Monday, April 7, 2014
A Whole New World
Reading Aura was a completely unfamiliar yet refreshing experience for me. First off, the novel was written by a Mexican author and later translated. However, instead of omitting the spanish version, the author compiles both versions in one bilingual edition, and the reader can read either the English or the Spanish side. So, reading only the right-hand English pages of the novel was certainly new and unusual. In addition, I found Aura uncommon in that it took me about 90 minutes to complete. Perhaps it was the author's style of writing or the fact that the story was written only on the right-hand pages, but I found it extremely difficult to enjoy and savor because of how quickly I was reading. I found myself constantly picking my head up and consciously forcing digesting what I had just read. The last thing I found unique was the style of the work. Utilizing the second person present-tense is unusual, and one that reminded me of a dream or a fortune-teller sitting in front of a crystal ball and reciting my fortune. Perhaps Carlos Fuentes used the second-person to mimic a dream-like state, and one of cyclical nature.
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I felt the same way when reading Aura. I planned on reading part of the book Saturday and finishing it Sunday, however, when I started it I couldn't put it down. I was eagerly waiting to find out what would happen next. My heart was almost racing I was so anxious for what lay on the next page. When I finished the story, however, the nerves and excitement had worn off and I was left feeling empty. I wasn't sure about what had occurred in the text and my head was sort of spinning from the creepiness of the ending. Our discussion of realismo mágico, Fuentes' literary style, helped me understand the purpose of the story and the cycle that occurred between the characters. I hadn't considered that the story may have taken place in a dream, but I think that's a really interesting and probable explanation for the chaotic narrative.
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