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En total, me gusté el curso mucho. En general, olvidé los textos, especialmente Cien años de soledad. Aparte del gran duración de la novela, pienso que es lo mejor ejemplo de realismo mágico que he leído. También me gusta much las historias de McOndo, pero pienso que no entendí los metáforos y significados de algos de las historias. Pero, después de todo del realismo mágico, fue bueno a leer alga tipa de literatura nueva.

Aparte de los textos, me gusté el formato del curso. Mientras esperé mucho tiempo para empezar a trabajar duro en el proyecto de Wikipedia, lo encontré olvidable, especialmente en comparado a un examen final. También me gusta la idea que Profesor Beasley-Murray propuso-que usualmente alguien no aprende mucho por escribir un ensayo. Mientras yo he aprendido un poco entre escribiendo mi ensayo, es probable que voy a olvidar mucho de lo en poco tiempo. Al otro mano, entre mi trabajo en el proyecto de Wikipedia yo aprendí mucho, y, también, puedo usarlo (y otros pueden usarlo) para un recurso en el futuro. Aunque, no me gusta la idea de estar marcado por el trabajo de otros personas, que es posible en el proyecto de Wikipedia, aunque pienso que probablemente, sería claro quien trabaja duro en el proyecto y quien no trabaja duro.

No hay mucho que no me gusté sobre el curso, pero tengo decir que no olvidé Leyendas de Guatemala. No se porque exactamente. Probablamente mi aversión por la novela surge por la dificultad que tenía en leyendo lo. Aparte de esto texto, me gusté el curso mucho. Hasta luego amigos!

Este curso ha sido un reto para mi. Encanto las obras de García Márquez, de Isabel Allende y Carlos Fuentes, pues tenía sentido que tomaría este curso. “Leyendas de Guatemala” era muuuy difícil para mi, y temía que no tendría capaz de seguir. Pero seguí leyendo más lentamente, a veces más que dos veces por cada cuento, y al fin entendí bastante bien. “El Reino de Este Mundo” también al inicio pareció demasiado difícil, pero cuando me acostumbré a la estilo de escribir de Carpentier, leí fácilmente hasta el final. La prueba era, claro, “Cien Años de Soledad.” Pero con este libro, también con los cuentos al fin del curso, no tenía las problemas anteriores. Era una revelación para mi a leer en Español al nivel que leo en Ingles (aun con mucho menos de comprensión, por supuesto.) Leer “Cien Años” siempre fue una meta mía, y ahora lo he hecho. Siempre tendré esto.

Este es mi último post en el blog.

Mi cuento favorito de los cuentos de McOndo es lo de Perú. Es Extrañando a Diego de Jaime Baily.  Por uno, es divertidísimo. Tiene un humor un poco sarcástico, pero lo me gusta mucho.  Por ejemplo cuando  habla sobre el gimnasio, o el concierto: “Aunque detesto los tumultos, fui al concierto. Grave error. Había demasiada gente.”

Es extra interesante como mezcla un lenguaje vulgar y sexual con pensamientos íntimos. La imagen del sexo doloroso (“lloré cuando él entraba por atrás”) se yuxtapone con la imagen de Felipe mirando Letterman en su piyamas, o llorando en su carro.

Por otro lado también me recuerda a mi compañero de cuarto con quien viví en Barcelona. Él era probablemente mi mejor amigo allí, y pasamos muchas noches enfrente el tele, mirando algo como Mujeres de Manhattan o Sexo y Nueva York (lol), cuando él me contaba historias un poco como este de Jaime Baily, o más específicamente de Felipe.

Pues McOndo fue  muy interesante leer, y también lo más fácil de entender (para mí). Me lo gustaba mucho. Cien años de soledad ya he leído antes de este clase, pero Asturias y Carpentier fueron muy interesantes también. He oído de Asturias antes, pero no leí nada de él.

El trabajo de Wikipedia tiene que ser entregado en unas horas (3?). Pienso que tenemos suficiente información, pero el formato no me gusta. Pues, vamos a ver…

Sobre el curso en general, pienso que la tema mayor (además del realismo mágico) es la de la identidad. Todas las obras que hemos visto, en una forma o otra. tratan de establecer, buscar, mantener, crear, etc etc una identidad. Leyendas de Guatemala quieren establecer un identidad Guatemalteco que incluye los indígenas, los españoles, los híbridos, y todos. El reino de este mundo identifica la identidad de los esclavos y de los amos como pensamientos muy distintos, y establece la identidad Haitiana a través de su sangrienta historia. Cien años de soledad trataba temas como la identidad familiar, identidad política, identidad sexual, la repetición, la importancia de un nombre, etc. Y McOndo crea una nueva identidad para la gente de America Latina que rompe con el estereotipo literario del realismo mágico.

I can’t believe the semester is almost over. How time flies. I was presently surprised with all of the literature we covered in this class. I didn’t know what to expect when I registered for the class as I have never read any of the literature before. I found really enjoyed all of the books and stories we read, but what I found the most interesting was the contrasting styles between GGM’s Cien años de soledad and the stories within McOndo.

I found the evolution of the magical realist genre very interesting, peaking with the work of GGM. Initially I thought I would not enjoy the book as I had a preconceived notion of what it would be like. I figured it would be kind of like Pan’s Labyrinth. Not to say that it was a bad movie, just not my particular style. Thus, I thought I would not enjoy the book at all. However, as I read it I found myself liking it more and more. Although I have not read much in the genre, given the previous books we read in class Cien años de soledad seemed to me to be one of the paramount works of magical realism. Then, after reading such an intense book that produced so much vivid imagery in my head it was very interesting to read the post boom work of the McOndo writers. After Cien años de soledad I found the change in literary style to be quite a shock but I enjoyed booth styles so much. I really enjoyed Cien años de soledad for its imagery and fantastical nature, but at the same time, I really enjoyed the stories form McOndo for the realism. Cien años de soledad took me away to a different world where the strangest things are possible while still delivering many important messages, many which I am still trying to grasp. As for McOndo, I liked it for the fact I could relate to the stories in some degree or another. I thought that reading these two back to back was great because it displayed the variation in Latin American literature and how it has evolved over the years.

I also really enjoyed the structure of the class. I found the blogs to be very informative and although I am finding the Wikipedia project quite a difficult task, I really think it is a great project. To be contributing to something that many people all over the world use and making it more legitimate is great idea. I honestly think more classes should incorporate this type of project.

Well, I’d be lying if I said I’ve been on top of my blog posts lately. This past month has been an absolute nightmare for me. Constant problem sets, massive group assignments, presentations and work outside of school really don’t equate to me getting a lot of sleep. I guess I was asking for it by taking 6 courses in a semester and working part-time. Personal struggles aside, I really did enjoy the course, and more specifically the novels that we read. While I must admit my attendance started sliding for the latter part of the course, I still took the time to do the readings at home to keep on pace with the course.

To me the way the course panned out was rather innovative, and, at times, demanding. The volume of reading in this course was rather intimidating for me, especially as an econ student where reading isn’t of paramount importance. I especially liked the blog posts we were assigned – they acted as an incentive to complete the readings and also come up with something unique or, in the best case, insightful to say. Even if you missed class lectures, by reading through the blog posts of the students in the class, you could get a very broad perspective of the material we covered and derive your own personal interpretations from the collective wisdom of the class. In the end, I think this led to a greater appreciation of the literature we studied. I like to think of the blog posts as a sort of “virtual book club” that we all became avid members of during the course.

As for magical realism itself, I now feel as though I am well versed in the subject – well, okay, as well versed as you can be for a novice literary aficionado. Either way, I firmly believe the manner in which the course was presented allowed us to gain a fuller appreciation of the genre as a whole, from its origins, to its climax. Ultimately, it was clear that the first two novels, while important and well written in their own rights, were just a warm up for Marquez’s masterpiece. While I enjoyed Cien años I can’t help but feel as though it deserves another, thorough re-read on my part. I think it’s fair to say that many of the students in the class probably feel the same way. Marquez’s work is not something that can be fully digested and interpreted with one simple reading. That being said, it’s not surprising that volumes have been written about his book and that an entire course in itself could probably be devoted to the novel. At the end of the day, however, I feel satisfied with my first exposure to the genre of magical realism, even if I’m a complete noob.

I feel thankful for being a part of this course as it provided me nice gradual path to conquering a a truly great piece of literature.

Read a masterpiece… Check.

What? It’s over already? Just when I was beginning to understand things…

Looking back at my first blog entry, I feel like I’ve come a long way in my understanding of this concept known as “magical realism”. I thought I had a general grasp of what it was at the beginning of the course, however after having gone through the entire course of Span 365, I realize that I really had no idea what magical realism was, and the complexity of the term.

I enjoyed the selected readings for this class. I feel that they were thoughtfully selected, and provided a broad scope of the varieties of magical realism. I also enjoyed the way the course progressed throughout the term, beginning with an introduction to the beginnings of magical realism, seen through Leyendas de Guatemala, moving towards a portrayal of the changes occurring within the concept, seen through El reino de este mundo, onto the epitome of the magical realism, seen through Cien anos de soledad, and ending with a look into how the term has taken off since this canonical work, seen through the McOndo movement.

It’s difficult to pick my favourite book of the term. I would have to say I enjoyed El reino de este mundo most, with Cien anos coming in at a close second. What I loved about El reino was the exploration of perspectives of different groups in society seen through a real, historic event. I thought the final realization of Ti Noel about how living in the kingdom of this world is about survival, and surviving a constant cycle of repression, was eye-opening. However, I loved Cien anos for the simple genius of Garcia Marquez. The symbolism and the way in which he ties in the overlying themes of the novel is amazing. I’m so happy that I finally got to read this novel, cover to cover. I know that I would never have been able to get through this book and enjoy it this much by reading it on my own, so I’m thankful that we got to read it in class with Jon guiding us along the way.

I thought it was great to end the course looking at works of McOndo. I believe it gave a relevancy to the course, so we could understand that even though the magical realism “boom” may have occurred years ago, its repercussions are being felt today still.

Lastly, although I may have complained about having to blog every week, I really did enjoy and appreciate it. The weekly blogs helped me to stay on top of readings. As well, they forced me to reflect on what I had read, and form my own opinions, questions, etc. about the readings that I could bring with me to class discussions. Finally, the wiki project. Quite the task, but I feel it has helped to bring everything together for me. It’s allowed me to draw on what I’ve learned throughout the course and compare this with what critics and academics are currently saying about the topic of magical realism.

I can hardly beleive the semester is over, even harder to beleive, is that I found the time to read all that literature…I have to say that my favourite was El Reino de este mundo. This book helped me to better understand magic realism and the way it is used. I think this book was also the perfect length for a lit reading. It’s so hard to crush a book like Cien Anos de Soledad into a few weeks of reading. I personaly am a very slow reader, even in english. I would have prefered longer to work on that book.

I do feel that I learnt a lot about the importance and significance of magic realism. I think I like it now more then ever. I dont really understand the purpose of our wiki project and how it fits into the course… I spend more time trying to figure out that thing then I do actually contributing to it. I hate to be negative but I also dont like wasting time when there are so many things going on. I would have like to focus entirely on the books we were reading.

I do like the blog entries. I think they are beneficial to our learning and reflection about the things we have read. It kind of forces you to think about the books bit by bit rather then just racing through them and not really knowing or wanting to know what is going on. I found it difficult to comment on others blogs. I felt like I was forcing it out.

That all being said, I am glad I took this course, I feel more confident when reading books or short stories involving magic realism and I hope that what I have learnt in 365 will be benefial to the readings I will being doing in the future. I wish everyone the best and hope you all have a great summer!

The course centers around magical realism and for the most part I thought I knew what it was and that the 3 books we read where all examples of magical realism; to which I was mistaken which left me lost on the concept. All three books seemed to use the same elements and had just a bit of magic to them and where set in the jungles or country side scenery, which are traits of magical realism. So the reality of it is the concept of magical realism is still lost on me.

Ending the course with the anti magical realism book McOndo which proved to be quite different from everything else we have read. The short stories seemed relatively pointless they are like individuals stories to themselves, with no real significance, just stories of I guess common peoples life’s. These stories dont appear to go into any great depth, there set in a urban environment and are about real life with no magical or anything unexplainable even in the romanticized pheromonal state of attraction people call love which in the one story is called a chemical reaction.

Over all out of everything we have read the best book was kingdom of this world. It was a lot more interesting than the other two novels just in the way everything is laid out, the events that happen and its a lot more straight forward than 100 yrs of solitude which was just confusing as hell with 100’s of different ways of looking at it.

I had an interest to learn a little more behind the McOndo movement and decided to read further into some articles and reviews. It was interesting to first learn how Fuguet had come about the idea just after being denied to publish one of his works in the U.S. The reason for the rejection, as per the publisher, was because it did not follow the ‘magical’ formula that was expected of the Latin-American author. Out of his frustration and to prove that Latin-American authors can write more than just within the magical realism genre he set out on the McOndo movement. As a result, McOndo was able to now create an interest and to showcase the literary abilities that do not focus solely on the magical realism genre. But it turns out there is a little more to it than that. As it all became a David and Goliath scenario where the big business and big corporations, in this case the publishers in the US that initially denied Fuguet, saw that the magical realism genre was in demand and that is where the profits were to be made. And instead of Fuguet going along with it, he saw the injustice in all of this; that you are essentially denying the artistic ability of other authors a chance to publish their works and to allow creativity to flourish. Similar to the circumstances of small businesses being pushed out buy the Walmart types or the Microsoft’s that buy out small companies to take over their patents etc. and reduce the competition. With works from other authors they found the inspiration and a way to break the mold of what was expected of them. As the movement gained popularity so did its success in publishing a larger variety and body of works.

Estoy disfrutando mucho los cuentos de McOndo. A leer más, me parece que hay un gran tema del rechazo de lo imaginario…algo que va contra lo que aparece en los textos que hemos leído hasta ahora del realismo mágico. Los escritores del Boom creían una manera de visualizar a América Latina como algo distinto, raro y increíble y se esfuerza los escritores de McOndo un nuevo representación de América Latina. Este representación es una en la cual ya no es exótica ni extraña.

Los escritores de McOndo son jóvenes y saben que sus raíces en América Latina ya están incorporados completamente en el mundo globalizado llena de McDonalds y Ipods. Distinto de realismo mágico, McOndo acepta a esta realidad y nos cuenta sus cuentos ‘cotidianos’ que mantienen su propio estilo del mágico o la fantasía. Muchos contienen personajes reales que comen en lugares familiares, se hacen cosas familiares que también hacemos hoy y se distingue entre los de los textos del realismo mágico donde apareció lo maraviolloso , a veces indudablemente inexplicable (como cómo puede nacer una persona con cola de cerdo). Podemos verlo en el primer cuento de Edmundo Paz Soldán, Amor a la Distancia…no sabemos si el narrador es un mentiroso o sea “flaky” porque engaña a otra chica donde estudia el narrador y nos cuenta los detalles en la carta a su querida…A mi me gustó el final cuando nos encontramos que no va a mandar la carta. Paz Soldán nos deja en sus oraciones conclusiones pensar que puede ser su interés; todo que escribe y hace él es ficción y eso es donde se queda lo imaginario aun hoy en día como en los cuentos de McOndo.

Algo más que me sorprendió es el carácter grafico de algunos de los cuentos, en particular lo de Juan Forn en el que el primer oración es “Hay gente que fornica hasta el agotamiento; hay gente que reza hasta disolver su soledad en ese puñado de palabras repetidas como un autohipnosis…” ¿Que crudo, no? Aunque es fuerte, a mi me fascino mucho este estilo con su giro de modernidad –algo fresco que todavía deja el lector en un mundo más allá.

Te dejo con una cita por Fuguet: Soy un maestro del zapping, de la cultura de apropiación…No invento, absorbo. (Por favor, rebobinar)