“I had not ceased while sleeping to form reflections on what I had just read, but these reflections had taken a rather peculiar turn; it seemed to me that I myself was what the book was talking about,” – Combray, Part I.

I’ve never done a proper literature course before, save for my GCE A-Levels, but that was more depth than breadth of coverage. It’s been a valuable experience.

Many of the books we’ve read seem to have common threads. They often shift in chronology or perspective, and talk about harsher social realities, or perhaps relationships, or life. They often have an element of autobiography. I think that the authors, by placing themselves in the story, help to place us in the story too. That’s the beauty of literature. I never went through anything close to what these authors talk about, and yet I feel often that I’m there with them, or at least come to understand a little better what they’ve been through.

Granted, I only contracted an additional 3 books beyond the 4 that were assigned (I’m on exchange so the grade isn’t important to me), so I didn’t read many of the books we did. I think having the extra time to read helped me appreciate some of the books better though, but I will admit that not all of them appealed to me. I think my favourites have to be Black Shack Alley and The Society of Reluctant Dreamers, because they were more coherently structured and the colonial aspect is something that intrigues me. I also enjoyed The Trenchcoat even though it confused me greatly. Combray, W, and Amulet, I didn’t enjoy as much, but they had fascinating contextual backgrounds that were interesting to learn about and the intellectual challenge is always welcome.

All in all, I had a great time in this course. Glad I bought the books too, because they’ll be on display on my bookshelf 🙂

I forgot to include a question! What were your favourite texts and why?