Feast of the Goat

First impressions:

A modern book. This is instantly easier to follow, in the format, the language, the layout, the sentence structure. An evident difference between 1800s literature and Feast of the Goat that my modern brain understands and follows much more fluidly.

Format: 3 cheers for chapters. I find that chapter organization not only helps break up the book (instead of resembling a 400 page monologue), but also gives the book a much more "novel" feel than the psuedo-quasi-fiction-non-fiction of some of the other books. This alone allows me to distinguish easier that I am in fact reading fiction, and makes it a much more leisurely read.

Language: 3 cheers for swearing! Finally a book where words are not made up; where I understand all the words, even those in spanish. However, what is OAS? And excuse my momentary immaturity, but the swearing does keep reading interesting. I feel like I'm reading work from a peer more than from an academic or an old isolated man.

So far the story seems interesting. With a name like Urania it ought to be. I am intrigued though, why has she gone back to Santo Domingo? What are her motives? As well, the switch to read about Trujillo and mornings from his point of view are interesting, as I have gotten as far as to learn about him personally, but not his political interactions, which is backwards to other books: usually we read about political interactions first, and then possibly a dictator's personal life.

Vargas Llosa does like to name drop, and I must admit I've become a bit confused with all the names he's mentioned, from starlets, gringos, senators, crazies, and whoever else they may be. It's starting to get sorted out a little bit, but probaby with reading he will reveal who he is talking about, and all their relations.

I look forward to this book however, I feel I am going to enjoy it.

The General in His Labyrinth Beginning

So, to start off this book, it is noticeably written in a different style than the others we have read. This writing style seems less personable, written from a narrator's voice, unlike I the Supreme or Facundo in which you could read the more intimate thoughts of the author. The General in His Labyrinth strikes me more as a chronological series of events so far, an account of this General with stories and anecdotes relating back to his past.

I found the beginning of this book very confusing. Marquez name drops so many generals, presidents and field marshals from so many different countries that I just got lost amidst it all, and found it confusing to remember and note who I was in fact reading about. Add to that the General's bipolar energies and intense mood swings, and it is not any easier.

It is interesting however to read about this General who already seems to be defeated, who is ill and decrepid, who is weak and inconsistent with bouts of delirium. This seems to be in such contrast to the idea of the strong minded dictator, to the invincible man who rules a country: this general is obviously physically vulnerable and is not in total control of his mind.

It is also interesting that this General managed to have a woman love him for years. From other accounts, it has sounded like dictators and generals are more lonely, independent men - too vile, vulgar or violent to allow for a woman to fall in love. This general, amidst a country of enemies and only a few to support, appears more humbled and human with Palacios at his side and a woman to say good bye to before he leaves the country.

I like the layout of this book much better than I the Supreme i.e. margins and a reasonable number of pages, and more of a modern novel layout. I think this will be easier to follow and continue reading, if he manages not to confuse me with multiple names and countries free from explanation.

Supreme Round 2

I find Bastos comments on writing and authors very intriguing. With his ambiguities between "he", and the ever-mentioned "I", it is obvious he is not only discussing the Dictator, but also himself as an author. While we have talked about this in class, to me it seems as though Bastos is struggling with his choice to write, verifying it in his own mind, a stream of consciousness. Is he not the Supreme himself?

Bastos also seems to struggle with the idea of writing for a more historic sense. "Two hundred years later, the witnesses of those stories are no longer alive. Two hundred years younger, readers do not know if they are fables, true stories, pretended truths. The same thing will come to pass with us. We too will pass for real-unreal beings." pg 66. This book was published and copyrighted very recently, but did we not just have that struggle with what was written of Facundo mas o menos 150 years ago? We struggle to imagine what is falsified, what is truth, admist all of the jargon in that book. I find this interesting to read these thought patterns of Bastos. While I mentioned last week that this book is much more personable from the first person perspective of the Dictator and Patino, from continuing on it is also much more personable to Bastos. Sarmiento fought to tell us his ideas and conclusions then relating them to "facts" or anecdotes; Bastos easily describes his inner thoughts with obviously fictional accounts. I find myself noting things down that Bastos writes, sentences in transition, string of consciousness, but are outlooks onto life, memory and human activity that seem more raw than fiction usually allows.

Yo El Supremo

Well this book seems daunting at first. 400+ pages of continuous chatter, unbroken by dialogue or distinguished chapters. However shortly into this book I began to feel a little less intimidated...

I like Bastos' humour. When was this book written? Because I have never read in any other literature book the term "shat". Made me giggle at least. Also, the humourous banter between Patino and the Supreme is enjoyable. Even though Patino sucks up to the dictator and is overtly nice, they seem to have an amicable and truthful relationship. Patino is portrayed to speak his mind freely albeit nicely, which hasn't yet been portrayed in the other books we've read. While the dictator literally dictates Patino, they banter and chat almost as if friends it seems. I believe this adds a more personal and human touch to the book. Unlike Facundo which was written coldly and factually, from a third person and historical point of view, the personality of the Supreme dictator is evident in this book. I believe this makes it more interesting and actually easier to read as I feel more involved.

However, with this banter and personal perspective, I predict a good amount of rambling on the dictator's part. I've already managed to skim a few paragraphs that were rambling speakings on his behalf. His ramblings do prove interesting though, I've found myself noting certain aspects of his views on life, death, and memory

I am curious about the italics in parentheses. When it says "(rest of page burned) is that Bastos' imagination added into the story? It definately gives it an edge of realism, as getting as close to non-fiction as possible. (In the private notebook)? I believe this adds to the personal perspective once again.

The obsessive compulsive tendencies of dictactors continues in this book, with the Supreme's wishes and orders attempting to be fulfilled to the most maximum and rediculous extent, such as searching all the files and dossiers for the handwriting that opened the book. It seems necessary that to be a dictator, one must need to search high and low for all enemy tracks that could threaten their treasured position.

Well, this week seems to be a continuation of last week's readings. More to the plot is happening, but still does not seem to be in any definate direction yet. Can I copy and paste what I wrote last week to relate it to now?

So it will be interesting to see if Camilla dies or not, I feel I am just about to read about that. I wonder how it will change the story, if Angel Face becomes a suspect, as his position seems to vary. I do like reading the different perspectives on each person's actions. Since everyone talks in private, other characters are left to make assumptions or gossip about what is going on. Although we know of Angel Face's orders with Camilla and the general, others see him as committing crimes against the state. I think this is a bonus to Asturias' book in comparison to Facundo, in which we only had Sarmiento's viewpoint to learn from, Asturias lets us read from different perspectives and seems to be a much more rounded story. This helps give me the idea and feeling of living under a dictatorship, of nothing is what it seems, and what can you truly believe and from whom? Even trusted friends can turn their backs.

I continue to enjoy Asturias' vivid imagery, especially his description of Death, the Guardian Angel and the Devil on p 170. Generally, he manages to describe without overdoing it - keeping it interesting without getting lost in the smallest of scents and microdetails.

The chapter about the President's mail bag was cool as a stylistic diversion. What a bunch of snitches though. A bunch of people kissing ass to save their own, but I suppose in their situation it's for their betterment supposedly.

Perhaps this is a trend in Latin American literature - I still haven't found out about the title character yet, and the story does not seem at all focused on him, more so on the conequences of all his actions. This seems more to be a novel about the people than the government and history, but atleast the people are interesting with conspiracies, near death, and prostituition. I'll keep reading and I guess I'll find out more soon, if the President becomes a prominent character and of what happens to Angel Face.

So I am tempted to write off and about the finishings of Facundo, but I'm going to stick to The President.

What a breath of fresh air! I enjoy this book much more than Facundo: it is broken up into smaller and more manageable chapters; it does not take as long to read; there seems to be some sort of plot or storyline which Facundo so lacked; Asturias writes with vivid imagery and interesting conflicts; plus it is just isn't all horses and knives, what now with kidnappings, crazies, women and deception!

One of those I do quite enjoy though, is Asturias' use of imagery. He manages to use description not to bore with facts and background knowledge, but describes to give the reader a picture, to illustrate both his story and his imagination. I like reading about the Zany, about his misadventures. I also find it entertaining that Asturias can write about the thoughts and mindset of the characters, as it is entertaining to read just how disillusioned the housekeeper is or about the Zany's intense dreams.

It seemed weird however, that Asturias chose to name a character Miguel Angel Face, the presidents favourite. Is he implying something similar to himself? I don't recognize other possible illusions as I don't know much about Guatemalan history (as the book seems to take reference), but that reference seemed pretty blunt. "Especially being as beautiful and wicked as Satan." What an ego boost eh?

So I don't have much to complain about yet, I'm actually enjoying this read so far. It's nice to contrast the unidentifiable genre of Facundo with an actual novel.

What I'd like to know, is did Asturias get in trouble for this book as Sarmiento did? Or, since it did not name a country, did a government care?

I hope that is long enough, it seems I have less to write when I enjoy a book. But I'll keep reading for tonight.

First half of Facundo

So here goes my first shot at a blog.

I joined the class late, and was able to buy my books 2 weeks later than the beginning of class. Therefore, I am behind and have read up to the beginning of Chapter 6, La Rioja since Thursday. Is this blog to be formal or informal?

I found the chapter about the rastreador and the baqueano interesting. Such skill you do not find in the people of UBC! It was a nice mental holiday to read about these amazing skills, I hope guachos or other people still practice these today.

Sarmiento surely likes description - to delay 90 pages until even discussing the title character. These pages of description I am sure will help explain the rest of the book, as I have yet to find out. It is interesting to read a bit of history about Argentina, after visiting Buenos Aires last summer. Unfortunately I was not able to visit out into the campos but I believe Sarmiento does a fantastic job of explaining his country to the foreigner, presumably the readers in North America and Europe. Perhaps all of his histories and anecdotes will come together in the second half, but as of yet, a good load of his information seems disconnected with the whole book, with many random facts and paragraphs that perhaps add to visual aid but do not help the continuity of the whole book.

I question Sarmiento's view upon Facundo and the dictatorships. It is obvious he sees the caudillos and the rise of the campo provinces to rule as a barbaric turn for the cities (as per the 4 page description about the cultural and intellectual fall of San Juan), however he speaks with a dignified respect for each of the certain types of guachos, and in particular, Facundo: "I see in him a great man, a man of genius in spite of himself and without knowing it, a Caesar, a Tamerlane, a Mohammed. He was born this way and it wasn't his fault..." (p 100). While Sarmiento explains what he deems necessary for the reader to know about Facundo's youth, which was as well unruly and violent, Sarmiento still attributes his inexcusable actions with the sort of "boys will be boys" attitude, and that since it is just how Facundo naturally acts, Facundo therefore ought to do as he please. And what is this about Facundo being, once upon a time, "an image of the God of the final judgement' (p 101)?? I understand Sarmiento is trying to prove Facundo's unworldly skills, but this comment stopped me in my tracks and made me say out loud, "WHAT?" For considering Facundo a destructive character who jeopardized his country, I believe Sarmiento actually feels inferior to Facundo's skills, no matter how destructive they were, the attraction to power does not escape even Sarmiento in his writings.

I would like to comment a bit further on Sarmiento's writing style. Perhaps it was the time period, or the translation, but as interesting as his book may be I find it to be an incredibly slow read. I am 100 pages through, and have spent a good chunk of last week and my weekend reading this, but to no avail can I read any faster and still absorb what he is trying to convey. It is obvious he writes from an educated position, and that his 'target audience' is those of educated peoples with his extensive language and paragraph structure, not to mention social commentaries. Although now the text is in plain English, often I may read a paragraph and then need to re-read it to understand it fully. This isn't a problem, except when you're behind two weeks in class and would like to read this as smoothly as possible.

I sort of look forward to the rest of the book. It seems to continue on with no real purpose yet, just bumbling as it goes. I am sure I'll learn a few interesting facts but I hope something springs up which keeps me turning the page with more enthusiasm. It's probably only going to become more gory and detailed from here on out, but by my judgements on the world today, we love reading about other people's horrors and pitfalls.