SPAN 312

 Hi everyone! (Sorry my first try was publishing with a weird format so I uploaded it again here!) I hope you all had a lovely weekend! For this week's book I read Fever Dream by Samanta Schweblin. I thought that this book was a perfect way to wrap up the semester. I will say that it was a little difficult to keep track of what was going on in the book, but I am definitely more used to that with all the books weve read this term (Labyrinths…  I not only enjoyed reading the book for its mysterious plotline but also for its semantics and writing style. The novel held my attention through a variety of ways, including the somewhat fragmented and reflective storyline, the intense bond and love between Amanda and her daughter, the difference between female characters and male (Amanda’s demeanor vs. Davids) and the environment symbolism. It soon became clear that the setting in which the novel took place served more of a purpose than just descriptive imagery . Schweblin paints the picture

This week I read My Tender Matador.  What I found most interesting about this book was how Lemebel uses names to create a sense of insecure positioning that encourages the reader to understand varying genders, sexualities, experiences and perspectives within Chilean society at the time. In My Tender Matador names are more than just identification, I interpreted them as indicators of the character's placement in society, literal spatial positioning, their gender as well as how they are viewed by others. Names are not only important to how we perceive these characters, but also how we sympathize to their experiences, identify discrimination towards them, and understand their struggles and how their positionality thus affects their perspective on the Chilean dictatorship. Additionally, as said in the lecture, Lemebel makes the choice to make a “loca” the main character of his novel, when these people are often heavily discriminated against, marginalized and disregarded.  The fact that

This week I read Robert Bolaño’s Distant Star. I read the book outside with Jordan and Daisy and I must say we enjoyed reading it (especially with the sun shining). The book was certainly dark in its elements of murder and violence, however it remained thought provoking. The book reminded me of stories I used to read as a child such as Nancy Drew given its mystery tone. I also enjoyed the way in which the story was told, and in the beginning I found the narrator themselves to be mysterious and at times confusing. The narrator not only described the scene but also played an active role in the story, which resulted in an engaging experience for me as the reader. I found myself trying to discover their name or story throughout the book. Having this type of narrator also seemed to shape how I perceived the other characters. We gain their thoughts, internal voices, dislikes and opinions on every page, this active narrator certainly persuaded me how I interpreted characters such as Wieder. I

  Hi everyone, this week I read Rigoberta Menchú and I quite enjoyed it. I found that it was easier to follow along with than any of the other books we have read so far. I believe this may have been a combination of the fact that it was autobiographical and also consisted of very short and straightforward sentences. These short and almost choppy sentences made reading feel fast paced and as though you were reading at the very speed of Rigoberta’s thoughts. Certain parts of the text seemed to use this format as a means of further sharing her tone and emotions, For example when discussing her early life on the finca, her sentences felt slow and as though she was still processing the great injustices of her surroundings.  A major theme I noticed while reading was Rigoberta’s continuous desire to “be like an adult” or “feel like an adult” as a child. She often made reference to wanting to work and she was positively reinforced by the emotions of pride she gained when she was able to act li

For this week's reading I read Captain Pantoja and the Special Service: Mario Vargas Llosa’s Comic Anarchy. Despite its name, I can't say that I found the reading particularly funny. I was pleased to see that Jon discussed the somewhat strange and messed up nature of Vargas Llosa's world. Knowing that this book was intended to be a comedy made it slightly confusing for me to read, as I did not find the actual content to be comedic. Given that sex was a major theme throughout the novel I often wondered whether this was for comedic reasons or rather as a way of taking something out of the context it normally is in for a greater effect. I found it strange that  the main problem these characters were faced with was that these soldiers needed women to be systematically provided for them, in order to satisfy them, which is certainly problematic and demeaning. I think the language that Llosa uses in the novel is also interesting. Calling the prostitutes “specialists” and the “spec

  I've spent the weekend thinking about what I want to write about for this week, and I think the idea I keep going back to is the idea of isolation/loneliness I wrote about for part one. This second half of the book is similar to the first in that each character follows some kind of path to solitude, however in this half we see how that brings each character to their death. In true fashion, this book ends with the death of each character and sometimes in gruesome ways. By the end of the novel the town of Macondo has returned to its lonely and abandoned state, and Amaranta Ursula and Aureliano are the main remaining characters. However the words and fears of characters who came before them and since died, continue to haunt the remaining Buendías family. In particular, Ursula's biggest fear, which she refers to throughout the book, comes true, a child is born with the tail of a pig. Although disturbing, the ending almost felt fitting, I mean this in the sense that the demise of