(champagne)papi

 This week's novel felt like perhaps the most personal we have read so far this term. It is about a girl and her father, among a litany of other children, and a bunch of other people who see him as a sort of father figure. While reading it, I thought of two other books, one of which we read earlier on in the term (Pedro Paramo) and one that I read back in high school (Lullabies for Little Criminals.) 

The main connection between these three works is the fatherly aspect. In Pedro Paramo and Papi, both characters - who are also the title of each book - play a paternalistic role to their communities in a very materialistic sense. Pedro Paramo controlled all the food and everything else in the village, such that when he died everyone perished. Papi had a similar characteristic too, in that he provided for the whole community (at a price). Not only did he provide for the narrator's community, but to most places he went. 

As for Lullabies for Little Criminals, a story that was also (partially) about the main character and her father, the dad was kind of absent. I hesitate to call these dads deadbeat because I know there was some fatherly affection but I also don't think affection is enough. Papi frequently places the narrator lower on his list of priorities compared to business partners and girlfriends, so I guess he is a deadbeat.

The author pretty much nails how to convey the voice of a young girl who is starting to learn what it's like to experience trauma, and we as readers are taken along for the whole ride with her. We also see the narrator in the early stages of becoming a "pick me," basically a girl whose self-esteem is based on male validation and being "not like the other girls." I don't criticise her too harshly because she's only little but the whole attitude of needing to feel more important than the other daughters and her craving to be like her father is sad because of all the self-esteem issues she'll probably have as she gets older, and also she'll probably just be annoying too. She will almost definitely benefit from some therapy.

Question for you all! If you were the narrator's therapist (either as a child or when she's older,) what advice would you give her? Be as silly or serious as you'd like.

Comments

  1. Daniel OrizagaApril 3, 2023 at 5:30 PM

    Thank you for your comment, which reminds us of reading Pedro Páramo. There may also be points in common with Cartucho or Memorias de Mama Blanca. But here, in "Papi", we see how time has passed and the social structure has changed. Even among family relationships, the degree of "commodication" has reached breaking limits. Capitalist chaos can be seen in all aspects, even in infantile fantasy.

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  2. Julia WApril 5, 2023 at 4:23 PM

    Hey!
    Your title of this weeks blog made me laugh so hard lol! Besides that- One of a therapist's most important roles might be to provide the narrator with a safe and supportive atmosphere where she can analyze and process her feelings. This can involve listening to what she has to say, accepting her feelings, and simply replying in a way that makes her feel understood and appreciated. The girl has to be helped and supported in developing healthy coping mechanisms for the numerous traumas and hardships she faces throughout the novel, in my opinion, which is extremely important.

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