This week’s novel was Amulet, written by Roberto Bolano. The novel begins with the line, “this is going to be a horror story” (1), and my mind instantly thought of ghosts, demons, creepy dolls (watching Chucky at 5 years old has forever changed the way I see dolls). However, the narrator also claims that “it won’t appear to be, for the simple reason that I am the teller” (1) and I was intrigued to read this novel as I was wondering how the narrator may tell this “horror story” in a way that does not appear to be horror.
This novel took place in 1968 when the student movement occurred in Mexico City at the National Autonomous University of Mexico, where the narrator, Auxilio Lacouture, was locked in the women’s bathroom in the “faculty of Philosophy and Literature” (16) all alone for 12 days. As she didn’t want to be taken “prisoner” (26) nor did she want “to be in [a horror] movie” (26). This line of her precise location is repeated throughout the novel which reminds me of The Old Gringo, where the line, “now she sits alone and remembers” is also repeated throughout the story. Perhaps the use of this repetition is a way of reminding the narrator of her location and surroundings so she doesn’t get swept up by her past and future memories, even though it seems that the narrator struggles with some of her memories, “let me try to remember” (2) and “[she] can’t remember exactly” (18), which also reminds me of Perec’s “W, or the Memory of Childhood”, as both narrators seem to have troubles with their memories. Auxilio seems to try and drown in her past memories as a way of coping with her situation, as she is completely alone during this terrifying time.
I found that this line, “history is like a horror story” (66) is powerful because it is, unfortunately, a true statement. Horror movies have been around for many years, whether it is about supernatural beings or creepy dolls, it makes it easy to forget the true horror story (or rather stories) that has actually occurred in reality, which is history. Something that every country has, and some may even try to hide it. For Canada, one of the dark histories was the residential schools that were (and still is) extremely traumatic to Indigenous people.
A question I have for my classmates is: what are some similarities between this novel and Perec’s “W, or the Memory of Childhood” as memories are one of the main themes in both stories.