Okay, I have to start by saying I’m a tad surprised I made it through my contract. I thought reading a book a week would be impossible given the zaniness of this semester in particular, but I did it! I made it through and I’m pretty stoked about it. After taking RMST 202 with Jon last year, I knew what to expect coming into this course, and felt more prepared as a result. I also (with the exception of Borges) enjoyed this selection of novels, and the creative freedom we were granted through both the variety of books available to us, as well as our blog posts. I never felt pressured to adhere to a specific structure or writing style, but rather to be honest and entirely myself.
Lispector’s The Hour of the Star was absolutely my favourite read of the semester (and possibly ever). She for sure redeemed herself in my eyes after really not enjoying The Passion According to G.H last year. I was very moved by her prose and her insistence that her syntactical choices be respected in translation. Honestly, I would read her grocery lists. Some other honourable mentions include Bolano’s Distant Star and Indiana’s Papi. I even have to (very reluctantly) hand it to Borges for pushing me (angrily) out of my comfort zone. These aren’t books I would have read, let alone discovered in my own time; what makes this course truly unique is the agency we’re afforded through the contract grading and the opportunity to plunge into tales (and authors) we wouldn’t generally gravitate toward.
I think this is the only course I’ve taken outside of my Creative Writing workshop courses with poetry in the curriculum. Another bonus is having gotten to know some really cool people in class, which is (of course) always appreciated. Thanks for the thoughtful comments and conversations. And a big thank you to Jon and Daniel for the instruction, lecture videos, and facilitation of meaningful dialogue around the texts explored. We did it, people. We made it through. Going forward, I’m going to try to read more styles I don’t usually feel inclined to explore as I think it’s important to continue to challenge myself both within and outside of academic contexts. I guess I don’t really know what I like until I try it.
Is there a novel you didn’t necessarily enjoy but are glad you read? Why or why not?
Hi Neko,
While I didn’t particularly like Fever Dream, I was happy I read it.
It’s experimental structure (only 1 chapter, the narrator’s perspective, the neverending questions) was incredible. Yet, the story itself felt incomplete to me. Maybe it’s just becuase I’m used to having my questions answered, and so the feeling of a lack of ending makes me feel unsettled.
No matter, I may well pick it up in the future, flip through the pages, and enjoy it wholeheartedly. Only time will tell!
PS: I’ll definitely be reading 100 Years of Solitude again this Summer. I feel like that’s a book that will never lose its appeal.
Take care,
Curtis HR
Every week I came to the blog posts with the expectation of reading your thoughts, with your honest writing. Interestingly, I think we have the same favorite books of this term. Clarice Lispector is a powerful writer that I recommend everyone read, even though she remains little known outside of Brazil. It seems to me that you have covered a good stretch of Latin American literature but there is always a way to continue exploring. I hope this map has been useful for your own writing (I also wanted to see your play, but I found out very late). Thank you for all your work!
Hey Neko,
Thanks for sharing with us. I actually liked all the books. I learned a lot about different regions while also learning about the authors and their perspectives. Also, a hundred years of solitude was definitely a book that I believe would be hard to regret reading. For me, I would like to read it in Spanish in the future.
Neko! Thank you for your entertaining and insightful blogs — I got so much more out of each book from your discussions. Happy to got to met you and chat with you in class too! I am happy to have finally read 100 years of solitude — having heard so much about it I’m glad I can finally say I conquered it. Did I love it? No, but I gained a lot from reading it.