all done!
We're done! I'm really glad I took this class this year, and I'm really glad to have been exposed to more Latin American literature! It wasn't my first time reading Latin American stories, and it definitely won't be the last, but it was certainly a nice sprint through a bunch of good ones. This class actually helped me out with an issue I come across in reading, in that I sometimes find it difficult to choose my next book. Because of the class structure and the contract, I never had to sit and think about which book to read next, it was just a clear-cut move to the next one, no analysis paralysis involved. I don't know how I'm going to carry that through to my life after this class, but I guess I'll just allow myself to be a little more haphazard and flexible about how I read now. Dare I say it, I might have become a more playful reader.
The book selection this term had some gems in it, and some that I never want to go near again. My favourites were (in no particular order) Madwomen, I Rigoberta Menchu, and Fever Dream (and also Pablo Neruda's poetry; I didn't read it for this class, but I've read it before and I know I like it). My least favourite was definitely Labyrinths by Borges; I still don't think I've recovered from the aneurysm it gave me. I'm being very dramatic but my point still stands. Bolano's book was a head-spinner too, but the rest of the books fall somewhere in the middle of the spectrum of my preferences. I found that the books I connected with the most tended to be ones where I learned a lot and/or were kinda relevant to my degree (I am, after all, interested in international relations-y type things) OR were just really pretty, ie both of the poetry collections.
The class experience itself was also lovely, with plenty of new and familiar faces, and coming to class with a couple of my good friends! Paired with a prof with a Manchester accent, it felt like the good parts of university blended with some things I miss about high school. The discussion-based nature of the class was exactly what I needed this term, especially since this class took place between two other dense lecture classes. I can't really put into words how much I enjoyed taking this class, but I think this blog post did a halfway decent job at it.
A question for you all! What were your favourite and least favourite books this term?
Hopefully our paths will cross again here at university, but until then, goodbye!!
"Dare I say it, I might have become a more playful reader." That seems wonderful to me. Also, I think it's time to tell you not to take Borges too seriously, maybe sometime you'll find something in his literature that will make you give him a second chance (or not, and that's fine!). You have several ways to continue reading authors from Latin America, and of course you can contact me if you want any suggestions in the future. Thank you for giving yourself the opportunity to play the game with everyone in this class, and for the experience of learning together. :)
ReplyDeleteHi Deeba! It was such a pleasure to read your blog. The way you described the class structure was so well said. I also took this class in place of two really dense reading based courses, and boy am I glad I did. Not that I didn't read a lot, it just took a lot of the pressure off of trying to read and do a million essays at once and come up with a bunch of profound statements. This class kinda healed my relationship with literature courses at university, all the class discussion were really helpful and insightful for me. I hope you have a great summer!!
ReplyDeleteA sprint is probably one of the best ways to describe this class. My favourites were The Hour of the Star and Madwomen! Least favourite was probably The Taiga Syndrome.
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