2015: The Year of Reading Women discussion
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The Time of the Doves by Mercè Rodoreda
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Here's what my friend/colleague from f2f book club says about The Time. I get the sense you speak Spanish, but if not, let me know. She's put in a couple of links here, to a reconstructed air raid shelter, and to the mini series that they made of the book. She said that thinking about the word "Colometa" made her think of her grandfather. She's from Asturias, which is on the fringe, but it's an area where people in the small towns speak both Spanish and Catalan. And that whenever her grandmother would get get her dander up, her grandfather would say "Hold on there, paloma.Anyway, let me know if you don't get this:
Acabo de abrir este mensaje. Hace mucho que leí La Plaza del Diamante. Recuerdo que me gustó y que todo parecía gravitar para mí alrededor de un vuelo hacia la libertad de una mujer en la Barcelona envuelta en los sucesos de los treinta, creo. Creo que porque se escribió en catalán, la obra transmite a través de la elección de las palabras el sentir catalán. Todos sabemos que la lengua en que las obras se escriben dan un sabor especial! Lo que recuerdo también es que la protagonista, Natalia, tenía un sobrenombre que le da Quimet, Colometa, palomita, claro un nombre cargado de muchas significaciones. Recuerdo que era una novela dura de la guerra y de la situación de las mujeres... No recuerdo mucho más pero voy a leerla otra vez! Gracias.
En la plaza del diamante de Barcelona reacondicionaron un antiguo refugio antiaéreo de cuando la guerra. Puede ser interesante en la conversación. No sé. http://www.minube.com/rincon/refugio-....
Otra cosa, yo recuerdo ver capítulos en RTVE de la novela. Te pongo el enlace a la Televisión Española de la serie. http://www.rtve.es/alacarta/videos/la...
... Y a título personal...... Recuerdo que mi abuelo paterno le decía a mi abuela cuando ésta se enfadaba o quería hacer algo con lo que el abuelo no estaba de acuerdo..... --- No te remontes, paloma... Mi abuela no se llamaba Paloma, pero mi familia es de Aragón y algunos han vivido y viven cerca de la franja, que es la parte en que en los pueblos se habla castellano pero también catalán.. y claro, los dichos vienen de la cultura de esas zonas. Mira! No había recordado la voz de mi abuelo hasta ahora, tengo la imagen de él diciéndole eso a la abuela! Pero sin gritos o nada como.... el Quimet de la novela.
Thank for posting it! I read French, but cannot cope with Spanish. Could try Google translate on this message to get at least some idea of what it is about.
Ok, here's what Google translate cannot translate properly:la protagonista, Natalia, tenía un sobrenombre que le da Quimet, Colometa, palomita, claro un nombre cargado de muchas significaciones.
Could you help me out with this one?
I looked at the air raid shelter link, and it does not look too relevant to the novel - am I missing anything?
So paloma/colometa would be used to put women in their place?
I knew about the series - found the imbd page when looking for materials on the novel. It seems rather forgotten now.
Again, thanks for sharing this:) hope you have a nice weekend, too (without the grading which goes on on my end...)
Paloma/colometa...yes, sort of like when we say in English "Don't get your feathers ruffled/your knickers in a twist" sort of thing (condescending).So she said:
I just opened your message. I read it a long time ago. I remember that I liked it and that it had to do with a woman's flight toward freedom in Barcelons in the 30s. I think it's because it was written in Catalan, the work transmits a Catalan quality through the author's word choices. We all know that the language in which works are written give them a special flavor!
What I slso remember is that the protagonist, Natalia, had a nickname given to her by her husband, Quimet, "Colometa" or pigeon, a name loaded with different meanings. I remember that it was a novel about the difficulty of war and women's situations. I don't remember too much else, but I'm going to re-read it.
In the Plaza del Diamant in Barcelona they reconstructed an old air raid shelter from war-time. It might be of interest to the conversation, I don't know.(remember where she talks about the blackout during the war, and the air attacks, and their reaction to them, lying in bed together?)
And on a personal note...I remember that my paternal gradnfather used to say to my grandmother, when she would get mad or wanted to do something my grandfather didn't agree with.."Cool it, Paloma"...my grandmother's name wasn't Paloma, but my family is from Aragon, and some have lived or do live near the fringe/border, which is the area where people in the small towns speak both Spanish and Catalan... and, of course, those expressions come from the area's culture(s). Go figure! I hadn't remembered my grandfather's voz until now, and I can remember him saying that to her...But not shouting, or anything like QUimet in the novel.
Thanks for the translation and the shelter side-note! I'm donating my copy of the book to the library. It was OK, but not really a keeper:/ I'll try to read some Kingsolver today, time alllowing.
Again, thanks for the discussion.
Bloodorange wrote: "Thanks for the translation and the shelter side-note! I'm donating my copy of the book to the library. It was OK, but not really a keeper:/ I'll try to read some Kingsolver today, time alllowing...."
same here--only mine was ILL. Right back atcha! Hope the weekend reading was fun!
Aii I'm really sorry i vanished - super busy time of year for me, and I'm now in a break between exam marking sessions so dipping in. Wonderful to read everyone's thoughts. I didnt really like the book, I found it boring and unpleasant to read, although i felt deep sympathy... The painting sounded hellish, almost obscene. I didnt think of it as food, and i couldn't fathom the significance
Zanna wrote: "Aii I'm really sorry i vanished - super busy time of year for me, and I'm now in a break between exam marking sessions so dipping in. Wonderful to read everyone's thoughts. I didnt really like the ..."My thoughts exactly, Zanna. I did notice the weird attention to it at the beginning of the book, and asked what you'd thought. But yes, I almost thought of it as a Dali-esque work, and not really food. Almost as though they were "characters" or agents in a painting, not a still life.
I'm on the fence with it....found the stream of consciousness in such a shallow character kind of boring to read (though easy enough), but yes, emotional. At the time is was published, the stream of consciousness would have been more exciting and innovative, though the consciousness examined wasn't at the level of Joyce's "Ulysses" or Cabrera Infante's "Three Trapped Tigers". However, by the same token, at the time it was published, it was a speaking for a group that had been underrepresented in Spanish lit.
Zanna wrote: "Yeah, it's a worthy book!"Did you erase the message with the link to your review? I didn't read it before because I was so far behind and didn't want spoilers...
Found your review, and agree wholeheartedly, though I was a bit more kind when awarding the stars. Because I suggested it as a short (and easy, for the non-native speakers) read for my f2f--there have been demands of late for more texts written by women. So I probably will end up re-reading it. And it won't be as bad to re-read it as others that I've had to re-read. On my scale, a 4 star is "would re-read it if I had the chance", and I know I probably will...:)
Thanks Linda :-) your generosity is admirable! I don't think I'd want to re read.
well, as I said, if we're to keep this group demanding any old thing as long as it was written by a woman happy, I'd much rather read this than some other things. Short, fast, may not even have to re-read!
Yes I couldn't agree more! I'm very glad I did read the book
2015: The Year of Reading Women
Books mentioned in this topic
The Time in Between (other topics)Wide Sargasso Sea (other topics)
The Time of the Doves (other topics)
The depression of prematurely emancipated women. Wow.
Glad you liked the links:)
I wanted to thank you for the conversation:) I really enjoyed it. away until the end of the week, not taking Kingsolver with me- it's huge, and I have to do a lot of marking, so I'm taking Nightwood instead and returning to Kingsolver after the weekend.