Week 3 - Campobello's Cartucho
Week 3 - Campobello's Cartucho
I really enjoyed reading through Campobello's Cartucho this week! It was my first time reading anything related to the revolution, which at first made me think that I wouldn’t be super invested in it, but in the end, I really enjoyed it. I especially liked how it had a much quicker pace and was a little all over the place (which reminded me of the mind of a young kid).
I think what I liked most about this story was the narrator. I found that she adds a layer of innocence and curiosity while she tells stories of times and events so horrific to imagine. The narrator often surprised me with regard to her attitudes/feelings as to what was going on around her. As described in the lecture, there is a lot of reference to games and play throughout the book, however it continued to shock me how much the young narrator seemed to view these acts of violence as such. For example, “The truth is the bullets, flying right by our door, seemed lots of fun to me” and “we girls were eager to see the men fall” (52). These are just a couple examples, but I found this theme very prominent. Moreover, I was shocked by the detailed descriptions of the men that had died around her and how they would go investigate their facial expressions or clothing.
One scene that stood out to me was on page 37, where the narrator met Rafel. “He became my friend because one day, our smiles met” (38). She fed him and “his skinny body smiled”, she then described his thin appearance to resemble a scarecrow, “I thought he must be wearing a dead man's trousers”, only until a few days later when she said, “I saw his trousers, today truly those of a dead man”. This story of her brief relationship with this man stood out to me.
It seemed as though death was such a part of reality, that it began to really not even affect her (and at some points even sound like she enjoyed it…?). I'm not sure whether this is the result of extreme desensitization or what but it seems bizarre to me how she can handle it this way. Also considering the age of the narrator at the time of the events, makes me think about the concept of a reliable narrator and how that impacts your experience as a reader without knowing for certain how truthful it is, and whether it needs to be. Which leads to my question for this week - what is your favourite and least favourite aspect of reading novels written by young authors?
"what is your favourite and least favourite aspect of reading novels written by young authors?"
ReplyDeleteOK, but let's be clear here that there is a difference between author and narrator... the narrator is young (though she also tells us stories that she hears from the grown-ups); the author is not that young, and (as I point out in my lecture) she wasn't even that young during the Revolution itself. But she chooses to adopt the perspective of a younger person. Why?
Oh, and can you add the label "Campobello" plus labels for any of the key themes or concepts you're highlighting with this post. Thanks!
DeleteOh, I see you have some of those labels, sorry... just not "Campobello" yet. :)
DeleteHi, Daisy ☺︎
ReplyDeleteI read Underdog, so it was a different novel, but still, it was the first time I read about the revolution, so I feel your thoughts. It sounds like this novel is filled with romance, black humour, and gentle heartbreak.
To answer your question, it's a bit complicated because I don't read English books, but I like the theme of family connections, especially between daughter and mother. And, the Baton Was Passed, written by Maiko Seo, depicts the social changes in contemporary Japan, where non-nuclear families are becoming increasingly common: tears flow out endlessly!
I found out about the Cartucho’s content from your blog, so thank you for sharing!
Hi Daisy,
ReplyDeleteThanks so much for your thoughts on Cartucho! I also really enjoyed reading it:) I think you bring forward a great point when you talk about how Campobello makes the narrator display a tone of innocence and curiousity amidst such rampant and a lot of times, horrific, events. I also appreciate your analysis on references to play throughout the book. It is something I had not thought of originally, and made me think about the book in a different way. To answer your question, my favourite aspect of reading books that have a young author or narrator is the innocence of youth and perhaps nostalgia. It is very heartwarming and just generally enjoyable for me. In all honesty, I haven't really read enough books in this genre to have a least favourite aspect, but thanks again for the great blog post this week!! :)