Blogs

The Hour of the Star explores issues of sexism and poverty and raises philosophical questions about the nature of existence and the formation of identity while following the lives of the Macabéa in the slums of Rio.Macabéa is from northeast Brazil. Peo... read full post >>

Captain Pantoja and the Special Service is a satirical novel about the Peruvian army and their sexual habits. I really enjoyed the way the novel was formatted, with the story being told through different mediums, like reports in the army, letters between sisters, radio shows, and more. It gave perspectives to the story that you […] read full post >>

This week’s book got my attention from the very beginning and the end of the novel really took me by surprise. I overall really like this week’s novel as it has some very interesting themes that stood out to me. I would also like to point out that although it was a very short read, […] read full post >>

This week I read “the Hour of the Star” by Clarice Lispector. This was an interesting read to say the least however I actually quite enjoyed the story and its unique writing style. I was excited to read this story because I saw it recommended in a video once, however, I was not prepared for […] read full post >>

I am so glad this course introduced me to Clarice Lispector- an author who seems to be relatively unknown in the Anglo-sphere- as I can confidently say the writing in The Hour of the Star was my favourite of all the books I’ve read for SPAN312. My edition contained a translator’s note describing Lispector’s word […] read full post >>

    Hello everyone! This week I read Captain Pantoja and the Special Service. Overall, I enjoyed this book. It was much different than any other book I've read in this class up to now, so I definitely appreciated the change in writing st... read full post >>

    Hello everyone! This week I read Captain Pantoja and the Special Service. Overall, I enjoyed this book. It was much different than any other book I've read in this class up to now, so I definitely appreciated the change in writing st... read full post >>

I’ve always been fascinated by the country of Brazil. It’s the largest country in Latin America in terms of both area and population and is in some ways the South American equivalent to the United States: similar size, multiculturalism, and political/economic/racial divides. Yet, despite its huge population and international influence in the domains of music […] read full post >>

 Hey everyone, I hope your weekend was good!    I chose to read the novel Captain Pantoja and the Special Service by Mario Vargas Llosa. However, due to the themes of corruption, force, piety, and sexual exploitation, this wasn't th... read full post >>

 Hey everyone, I hope your weekend was good!    I chose to read the novel Captain Pantoja and the Special Service by Mario Vargas Llosa. However, due to the themes of corruption, force, piety, and sexual exploitation, this wasn't th... read full post >>