Tag Archives: Latin America

Week 13, Rivera Garza, “The Taiga Syndrome”

Cristina Rivera Garza’s The Taiga Syndrome was an eye-catching read, to say the least. It was adventurous and mysterious, while also difficult to understand what was going on at times. Simultaneously, the book also had some really resonating quotes that not only intensified the plot of the story, but also made me think—in more abstract terms—about life and our world.

To characterize both the beginning and ending of the story, each ends of the book were mysterious, in I had a strong yearning for more clarification. The very abstract quote written on the telegram, “’WHAT ARE WE LETTING IN WHEN WE SAY GOODBYE?’” was just the beginning of this growing curiosity. I questioned, “who exactly was this man, who hired the detective (our narrator)” and “who exactly is our narrator?” (p. 5). I just wanted to know more about the context—the place, people, and exact situation of the investigation—for my own sense of security. With the lack of this, I think I felt quite lost; I was questioning every advancement I made throughout the book, with a sense of excitement that came from the false hope that all my questions would be answered in a blockbuster ending.

This ‘blockbuster ending’ never occurred. However, the ending still gave me some chills. First of all, I wonder what exactly the ending of the story is. Does the book come to a proper closure? “At the foot of a volcano” (p. 119) is what left me an additional influx of questions. At first, I thought I was overthinking, but after going through the lecture, I think I was going towards the right direction with this book.

“This story that almost literally has no end is not only a fairy tale awry, but also a detective story whose poetics of failure point to the end of sovereignty without obviously establishing any alternatives. We can no longer even escape to the vanishing woods” (Rivera Garza Lecture, p. 1).

Like what Professor Jon stated, I also thought the book “almost literally has no end” (Rivera Garza Lecture, p. 1). In a literal sense, the quest to the Taiga forest the begun at the start of the book did come to an end, albeit a failed one. However, although I’m not sure exactly why, I keep getting a sense that there is something more left to the book; and Professor Jon’s quote—“Had his first wife really “died in an accident, years ago” as he is rather too quick to tell the narrator (15)? Is the detective missing the real case, right under her nose?”—added to this feeling (Rivera Garza Lecture, p.7).

Question: Personally, do you think the story came to a proper closure? Why do you think so? What makes a proper ‘ending’?

Week 12, Indiana, “Papi”

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Rita Indiana’s Papi was a thought-provoking read. In terms of difficulty, it was one of the ‘lighter’ reads—comparably bigger fonts, very colloquial narration, and manageable length. However, this book made me reflect on my relationship with my father and family in general.

“Papi’s there, around any corner. But you can’t sit down and wait for him cuz that’s a longer and more painful death. It’s better to make other plans, to just stay in your PJs and watch cartoons from six in the morning until midnight, or even go out for a stroll, which is a game Mami made up for herself called if-Papi-wants-you-he-can-come-find-you” (1).

This was such a sad and powerful quote that got me really interested in the book right from the get-go. Being introduced to the character Papi through this context, I had so many initial questions regarding the character—such as “what does this ‘Papi’ do, to not always ‘want’ to be with his daughter?” I even questioned if he was alive or not. However, after getting to know much more about Papi, his unique traits, his unrealistically never-ending list of possessions, and his twisted (?) love life, I realized that he just wasn’t an ordinary—nor a good—father; at least in my opinion. He definitely was portrayed as what Professor Jon described as a “macho man lifted straight from the stereotypes of Latin American and Caribbean pop culture masculinity” (Indiana Lecture, p.1).

In the lecture, Professor Jon stated, “So that narrator has to come to terms with the loss of someone who was never quite there (for her) in the first place” (p. 1). This got me reflecting on my relationship with my dad. For quick context, I have been separated from my dad since kindergarten, as my mom and I came to Canada for my education and my dad stayed in Korea to work; my parents are still together, but our family just lived separated. Growing up without a ‘father figure’ throughout my daily life while still ‘having a father’, there were many aspects of the narrator that I was able to relate to. However, I was still able to visit my dad when “I” wanted to (a big difference with the narrator), and my dad supported both my mom and I to his best ability. So for me, when I have to “come to terms with the loss of someone who was never quite there [for me]” but still present more or less in my life, I think I will feel a big sense of loss and sorrow (Indiana Lecture, p.1).

Q: I wonder how others felt while reading about the father character (Papi). Did you feel uncomfortable? What sort of emotions did you have towards Papi?

Week 1 – Introduction

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Hello everyone! My name is Daniel Choi, I am a third-year arts student majoring in International Relations and minoring in Law and Society. As evident from my minor, I am interested in law and how it affects—and, in turn, how it is shaped by—society. I am by no means a natural reader—if there ever is such a person. While I cannot describe reading, especially academic reading, as “enjoyable”, I can confidently say that Professor Beasley-Murray’s previous course (RMST 202) taught me that academic reading could in fact be interesting and engaging.

RMST 202 was about literatures and cultures of the Romance world. As such, the central question of the course was, “What is the Romance world?” “What is Romance studies?” Although there isn’t one definitive answer nor a clear definition, this intrinsic obscurity and abstraction was what made the course extremely interesting; it allowed us to be limitless in our approaches to the diverse texts, helping us keep our thoughts open to the new ideas, imagery, and symbolism that the books introduced to us rather than actively seeking for “hidden messages” based on our own presumptions. This unique approach was what helped me grow as a student and reader. It allowed me to find meaningful links between literature and life, literature and time, as well as interesting connections and contrasts between the texts and between related themes such as surrealism and modernism.

Watching the introductory lecture, a lot of SPAN 312 seems to have the same theoretical approaches to RMST 202. While the background context of a story is emphasized, the focus of our analysis is not limited to just context; as Professor Beasley-Murray stated, “we are not doing history here.” It is the unique focus on the “distortion, elaboration, invention, mystification, [and] fabrication” of literature that excites me. I mean, where else would we be allowed to adopt such a fascinating approach? It is certainly a new way of approaching texts, but once your focus falls into what Professor Beasley-Murray calls the “gap between representation and the real,” it will certainly open up a new journey.

Specifically for SPAN 312, I am excited to start thinking about the idea of Latin America and Latin American literature. Similar to Romance studies, I do not think there is one clear definition of Latin America. It could be thought of through multiple methods—for example, through geography, shared cultures and history, etc.—but it nevertheless does not provide an accurate definition. Rather, like the notion of “magic realism”, it only seems to be limiting the scope of our analysis. While having these thoughts and ideas in mind, I hope to allow myself to go beyond the limits of these approaches and find new, meaningful connections and disconnections between the texts that we read.

Question: What does Latin America mean to you? Do you have any past experiences related to Latin American literature? If so, in what ways do you think your experiences will affect your approach to the readings?