SPAN 312

Hello again! I can't believe we have already reached the end of Spanish literature. Something about the spring semester always seems to fly by for me. This has indeed been one of my favourite classes from this semester, or even from the two years, I've been at UBC. I was fortunate enough to be a part of romance studies last year with Jon and really loved the whole concept and vibe of the class. So, when he mentioned that he would be teaching a class using the same style and system… I was thrilled. I also let some of my friends know about it so that they could take it with me too… which has made it a lot of fun. After the reading break, when it started to get warm out again, a couple of us began dedicating a day to reading that week's novel out loud to each other (thankfully… mostly in sunny weather) but regardless, it was always fun. It was also nice to be able to chat with each other while we read through the novel to make sure we were on the same page in terms of what was

     Hi there! I hope that everyone has enjoyed their easter weekend! For my last week, I choose to read Fever Dream. Although I wish I could've said that I loved this book and that it was the perfect way to wrap this class up…It wasn't my favourite, unfortunately. Not to say that it was my least favourite because there were definitely some interesting/thought-provoking concepts throughout the novel. However, I definitely felt myself getting lost throughout and having a hard time keeping track of what was going on… The narration between Amanda and David was hard to follow at times. As the title of the book implies, sometimes these memories being described were dreams and sometimes real life. Which in some ways added an interesting perspective and uniqueness to the overall structure, but at the same was a little confusing.       In regards to the lecture, I think the lack of providing context about the scientific elements and the genetically modified soybeans in Argentina and So

This week I read My Tender Matador by Pedro Lemebel and I have to say I enjoyed it, but it was not one of my favourites from the term so far. Even though this was considered a shorter read’, 170 pages still felt like a lot for me this week on top of my other classes. But I certainly appreciated the unique approach this novel took to cover important themes.  This book brought themes of sexuality and identity, politics and activism and love and relationships to life. What was most intriguing for me throughout the novel was one of the main characters (whose name we never really learn), the Queen. This character shines a light on the struggles and obstacles of being someone who does not fully identify as a man or woman. We learn a lot about this character through her relationship with Carlos who is a university student. The queen is so completely in love with this man, however, it seems that his relationship with her gears more to when it's convenient for him. As mentioned in the lectu