I got disturbed by "Money To Burn"

 Hi, fellow readers,

This is the last obligatory book we must read, and we are almost at the end of this term! We were to read "Money to Burn" by Ricardo Piglia this week. I was not expecting this book to be as disturbing as it was. This is the most disturbing book I have read. Although, I haven't read that many books in my life. This book was hard to follow and not the easiest to read in an understandable way; however, I didn't find myself dozing off as much as I did for Proust. This book focused on killing, sex and drugs, and I was not here for it. One thing I learned about myself while reading this book was that I am a sensitive reader, and this book was hard to read. I honestly was surprised at some parts and was shocked by what was written down on paper. I had to accept what was said and move on while reading.

Therefore, I did not enjoy this book. We talked about this in the "Time of the Doves" class about reading for analysis and academics. I didn't enjoy this book and was reading more academically. I had to read this book analytically, so I wouldn't get caught up about how many distributing sexual references or scenes there were. From what I read, I dont think many of the sexual acts were consensual. Also, all the cocaine they were snorting, which I believe wasn't the worst part. Still, I had trouble reading the grotesque descriptive scenes of blood and murder, for example, when Gaucho blew that redhead princess's head off and more scenes that I can't even begin to describe. The story introduces us to Dorda (Blond Gaucho) and Brignone, also known as "The Kid," who are depicted as lovers and inseparable. I believe Crow Mereles was a bit sex-obsessed, Blond Gaucho went heavy on drugs, and he was hearing female voices in his head. So, in my opinion, many issues were going on with Gaucho, mainly because of how much cocaine he was taking and because he was a psychotic killer starting from a young age. His mom saw it when he was younger. "The Kid" left his comfortable family to become a bandit and could take up a life of violence with Gaucho and the others in the gang. One thing that I learned from this book was how many different ways you can die from the death penalty, which I thought, of course, was unsettling but also intriguing. I found it interesting that on page eight, it said, "Every citizen of the capital in a mask, to avert contact and avoid contagion" (8). Right away, I thought of Covid, which I thought was fascinating. This book has caused me to think, be disturbed, and get confused, and I've learned a few things from it. 

Discussion Question #1: What type of reader are you?

Discussion Question #2: What did you think of this book? Did you like it or dislike it? 


Comments

  1. Laurenne duManoirMarch 19, 2024 at 3:21 PM

    I also did not love this book! I can appreciate that it was trying to explore this side of life for some people, but I also found the sex and drugs to be a bit excessive, even for character development purposes. I too read the book more analytically but it was entertaining even if it was not my favourite! - Laurenne

    ReplyDelete
  2. TesiMarch 19, 2024 at 8:06 PM

    Sofia, what do you think made it “hard to follow and not the easiest to read in an understandable way”? You are right in saying that there was a lot of sexual abuse and violence. There are quite a bit of rape scenes that are very very unsettling and graphic, so I understand where you’re coming from. Thanks for still writing a couple of good points of reflection in your blog!

    - Tesi

    ReplyDelete
  3. AnonymousMarch 21, 2024 at 9:08 PM

    Hi Sofia! I also didn't enjoy reading this book that much at all and found it to be quite disturbing. I totally agree that this book was a bit difficult to follow along, for me the nicknames were quite confusing as it took me some time to who each person was being referred to.
    -- May

    ReplyDelete

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Introduction

Hi everyone, My name is Sofia Almerling, and this is my second year at UBC as a Bachelor of Arts student. I am interested in Art History as my major. I come from Vancouver and live in North Vancouver; therefore, I commute to UBC by taking the bus three times a week there and back. I enjoy commuting as I read over study notes and listen to my favourite songs. Sometimes, I watch my favourite TV show if the bus ride is long. One of my hobbies is singing. I post singing videos on Instagram where I sing covers of songs, and there is one video where I have posted an original song called "Give Yourself a Break." This song is about being easy on yourself through the hard times, giving yourself a break and finding self-love.  Growing up, I never felt the allure to touch a book; however, as I got older, I became interested in poetry (this was popular in high school) "The Sun and Her Flowers by Rupi Kaur. I have read this short book twice now. Fast forwarding to this summer, I star
Read more

The Five Stages of Grief with Natalia

  Hi everyone! I hope you all have been having a relaxing reading break!  I enjoyed this novel the best out of the ones we have read so far. In my blog post, I will briefly summarize how Natalia goes through the five stages of grief and what I thought was questionable. Time of the Doves takes place in Barcelona. Time of the Doves has a wholesome beginning. That is what I thought when reading the words on the pages. Natalia has broken up with her old boyfriend and is swept off her feet by Quimet when he asks her for a dance and calls her Colometa, which means dove in Catalan. Then, Natalia and Quimet are set to be married. Natalia and Quimet have what is called to have a "wedding week" instead of a wedding night. Quimet wants to have a child, and the couple has two. One child is Antoni (a boy), and a girl is named Rita. Sadly, Quimet becomes an absentee father and shows his inconsistency for his family by raising pigeons (doves) and aspiring to make money from them. He also pr
Read more

The Shrouded Woman by Maria Luisa Bombal

  Hey Everyone! I hope you enjoyed this story as much as I did. I found this novel an easier read and more interesting than Proust. I liked that I could read about femininity  and how the story focuses on the lively women's perspectives rather than the men's. This story is a woman's world. This novel is about a woman who has passed, narrating her story.  Ana Maria believes she has lived a small life. Ana was married to Antonio; she is a lover; however, her lover left her and moved to Europe to study science. Ana is a mother to Anita, and Anita marries a good-for-nothing man. She is also a mother-in-law to her daughter-in-law, Maria Griselda, who is not in the same social class as her but enchants all the men in society, "even the great river was in love with Maria Griselda" (196). The character Sofia introduces friendship.  Central themes in this novel are jealousy and loneliness. Sofia is jealous of Ana Maria's childhood. Everyone is envious of Maria's be
Read more