In this final week of class, I have chosen to read The Society of Reluctant Dreamers, which I found was an interesting story that ties in dreams, memories, and politics: the rich that benefit, the poor that suffer, and the quiet ones. 

The novel starts out with Daniel Benchimol who was getting a divorce from his wife, Lucrecia because he was “criticizing mistakes made by [their] government” (6) in a newspaper as he “dreamed of a better country” (6). Homero, his father-in-law didn’t like, and Daniel ended up getting fired from his job which led to him being a stay-at-home father for a few months because he couldn’t find a job. However, Armando, who was his friend, saved him from his misery and he lived with him for a while. Daniel “was able to live on almost nothing and be happy” (12) from Armando’s philosophy: “if you have nothing, you have more time for everything that really matters” (10) which is a quote I found quite interesting because I can’t decide whether I agree with it or not. 

I also liked how in Hossi’s perspective, when “Daniel snatched the keys from [his] hand” (18) without answering his question or thanking him, Hossi’s first thought was that “something must have happened to upset him” (19), which I thought was nice because I think most people might’ve been offended by Daniel’s behavior.

Daniel was obsessed with a woman, who he later discovered was Moira Fernandes, because of a camera he found. He eventually visits her in Cape Town, and within their first meeting, he thought that “she seemed fake, … a rather crude copy of the woman from my dreams” (94). Later Moira tells him that “[she’s] not the person [he’s] inventing in [his poems] (we always invent the people we love)” (160), which is a quote I found true, since I think some people like to imagine being with their ideal partner, instead of who their partner really is. 

When Daniel returned, Armando told him Karinguiri was arrested because she was in a group of revolutionaries that protested “against the dictatorship” (115), something that Daniel and Armando “never did out of cowardice and conformism” (114). But Karinguiri’s hunger strike led to more and more people protesting against the government, even Daniel who was considered a coward, eventually did as well. 

“Fear isn’t a choice. There’s no way to avoid feeling fear. And yet we can choose not to give in to it” (217). Karinguiri’s quote, along with her actions and behavior were inspiring. Even though she had been suffering from a hunger strike, to the point Daniel thought her body looked dead, her determination never wavered. 

A question I have for my classmates is: Armando mentions that “people should only be allowed to marry when lucid” (11), do you agree with his belief that marrying someone when you’re in love with them is the same as drunk driving?