Week 12: Agualusa’s “The Society of Reluctant Dreamers”

“The Society of Reluctant Dreamers” by José Eduardo Agualusa is a novel that follows the characters’ lives and dreams with a background of war and protesting. I found it to be a little confusing as it jumped from different perspectives, but I enjoyed the concept and style of the storytelling.

To respond to the lecture’s question, I think dreams are mostly used as inspiration, escape, and creativity. Dreams are defined in numerous ways. There are dreams one experiences from sleep, dreams one may wish to become a reality, and dreams that are one’s goals for the future. Overall, I think dreams are scenarios and situations that are created when people want to change their current reality, whether temporarily or permanently.

In the novel, we learn of Daniel, Hossi, and Moira’s reoccurring patterns in dreams. For example, Daniel’s dreams of real people and Hossi’s purple coat. There doesn’t seem to be any direct explanation or reason for them. At the end of the novel, using the neuroscientist’s technology, it is revealed that everyone had the same dream. Armando says, “it’s ours! It’s our dream!” (252). Here, it seems dreams are a way of uniting people. Hossi appears in the dreams of those around him, including this large dream everyone had. As mentioned earlier, Daniel dreams of real people, regardless of whether he knows them or not. It was also Moira’s dreams and her records of them on her camera that had drawn Daniel towards her. Another dream in the novel is the people’s strive for freedom. The protestors, including Daniel’s daughter Karinguiri, hope to make a change. They fight for and dream of freedom. Eventually, they succeed, and make it a reality. It seems, in this novel, dreams connect people. The dreams unite them through hope and imagination.

Another part of the novel I found interesting was the lion cub/hyena. It was a smaller part of the novel, but it showed some insight into Daniel’s childhood and nature. Through Hossi’s journal, the reader is first introduced to Moshe Dayan as a lion cub who Daniel didn’t want to kill (26). He instead takes care of him until its disappearance. Later in the novel, however, Daniel corrects Hossi by saying Moshe Dayan was actually a hyena (133). This stood out to me because it didn’t seem to have too much connection with the rest of the story, and after its short tale, it was brought up again later and corrected.

Overall, I found Agualusa’s “The Society of Reluctant Dreamers” to be a creatively written novel and concept. Dreams are quite fascinating, and through this story we delve deeper into its different meanings and interpretations. A question I have is, what do you think is the purpose of Daniel and Moshe Dayan’s story?

Week 11: Cercas’s “Soldiers of Salamis”

The novel, “Soldiers of Salamis” by Javier Cercas is an interesting mix of war, memory, and imagination. I enjoyed the novel as a story, especially with its “happy ending” and open end.

One of the main aspects of this novel would be its mix of reality and imagination. While it includes real people’s names and lives, much of the events are fictional. It’s easy to forget that some parts of it were real or that some parts were not. The novel told of significant people’s lives with their names on them, but a lot of their actions and experiences only ever existed in the form of a book. To answer the lecture’s question, it felt like the characters’ thoughts and feelings were real, but the plot and the journey felt made-up. I think after reading the other novels from this course, it feels weird to have a story and ending that came together so well that it ended on a high note. As for the importance of the falsehoods and errors in this text, I think they can impact one’s perception of certain people whose names were used but whose lives don’t quite match. If it’s someone’s first time hearing of a person, then the text and its possible inaccuracies may serve to be one’s first impression. I think it’s important to keep in mind what may or may not be true as you read the text, and to not dismiss it as just fiction but also not rely on it to be completely factual.

Something that reminded me of “Amulet” by Roberto Bolaño was when Cercas stated, “[Miralles] remembers because, although they died sixty years ago, they’re still not dead, precisely because he remembers them” (236). In last week’s novel, Auxilio stated that she was the memory, suggested that she was the mother of Mexican poetry, and metaphorically witnessed history’s birth. One interpretation is that she is the mother because she remembers her history and is keeping it alive, letting it grow. Similarly, Miralles remembers the people from his life and because of that, in a way, he keeps them alive in his mind. Regardless of when it happened and how long ago it was, they are not dead because his memory keeps them alive.

Overall, I enjoyed Cercas’s “Soldiers of Salamis”. It may be because of its different plotline (or presence of it) or its storytelling, but its content ending was quite noticeable and stood out from the other novels we’ve read recently. A question I have is, why do you think Cercas chose to write himself in the novel with a life different than his real one? The lecture mentions changes in his birth date and his family, but the focus of the novel is Cercas’s mission to find the truth about Mazas and Miralles. What difference could this have made?

Week 7: Rodoreda’s “The Time of the Doves”

The novel “The Time of the Doves” by Mercè Rodoreda is a powerful novel that tells a story of Natalia’s life as she grows a family and lives through war and loss. I liked this novel despite its sad undertones. Everything goes downhill for a bit, but it seems to have a content ending.

While Natalia is married to Quimet, she seems to be a bit depressed. As she narrates her life, she states things like “I was killing myself cleaning up after the doves” (100) and “I was killing myself working” (107). She seems to be doing most of the work both in and outside the house while Quimet finds excuses to not work. After a while, she begins shaking dove eggs to prevent them from hatching. This shows she doesn’t have much control over her life here. Quimet often brushes her off and laughs at her when she brings up concerns, and her children enjoy the doves. She cleans up after everyone but cannot escape the responsibility without forcibly removing them from her life, like killing them off.

After Quimet’s death, Natalia struggles to support her and her children. She even begins plotting to end her children’s lives. This was quite surprising, but in some (twisted) way understandable as she could not provide a good life for her children anyway. The lecture asks about our reaction to this, and I find it a difficult situation to judge. I think encountering this in a novel versus in real life are quite different. In the novel, we’re able to see the narrator’s thoughts and feelings and can somehow see their process and reasoning behind their actions, but in real life, I think judgement would be a lot harsher. Additionally, we know it is a fictional story, so that may cause some bias.

When Natalia buys the acid for poison, Antoni decides to give her food and a job, which turns her life around. I found it interesting that, if not for Antoni at that time, she may have already done something irreversible. The exchange eventually leads to their marriage and a better life for all of them. Antoni deeply cares for Natalia’s children, and the children look up to him. They seem to have a good relationship with each other. This newly formed family is also notable as remarriages with children from past relationships may not always work out as well as expected.

Overall, I enjoyed “The Time of the Doves” by Mercè Rodoreda. It’s a great novel that focuses on life and its complications, and while mostly gloomy, eventually ends on a higher note. A question I have is, do you think there is an intended relation between Natalia killing the dove eggs and planning to end her children’s lives? I feel like the author meant for a connection here, where Natalia is seemingly unable to do anything about her situation except for extreme actions. I also think the dove eggs could have been foreshadowing the latter case.

Week 6: Sagan’s “Bonjour Tristesse”

The novel, “Bonjour Tristesse” by Françoise Sagan was quite a rollercoaster of a story. Just from a brief description of the novel, I expected drama similar to “The Shrouded Woman”, focusing on family and relationships. However, after reading the text (and thanks to a warning from last week), I found it was also quite similar to “Agostino” because of the main character’s relationship with her father.

Throughout the novel, Cécile constantly changes her view regarding Anne. At times, she is thankful for Anne’s constant push for improvement, but other times she blames her for taking away comfort in life. This change seems to occur even when little things happen. Cécile seems to realize this when stating Anne truly loved her father and could not be angry at her. However, she notices that whenever reminded she’d have to share a life with her, she is angered. Some examples of events that change her view of Anne are when left at the casino (40), when forbidding Cyril to see Cécile again (48), and immediately regretting her revenge plan upon seeing Anne’s happiness (68). Cécile seems to truly act like a teenager, easily influenced by little things and struggling with inner turmoil due to the change. Despite this, she is observant enough to manipulate people in order to drive Anne away.

Something that I found interesting was their way of handling Anne’s death. They didn’t really speak of the incident, and only called it an accident. They seemed to move on with their lives. At the end of the book, Cécile ruminates on the summer’s events, and calls out, “Bonjour, tristesse!” From the lecture, “tristesse” is defined as sadness, sorrow, or unhappiness. To answer the lecture’s question, I think this was left untranslated to preserve its original meaning in its original language. In this case, Cécile seems to feel a deep sadness due to everything that had happened, despite her having been the puppeteer behind it. When she says “hello” to this sadness, she seems to be accepting she’ll always live with this knowledge and burden of what she did.

Overall, I liked “Bonjour Tristesse” by Françoise Sagan. It tells a story of family, manipulation, and a young girl figuring out her life and feeling threatened by change. It may have ended in some tragedy but is a well-written novel that details one’s thoughts and inner conflict. A question I have is, do you think Anne was right to try and “fix” or “improve” Cécile’s life in the way she did, and were Cécile’s actions were justified? I think it made sense that Anne tried to integrate herself into Cécile’s life and try to improve her future, but I feel she could have done it in a more careful manner (like not locking her up). I can also see why Cécile reacted the way she did, but her emotions seem to have made her go too far.

Week 5: Moravia’s “Agostino”

The novel, “Agostino” by Alberto Moravia was not what I expected from its description. I found this story to be extremely different than most texts I’ve read before, but still interesting. I also liked the writing style of the story. I felt it had more flow and structure than the previous texts we’ve covered, but it did only cover a much shorter time period in comparison.

The novel was centered on a young teenager who realizes his attraction to women, including his own mother. Repulsed, he tries to shift this desire away from her in order to once again see her only as a parental figure. From this, I was immediately reminded of Oedipus and his relationship to his mother. There is a theory called the “Oedipus complex”, in which Freud states there is a stage in life where a child is attracted to one parent and jealous of the other (though it’s not a very concrete theory). Agostino’s life is an example of this, as seeing his mother with potential partners puts him at unease. Being attracted to his own mother causes him to see those who she may attracted to as rivals.

Agostino also encounters a group of boys who expose him to new concepts that cause him to struggle even more with his sexuality. It eventually drives him to attempt to rid of his curiosity by finding a sex worker. The novel ends with the implication he continued to live with this struggle throughout his teenage years. While this entire encounter could be a reality for many, my initial thought was that it went really fast. Agostino went from being attracted to his mother to trying to meet with a sex worker. It escalated pretty quickly, and yet still seemed like a plausible reality.

Another thing I noticed was Agostino’s experience with Saro. It was quite disturbing seeing Saro’s behaviour towards him and how the group of boys were fine with teasing Agostino about it and implying something had happened on the boat. Saro seems to be taking advantage of the boys’ innocence and his own age, making him like an authoritative figure to them. It also seems the boys didn’t fully understand how serious the situation was, or didn’t care about it.

I found Moravia’s “Agostino” to be a disturbing but intriguing novel. It captures a stage in life at which most struggle with coming of age, and dives deeper into complications past the typical relationships one may form. A question I have is, what do you think would have happened to Agostino if he had not encountered the group of boys? Would his struggle with exploring his attraction change? Agostino seemed quite sheltered, so I think if he didn’t meet the group, he may possibly learn more about his attraction in a less harsh way than the reality check the group hit him with.

Week 2: Proust’s “Combray”

Marcel Proust’s “Combray” was a bit of a challenge to read. At first, there was a lot of jumping around from topic to topic, which was difficult to follow. Near the end, however, the writing seems to clear up, and focuses on a memory from childhood. The text concludes with the narrator remembering a taste and feeling from his past through a madeleine and tea.

Something I found interesting would be the when the narrator lets his thoughts run regarding drifting in and out of sleep. These parts of the text are very descriptive and are written in a way that resembles one’s mind. Some paragraphs were long, run-on sentences, which is similar to how one might think. Like a train of thought, one subject often leads to another very quickly, and the cycle can just keep going until interrupted. While quite realistic, it was a bit difficult to read as I wasn’t sure if the narrator was thinking about sleep and dreams, or he was actually experiencing it in the present. It may also have been a mix of both.

This eventually led to his childhood memories. What caught my attention here was his actions and mindset as a child. In particular, one memory focused on a dinner he had. He was to leave and go to bed without his usual mother’s kiss. However, he later disobeys, leaving his room, even while fully aware of the consequences. Proust uses this to show the inside mind of a child. At times, even when the child knows what they’re doing is wrong, they still do it, often out of desire for something greater. Here, he yearns for his mother’s affection, or to at least have some freedom. Later, his mother finds him. She’s angry but also fears his father’s reaction. To their surprise, his father warmly tells the mother to go comfort the child. The narrator is extremely happy at this. He still knows what he did was wrong, and knows it’ll probably never happen again, but he finds comfort and joy in the moment, cherishing it. This insight into the mind of a child holds some truth. He’s aware of his actions and their consequences. He’s also pleasantly surprised when his actions did not lead to consequences. Lastly, he is delighted to find what he desired, even if it may not happen again.

“Combray” by Marcel Proust is a mix of memories, thoughts, and observations. The format of the text is akin to one’s thoughts, and how they blend into each other. However, not everyone thinks the same. How is the writing of the text similar or dissimilar from the way you think? I found it somewhat accurate, as I often find myself drifting from different topics like the narrator did. Despite a slight challenge at first, “Combray” has many insights to share from the perspective of one person’s mind. It was definitely different from what I’m used to reading, but it was an interesting change of text and subject.