Lauren's Blog

 Hey everyone, I hope you all had a good reading break! This week we read Time of the Doves by Mercè Rodoreda. I had a bit of difficulty starting this novel and was a bit confused at first but ended up really enjoying it. I also think that I found it harder because of the content of the reading because it can get upsetting to read things like this.  The novel is about a young woman in Barcelona during the Spanish Civil War, who falls in love with a man that is extremely abusive and toxic. This is why it can be hard to read because it is upsetting that she has to be in a relationship like this but it’s also easy to be blinded by love or remain in a situation that is comfortable because it can be scary to leave this type of relationship. I liked that this novel was narrated by the protagonist and we got to read the thoughts in her head because it gave us a better perspective and understanding of the situations she was experiencing. One part that stuck out to me in the beginning was when

  This week we read “Agostino” by Alberto Moravia. This book was definitely the easiest to follow out of the books I have read so far. When I began reading, I thought that I would end up liking it more than last weeks reading (The Shrouded Woman) but that was not the case. Once Agostino meets the group of boys, starts to spend time with them, and learn about how they speak of his mother, it completely changes the relationship he has with her. He ends up sexualizing his mother, actions that he once found normal and motherly now have different meanings and bring up different feelings for him which as a reader, it was really hard to get through. There were many parts where I started to physically cringe while I was reading and left me feeling so uncomfortable just thinking about.   Trying to get past the discomfort, I think that this coming-of-age story highlights how we often try to grow up as fast as we can and usually end up looking back wishing we spent more time doing childish things