Amulet by Roberto Bolano
The theme of memory has been consistent throughout all of our course readings. While reading Amulet, I started to find some similarities to the other readings. Specifically, W, or the Memory of Childhood because with regard to memory, the two are centred around a traumatic event and cause the narrators to struggle to remember an entire situation with certainty. Also, the shrouded women and the Old Gringo because they each have a woman as the narrator looking back on their life events.
For Amulet, the story is taken from Auxilio Lacouture, an Uruguayan woman who moved to Mexico and became the “mother of poetry.” I found the timeline of this novel a little confusing at first, but after reading more and watching the lecture video, I realized that Auxilio was recalling memories from the past and also the future while she was trapped in the fourth-floor bathroom of the National Autonomous University of Mexico for almost two weeks. I found Auxilio very likable and easy to sympathize with. While trapped in the bathroom during the violent army occupation, she begins to immerse herself within these memories or dreams to cope with her situation. Her memories are based on her life in Mexico City and her interactions with the poets she befriends.
I thought it was interesting how Amulet, like the Old Gringo, provided a new perspective on historical events. Until I watched this week’s lecture I was unaware of the Tlatelolco Massacre and the Mexican student movement of 1968. Both Bolano and Fuentes gave us new perspectives on these historical events. However, where Amulet and the Old Gringo differ Amulet starts to compare to the Time of the Doves because while we are made aware of the political situation going on, it centers around one woman's experience. In both Amulet and the Time of the Doves, we see the impacts these movements have on a person, but the story does not revolve around the violence or the actual fight. Instead, we see Auxilio and Natalia’s life and what these events mean for their lives and how it changes them. I am interested in seeing how the next two readings will relate and compare to what we have already read.
My question for the class is: Since we are on week ten of our readings, how do you compare this text to the others? What similarities have you been noticing throughout the term?
I like the connections you make to many of the readings, and in fact many of your classmates have done the same in their posts. I have added your great question to our list of possible in-class discussion topics here: https://rmst202.arts.ubc.ca/bolano-questions/
ReplyDeleteHi! I really enjoyed how you connected this novella to other texts from this course. Considering I didn't read the same texts as you, it was nice to see your perspective on the connections between some them, namely Time of the Doves and the Old Gringo. To answer your questions I personally think that there are two main themes that connect many of the texts from this course: reflection and memory! Until I read your post, I completely forgot about The Shrouded Women and how similar it is to Amulet. Especially in regards to having a female narrator reflect on her life from a central place in time – either from her death bed or trapped in a bathroom stall. Another aspect that seems to show up quite often is the stream of consciousness style of writing (like in Aragon and Lispector’s texts as well) and the use of extremely descriptive imagery/crazy attention to detail (like in Proust, Aragon etc.)
ReplyDeleteHi Megan,
ReplyDeleteI enjoyed reading your post! I also caught myself making connections to the previous books we have read so far in this class. I saw a lot of similarities to The shrouded woman with Amulet in how they both revolve around a woman who is reaching and guessing about what possibilities could have come from their lives. And also to W, how both main characters are experiencing displacement due to the impacts of their traumatic events.