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 ...

  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 childi...

  Hi everyone!  This weeks reading was “The Shrouded Woman” by Maria Luisa Bombal. I found this reading to be more enjoyable compared to other books we have read so it has definitely become one of my favourite books I have had as an assigned reading, it was also much easier to follow and understand. Throughout the book, I learned about the multiple complex relationships she had with all of the people who are introduced to us. From her children to her husband, there are unique circumstances that have shaped their relationship and how they feel about one another. It also amplifies how maneuvering relationships with both family members and romantic partners can be difficult because you may never truly know how one another feel until it is too late.   This leads me to a couple of quotes from the book that I wanted to mention that stuck out to me while I was reading this book that I think both resonated with me on a more personal level while at the same time, highlighted some ...

  Hey everyone!  The assigned reading for this week was “Combray” by Marcel Proust. Before I started reading, I didn’t think it would be as difficult as it was to get through this reading. I found it to be a bit hard to read because of the longer sentences I found myself struggling to stay focused while reading. I would also notice my mind wandering when I was reading it so I ended up having to read the same parts over again before moving forward. I also think that one of the reasons I may have struggled initially a bit more than usual on this reading was due to the fact that this was the first reading of the semester and it’s always difficult to get back into doing assigned readings. As I progressed through the reading, it became easier to read as it felt like a familiar feeling of going down memory lane. I became more interested to learn more about his childhood and meaningful moments that were being explained throughout the book. Another part of this book that stuck out to ...

RMST 202 - Introduction  Hey everyone!  My name is Lauren and I’m currently in my 4 th  year at UBC. I’m in the faculty of arts and I’m majoring in Sociology. I live in Richmond so I’m able to live at home and commute to school since it’s not too far of a drive. One interesting fact about me is that I Irish dance and have been doing it since I was 3 years old (so over 20 years). In 2020 I made the difficult decision to stop dancing, but after only a year I realized I didn’t enjoy any new hobby in the way I loved Irish dance, so I decided to start dancing again. I’ve been lucky enough to travel all over Ireland, the UK, Canada and the United States for competitions.    I enrolled in this course to fulfill my literature requirement. I left these courses to do towards the end of my years at UBC because I don’t usually enjoy English and literature courses. I used to really enjoy reading but I found that once I started going to university and I was assigned multiple ...