ENCW 202 Spring 2020
Posted in Death, One Hundred Years of Solitude on Mar 26th, 2020
A good ghost story is something that has always been able to captivate me. It’s no surprise that the short section about Prudencio Aguilar was such a delight. However, there is something to the way that Garcia Marquez designed the encounter that stands out as both melancholy and terrifying. The terrifying part is in Aguilar’s […]
Posted in coronavirus, Death, Desperation, dystopia on Mar 19th, 2020
I read a post on social media that said: “Sometimes I feel like this year is being written by a four-year-old, a lot of people got sick so they bought a lot of toilet paper and stayed home.” This unfathomable idea, or what was supposed to be incomprehensible, of COVID-19, has set people out on […]
Posted in coronavirus, Death, Desperation, dystopia, Loneliness on Mar 18th, 2020
Receiving emails all stating the same thing, hearing the news all reciting the same scripts, it brings to mind a few familiarities. Naturally, the first thing that came to my mind was the movie Contagion released in 2011. The idea of a pandemic sweeping the planet and taking out certain people. But it also reminds me […]
Posted in coronavirus, Death, Desperation, Fragility, Loneliness, Longing for Answers on Mar 16th, 2020
This pandemic is undoubtedly fantastic. It makes me think of The Memory Police. In comparison, the current situation with the coronavirus (COVID-19) is temporary (hopefully), whereas in the novel, they were permanent, and we retain our memories of the things we have lost. Our freedom has been limited. We must practice social distancing and for […]
Posted in Death, Fragility, Loneliness on Mar 2nd, 2020
Three of Julia Armfield’s stories in a row have been about showcasing how fragile relationships can be: “Granite,” in which Maggie falls too hard for a man and he turns to stone; “Smack,” in which Nicola hides out in her husband’s beach house and contemplates their marriage; and “Cassandra After,” in which the narrator reminisces about her relationship with […]
There is one thing that Nicola reiterates throughout the story: her ability to take care of herself. Unfortunately, it is patently obvious that Nicola possesses no practical skills. In the middle of her divorce with her husband, Daniel, she lays siege to the beach house he insists upon having, holing herself up inside. However, she can’t […]