Although I have had hard reads during this term, this has got to be one of the hardest novels to read. Not because of the way it is written (which I think it was exceptional to have it written from the perspective of a child) or because of the “lack” of plot, but rather because of the overall theme. Nevertheless, I liked this reading and the way it portrays the ups and downs of a daughter-father relationship.
One of the first things I want to talk about is about the aspect of this book being written from the perspective of a child. I was talking about this book to my roommate a couple of days ago and she said something that stood out to me. She questioned the book’s story “authenticity” and “credibility” because of the fact of a little girl narrating the story. She told me that a child’s innocence and naive sense of life would show a biased point of view of her father’s actions. But I think that is one of the best aspects of this book.
We are able to see and experience the first descriptions of this girl’s dad through her eyes, how she idolized him even though of his tough actions (and absence), lifestyle, etcetera. I think it is really interesting how even though the little girl experiences this twisted relationship, the love and admiration she feels towards him is also portrayed. This aspect just portrays such a human part of relationships with family members, specially those very close to us such as out mothers and fathers. As the book progress, we are able to then realize that this idealization turns into a grief, which then turns into the realization that just like her, her father is also human. This portrayal of the relationship was very hard to read, but also it was very important, mainly because we have not gotten the opportunity to read this kind of complex aspect of family problems/relationships.
Even though the relationship is complicated and the little girl faces terrible things because of her father, she never denies their bloodline. “Cuz he’s my dad, and I’m his daughter” (p.29). I think this is very emotional, because this is just another example of the love the daughter feels, which is bigger and more important to her than the grief, abandonment and sadness she feels.
My question for this week is: What aspects about their relationship were the most interesting to you? And do you think the narrator should have been other than the little girl?
I think we can agree that the narrator of this novel does not have a naive sense of life. She is immersed in a dynamic that she does not fully understand (but who can fully understand Neoliberalism?) and in which she tries to find a central Signifier (the Father) that orders her perception of reality. That’s why the girl narrator is so interesting: linguistic excess actually demonstrates a distrust of words and the ability of language to refer to reality, because something keeps slipping in the signs.
Hi Rebeca, what a great blog post! To answer your question, I think an interesting aspect between the father and daughter relationship was how meaningful each interaction meant for the daughter. She loved to brag about her father and he was like a superstar in the hometown. I enjoyed how the narrator was a little girl, it reminded me of a child’s innocence and jus sheer appreciation of whatever their role models do.
Hi Rebeca, great blog post! To answer your question, one of the parts that really intrigued me about their relationship (and that you mentioned), was how the narrator never denied that Papi was her father. Despite everything she saw and knew him to be, she continued to love him. Her love for him was unconditional, and I found that to be both sad and admirable. Also, I loved that the narrator was a little girl. It added more depth to the story, and if it had been anyone but a little girl, it might not have impacted me as much as it did.
Hi Rebeca,
I also found this to be the toughest readings. To answer your discussion question, the daughters conflicting stance toward her father seemed to be the most interesting aspect of their relationship. Her attempts to reconcile with her undying admiration for her father and his short comings when it comes to being a father to her really stood out. Originally, I didn’t like the narration she did from the perspective of a little girl, it was a little disorienting and took away from the story. Reconsidering it, I think it actually added to the story, had it been from the perspective of a more mature Indiana, although it may be easier to follow along with, it may not be as impactful.