen out” of reading. I do find I have to be more deliberate to find time to read. Some favourites of mine last year were The Awakening by Kate Chopin and American Notebooks by Marie-Claire Blais. Some favourite French books of mine are Madame Bovary by Gustave Flaubert and The Tin Flute by Gabrielle Roy. My favourite author is either Joan Didion or John Steinbeck. Or Margaret Laurence…argh! Asides from books, I love exploring, trying new things, meeting new people and learning!

For RMST 495, I am excited to prioritise reading a book that I want to read, which is pretty unique for a course. I do like long books: they are a unique experience compared to shorter books, and perhaps due to the busyness of school, more intimidating to pick up – I fear I might not remember the beginning by the time I make it to the end. This summer I had the opportunity to read Anna Karenina (about 900 pages) which was the first long book I had read in a while. It became peaceful, in that I got into the rhythm of the characters, while at times I lost patience with the parts I didn’t find interesting…not much was left to the imagination! I like that long books are renown for their length, and while I don’t believe it adds to their “worth”, it does add a sort of visible gravitas; I certainly felt like the coolest kid in Grade 9 for toting around a copy of Stephen King’s It (alas I was not). I am excited about the challenge of reading a long book during the school year. I am also so excited to have a class in English! I am an anglophone, so it is much easier to express myself in an English-speaking classroom.

For my book, I chose the French classic Les Misérables by Victor Hugo. I’ve been meaning to read this for a while, and the Broadway show is coming to Vancouver this Spring, so I thought this would be a perfect opportunity to read it first (and say “umm, that wasn’t in the book” during the show…no lol don’t worry I won’t do that.) I am excited to finally read a book by Hugo and I feel like I can more confidently tell people I am a French major (this is a half joke). I picked up a copy at one of my favourite bookstores, Tanglewood Books, which I want to shoutout because it has an amazing selection of old and new as well as allies of shelves and creaky wooden floors! Plus right next door to a coffee shop? A perfect day.

Hello everyone! My name is Annabelle, and I am a fourth-year French student. I was born in Vancouver, grew up speaking English, took French through high school, and started in FREN 301 at UBC four years ago. Being a French major is cool – I’ve gotten to try poutine downtown, analyse Québec culture through comics and even go on exchange to Paris and Lyon! Along my way, I have gotten involved beyond French with the FHIS department – and I recognised a few faces in class yesterday. I absolutely love reading; while the school year does slow me down and I do not read as much as I used to, I feel very grateful to have not “fallen out” of reading. I do find I have to be more deliberate to find time to read. Some favourites of mine last year were The Awakening by Kate Chopin and American Notebooks by Marie-Claire Blais. Some favourite French books of mine are Madame Bovary by Gustave Flaubert and The Tin Flute by Gabrielle Roy. My favourite author is either Joan Didion or John Steinbeck. Or Margaret Laurence…argh! Asides from books, I love exploring, trying new things, meeting new people and learning!

For RMST 495, I am excited to prioritise reading a book that I want to read, which is pretty unique for a course. I do like long books: they are a unique experience compared to shorter books, and perhaps due to the busyness of school, more intimidating to pick up – I fear I might not remember the beginning by the time I make it to the end. This summer I had the opportunity to read Anna Karenina (about 900 pages) which was the first long book I had read in a while. It became peaceful, in that I got into the rhythm of the characters, while at times I lost patience with the parts I didn’t find interesting…not much was left to the imagination! I like that long books are renown for their length, and while I don’t believe it adds to their “worth”, it does add a sort of visible gravitas; I certainly felt like the coolest kid in Grade 9 for toting around a copy of Stephen King’s It (alas I was not). I am excited about the challenge of reading a long book during the school year. I am also so excited to have a class in English! I am an anglophone, so it is much easier to express myself in an English-speaking classroom.

For my book, I chose the French classic Les Misérables by Victor Hugo. I’ve been meaning to read this for a while, and the Broadway show is coming to Vancouver this Spring, so I thought this would be a perfect opportunity to read it first (and say “umm, that wasn’t in the book” during the show…no lol don’t worry I won’t do that.) I am excited to finally read a book by Hugo and I feel like I can more confidently tell people I am a French major (this is a half joke). I picked up a copy at one of my favourite bookstores, Tanglewood Books, which I want to shoutout because it has an amazing selection of old and new as well as allies of shelves and creaky wooden floors! Plus right next door to a coffee shop? A perfect day.