So how many of you, like me, looked at ...y no se lo tragó la tierra and thought that you were about to read a children's book? Then, after even the first chapter, you felt you may have underestimated the content there within?
While reading this book, I feel like I'm stuck in a whirlpool: the chapters pull me in every direction (first person narrator, third person narrator, omniscient...) but I believe that they are all spinning me towards an inevitable end when all characters will come together. So far, this hasn't happened, but I'm still eagerly waiting. [CAUTION: PLOT SPOILER!] When the boy in the beginning was shot by that old man I thought, "wow, this has got to be a central plot!" But I'm halfway into the book and haven't heard a peep explaining the outcome of that scene (although I do have a few guesses as to the identity of the dead person who was thrown in the well).
It's a little unnerving to read a book that doesn't give names to its principal characters, and at times I am completely confused as to who's speaking. But this gives me more of a pull towards the story. It makes me curious. I will often read a page two or three times until I actually understand (or at least have my guesses) about who is speaking and what they are talking about. At first I thought that the novel was a mix of 2 stories: one of the humans and one of the spirit world. I think this still might be the case and I'm eagerly awaiting the moment of the devil's arrival amonst the humans (my guess so far is that he may already be there in the form of that not-so-righteous 'fulano' (p. 41)). But in all fairness, I love stories like this....as long as the ending lives up to its suspense.
I'm also curious why the author adds the repitition of 'luego, luego' to much of the dialogue. I guess this may be more obvious later.........later :P (sorry i couldn't resist!)
I'm enjoying the read immensely...especially the senses described (so many smells!!), and the inner monologues of the first person characters. This book exemplifies that old saying, "Never judge a book by its cover."
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Hey Katie,
Like we discussed in class, we definitely judged this book by it's cover, as did many I believe. And we discovered that we were quite wrong. Although in for native speakers I'm sure this could be a children's book, I've come to see, as have you I assume, that it has a much stronger more powerful message to convey to the reader.
I think we brought up in our little discussion yesterday about how we felt like we were getting pulled around in different directions, not really knowing where things were going, but hoping that the "rompecabezas" would all come together to form a big picture in the end. Like I mentioned, I think that Rivera does this intentionally in order to subtly inform us that the style in which he wrote this novel is a direct reflection of the protagonist's (Rivera himself, in my opinion)life.
Let me know your thoughts! I know this is pretty much what we've already discussed, I couldn't come up with anything else.
See you tomorrow in class!
-Kaan (Insert Palm tree here)
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