I read this book over the period of this past week-end, and to my surprise after judging the book by it's cover, I consistently enjoyed the colourful stories written by Carmen Rodriguez. This book brings life to the stories, feelings and harships of immigrants forced into political exile and how it can affect so many people on so many levels all over the world. I feel Carmen Rodriguez truly pours her heart, no, more, everything she feels into the narratives which so greatly describe the different events encountered by the protagonists. You can sense and feel the deep passion that she has for the subject matter through reading these powerful and profound stories. I'm going to make the assumption that she is somehow related to all of the stories, knowing a descent amount about her backround. Clearly they are not all about her, but I think she has some sort of link to all of the characters in her real life.
This may sound silly, but I have a feeling I'm not the only one who may feel this way. Having grown up in Vancouver all my life, and obviously, like many of us, could recognize many places she describes in the stories. I almost felt like mental illustrations were provided for so many of the events. For example, I could picture one of the protagonists in a skyscraper downtown, or walking in Chinatown, or on Burrard St. I think the fact that I could do this captivated me that much more, as I added familiar sights and sounds from my own life experiences to the experience of reading her stories. This made for a much more detailed version of the book in a way, it also kept me motivated to read more as I was thinking "how will I be able to relate to this story?". Not that I'm in any way a political exile.
I really look forward to having Carmen Rodriguez come into class and speak to us about the book. There are so many symbols and themes which I have questions about! The book was riddled with suggestive symbols, and some were very evident. I think the title has important significance, as does the cover. (Funny how I judged it by its cover in the beginning) Anyway, overall I thought it was a very pleasant book to read, and it gives great insight into the awful things that happened during the regimes of the 1970's.
This may sound silly, but I have a feeling I'm not the only one who may feel this way. Having grown up in Vancouver all my life, and obviously, like many of us, could recognize many places she describes in the stories. I almost felt like mental illustrations were provided for so many of the events. For example, I could picture one of the protagonists in a skyscraper downtown, or walking in Chinatown, or on Burrard St. I think the fact that I could do this captivated me that much more, as I added familiar sights and sounds from my own life experiences to the experience of reading her stories. This made for a much more detailed version of the book in a way, it also kept me motivated to read more as I was thinking "how will I be able to relate to this story?". Not that I'm in any way a political exile.
I really look forward to having Carmen Rodriguez come into class and speak to us about the book. There are so many symbols and themes which I have questions about! The book was riddled with suggestive symbols, and some were very evident. I think the title has important significance, as does the cover. (Funny how I judged it by its cover in the beginning) Anyway, overall I thought it was a very pleasant book to read, and it gives great insight into the awful things that happened during the regimes of the 1970's.
2 comments:
For some reason, I hadn't realized that being knowledgeable with Vancouver adds to much to the story, but I have to agree with you completely. She speaks of the ocean, mountains, specific streets, bus routes, and areas. I can actually imagine the book losing value if the reader is unfamiliar with Vancouver. I definitely feel a lot more connected with her narrative, as I can almost trace her steps are the area.
I agree with what you said in your post as well as what you said in class about being able to relate familiar places in Vancouver. It is great how somebody could relate this these stories in some way or another. Like you've stated in the discussion, the mention of certain places causes us extract our own memories of that place. It has definitely captivated me as well because we are able to have very detailed mental images because we are so familiar with Vancouver.
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