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Q: Summer Reading. What was your favorite book that you were REQUIRED to read when you were in school?
Well, I live in Brazil, so I had to read a lot of classics of the brazilian literature. They were not always my cup of tea, you see, what with the different 'dialect' (that's the only way I can think of to explain it) and all. The portuguese language is in constant change (I guess they all are), so books from a couple of centuries ago hold a kind of vocabulary and spelling completely different from the present one. So... it gets very annoying and confusing when you have to read a book that is supposedly in your own language, but that requires the aid of a dictionary. *rolls eyes*
Anyway, the one book I ended up not minding so much having to read for my Literature class and Vestibular (our SAT's, sort of) was 'A Normalista'.
It's the story of a girl that loses her mother, is abandoned by her father and left to be raised by her Godfather... who ends up raping her when she grows into a young woman. She tries to tell her 'stemother' about it, but the woman doesn't believe her, assuming, of course, that she was the one tempting him. The girl then becomes pregant and is sent to the country to deliver... and I remember that after a very long, very painful labor, she gets up and the baby drops on its head o the floor. It was stillborn, but even so... O.O I've read that book years ago, but the image is still vivid inside my head. I think that's why I ended up liking this book so much. It's not that I'm bloodthirsty, you see ( At least I think I'm not. LOL), it's just that it was so... crude. Just... there. The same thing for the rape scenes. There was nothing poetic or veiled or insinuated about anything. But that's naturalism for you.
What was your answer?
If you're a new follower on GFC or Networked Blogs, please let me know and I will be glad to return the favor. :)
Beautiful button by Reading Into Hiding.
Q: Summer Reading. What was your favorite book that you were REQUIRED to read when you were in school?
Well, I live in Brazil, so I had to read a lot of classics of the brazilian literature. They were not always my cup of tea, you see, what with the different 'dialect' (that's the only way I can think of to explain it) and all. The portuguese language is in constant change (I guess they all are), so books from a couple of centuries ago hold a kind of vocabulary and spelling completely different from the present one. So... it gets very annoying and confusing when you have to read a book that is supposedly in your own language, but that requires the aid of a dictionary. *rolls eyes*
Anyway, the one book I ended up not minding so much having to read for my Literature class and Vestibular (our SAT's, sort of) was 'A Normalista'.
It's the story of a girl that loses her mother, is abandoned by her father and left to be raised by her Godfather... who ends up raping her when she grows into a young woman. She tries to tell her 'stemother' about it, but the woman doesn't believe her, assuming, of course, that she was the one tempting him. The girl then becomes pregant and is sent to the country to deliver... and I remember that after a very long, very painful labor, she gets up and the baby drops on its head o the floor. It was stillborn, but even so... O.O I've read that book years ago, but the image is still vivid inside my head. I think that's why I ended up liking this book so much. It's not that I'm bloodthirsty, you see ( At least I think I'm not. LOL), it's just that it was so... crude. Just... there. The same thing for the rape scenes. There was nothing poetic or veiled or insinuated about anything. But that's naturalism for you.
What was your answer?
If you're a new follower on GFC or Networked Blogs, please let me know and I will be glad to return the favor. :)
Oh Dang! I think I would have cried SO much reading this book!
ReplyDeleteRape and then after everything, the baby is still born! :(
Then again, my favorite was not a happy tale either.
Old follower-
Theresamjones.blogspot.com
Wow, that book sounds pretty hardcore! Intriguing though at the same time, poor girl :(
ReplyDeleteRB
Wow, thanks for sharing! The Handmaid's Tale is similar, I think -- Margaret Atwood didn't sugar-coat anything in her book. It's gruesome, but oddly fascinating in a way. O.O
ReplyDeleteThanks for stopping by my blog. :)
-Amelia
The Authoress
Woah, tat's intense. I feel awful for that (fictional) girl. I know lots of books that don't skip around the intense stuff, but I've never heard of this one (and probably couldn't read it anyways, as I don't know how to speak any language other than English).
ReplyDeleteThanks for stopping by my blog, followed you back. ^.^
Oh my goodness O_O That sounds even darker than The Giver! >_< EEEEE! I can understand how it's still vivid in your head today X( But that was super interesting!
ReplyDeleteThanks for stopping by! New GFC follower back ^_^
Vivian @ Vivaciously, Vivian
Wow! you did that at school! What grade was that? The worst we did was Lord of the Flies which I remember thinking was horrific. Shows how wrong I was! I am a new follower. Thanks for following me.
ReplyDeleteWhat a crazy sounding book! I have never heard of this story, but I like what you said about how it was just there and crude. I like when stories are told like that sometimes. Thanks for stopping by and following. I'll follow back via GFC.
ReplyDeleteWhat a sad story, sounds like an intriguing drama. Thanks for stopping by my blog.
ReplyDeleteI know what you mean. It's hard to read literature from decades or centuries ago because of how much language changes.
ReplyDeleteMy FF
Ning @ Reading by Kindle Fire
Same here! Whenever that moment comes when you pull out a dictionary I'm usually done with it :) I have a problem with verse, too. It's great in contemporary books but I hate it in classics because I can't seem to understand it!
ReplyDeleteMy FF:
http://booksmartie.blogspot.de/2012/07/feature-follow-friday_27.html
Hi,
ReplyDeleteHopping on through from the feature and follow!
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PS
My Summer Read was…Things Fall Apart By Chinua Achebe (Author) it was interesting ☺