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Conclusion Post
Although I’m happy to be ending this exhausting and long semester I’m sad to conclude this course. I have found Romance Studies interesting and eye-opening and I loved the format of the course. I liked the use of contract grading and wish I had more classes that used the same format, as it was a…
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“My Brilliant Friend” by Elena Ferrante
I really enjoyed this book and I wish I had more time to spend reading and enjoying it. I found there to be a lot of different dimensions within it, such as the relationships and dynamics between the girls and the other characters, the opposing classes, the use of language and education, the violence, the…
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Soldiers of Salamis
It definitely would’ve been to my advantage to know more about history and especially Spanish history to follow this book better. When I’m reading about historical events and names my eyes tend to glaze over and I find myself finishing a page of the book without retaining anything that was written on it. That being…
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Bolaño’s “Amulet”
Wow, lots to unpack with this one. This book was a rollercoaster, not unlike many of the books we’ve read in this course. Again, the narrator takes us through the messy pathways of her mind as she recounts memories, some good and some bad. In this case, most are decidedly bad. Auxilio’s experience of the…
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The Old Gringo
I really liked this book. It’s definitely one of my favourites of the ones we’ve covered. We’ve read a few books that are based on memory, and we’ve discussed how fickle memory can be and what kind of story is created when it is strung together by a collection of memories. However, The Old Gringo…
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W, or the Memory of Childhood…
This book was quite tragic though undoubtedly beautifully written. It’s hard not to feel sadness when reading Perec recount the memories he has of his childhood and the hardships that come with being an orphan. I felt especially moved when, describing his mother, he wrote “The arbitrary, schematic image that I have of her suits…
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“The Passion According to GH”
This book was weird. When I started reading it I enjoyed it, I liked GH’s narration and felt the plot would be somewhat entertaining to follow. The way she described cleaning and “arranging” her home now that her maid had quit, the way she described the immaculate design of the room that had previously been…
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Bonjour Tristesse
This was a bit of an astonishing read, particularly how it ended. I’m struggling to find the symbolism of it or what exactly Sagan was trying to achieve in writing it. However, what stood out to me was the contrasting ebb and flow of Cécile’s impulsivity and analytics that seemed to be a mirror of…
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Thoughts on “Nada”
For a book that is essentially about nothing (aptly named “Nada”), I found Laforet’s book a delight to read and struggled to put it down once I picked it up. It is about nothing in that it really seems to just be a collection of memories, not unlike some of the other books we’ve read…
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“The Shrouded Woman” by María Luisa Bombal
Out of all the texts we’ve so far covered in this course, I enjoyed this one the most. I found it relatively easy to read and comprehend, perhaps the fact it was written by a woman made it easier for me to relate to. Parts of it were a bit unsettling and maddening to read…