To quote Jim Morrison, “This is the end, my dear old friend, the end.”
After a semester of lots of reading, I feel good. Good because with literature comes a bit more context, and I am always grateful for those that guide or demonstrate a more diverse sense of the world at large. Particularly, being Latin Canadian, and having lived in Canada for most of my life, reading Latin American literature is very empowering for someone like myself.
So without further adieu, I would like to extended my gratitude to those who presented such an opportunity. Professor Beasly-Murray and assistant professor Orizaga Doguim, thank you for your patience and compassion with such interesting and difficult topics. I can’t really say how much I appreciate everything but I can say that what was covered in this class will stay with me for sometime, if not, for all of my time, and I think that speaks for itself.
Now aside from the grateful formalities, we covered a lot of topics this semester. We read a lot of great literature from phenomenal authors. We read of a new world at the end of another world. We delved into history that was not clear but possibly made clearer through figurative language. We tackled hypothesis with illusion and allusion. We read of life passing through generations without motive except in prophesy. We read about truth and magic fighting eternally. We read about satire becoming self-inflicted. We read about women becoming sane through madness. We wondered whether truth weighed heavier than solidarity. We read about the politics of identity. We read about someone seeing the world crossing its own end.
Maybe these weren’t the best summarizations for the books we’ve read and I might have missed some, but its been a hell of a good semester if you ask me. I also think it is due to the grading scheme. I feel like this grading system allows one to rid of the pressures of performance in examination and rather allows the student to attempt to enjoy the pressures of self through a contractual promise.
So in the end, I am happy with what I am taking away from this course and I guess before I leave the final question, I should also thank my classmates for being apart of this experience and for also being good students as to take their own risks, whether it was with the pressure of their contract or with the comments they made about the literature we were charged with. Thanks everyone, really appreciate the company I had this semester and I wish everyone the best of luck in the future, and who knows, maybe we’ll see each other around.
For my final question, probably the simplest one I’ve asked all semester, which book did you enjoy the most and why?
Clandestino out.
BORGES! I absolutely loved Labyrinths so much that I ended up purchasing a physical copy (not that I had downloaded it illegally before….). I felt like all the symbolism captured different aspects of all of the books we’ve read: confusing narratives, shifting timelines, larger themes and concepts, etc), so I would definitely pick that as my fav!
Yay Nandita! 🙂
I really liked Lispector’s “Hour of the Star”, which is unexpected because I chose that book at random and wasn’t expecting much. I don’t know exactly why, but it just really resonated with me- maybe the pessimistic realism of it? I’ve never read a book quite like it before and I doubt I will again. Lispector’s writing is just so unique and memorable, and the ending was so depressingly beautiful.
I think “One Hundred Years of Solitude” is the “greatest” book I read this semester- whatever that means. It definitely deserves its renown. I also really liked SOME of Borges’ short stories, particularly The Library of Babel and The Secret Miracle.
Thank you for bringing us very interesting questions and comments that made us think. Many authors, themes, and ways of telling may have been new to you, but you always approached these books with genuine enthusiasm. And you’re right: it’s always better to have these adventures accompanied by good colleagues, especially authors like the little-loved Borges 🙂
Hi there!
Thank you for your great concluding blog post! I love how you added in the quote from Jim Morrison, “This is the end, my dear old friend, the end.” Its a great way to wrap up how it felt to be in this SPAN course. I think that this is almost a bittersweet ending for me as I have truly enjoyed this course, and though I didnt expect to, I had fun reading a book a week. To answer your question, I think my favourite book was 100 years of solitude.
Thank you!
Elisabeth