Tuesday, April 26, 2016

Post #6: Short Fiction

For this post, find a short story from our text from a part of the world that we will not otherwise address; in other words, don't choose a story by an author from England, the U.S., Uruguay, Japan, or Russia.

Then, explain how and why this story speaks to you.

39 comments:

  1. The short story that spoke to me was ' The Glass Tower' by Reinaldo Arenas from Cuba because it shows how many times we tend to be scared to tell others we don't want to attend their inviations because we are scared of being critized but we actually have more imporatnt things to do or have other plans. It also spoke to me beacuse since Alfredo felt forced to go to the party he didnt enjoy it because his characters & his novel got to his head & ended up making him look rude to the guests at the party. If only he had said no to the invitation he could have started the novel and saved himself of making himself look like a fool infront of everyone. This story showed me thats its perfectly fine to say no to an invitation and tell somebody no mostly because we wil most likely not end up having fun when we have other things in our minds that are more important to us and also to not let others criticism get to us.

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  2. The story that spoke to me "The Keeper of Virgins" by Hanan Al-Shaykh from Lebanon. This story is about finding purpose in life and loving acceptance. Sometimes we may not be happy and fully content with life unless we find our place in the world. The dwarf was so unhappy lurking at the edges of the convent, people were only nice to him because they felt bad for him. They were not doing things for him in loving acceptance. Once he went into the convent and was appointed the position of watchman. He found his divine calling and was truly accepted by the nuns.
    This story made me realize that we need to pursue what we are interested in and to only be content with life once we are truly happy for ourselves.

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  3. The story that spoke to me was "The Old Man Slave and the Mastiff" by Patrick Chamoiseau from Martinique. This story is about certain elements and conditions of slaves in America. Sometimes there are cruel things that good on or took place in society, therefore we must be happy for what we have or the current situation we are in, because it could be much worst. The Old Man symbolizes the idea of overcoming certain struggles in life. This story first gave me more incite of what African slaves endured during the dark times of slavery, but also taught me that within each challenge, it is possible overcome them.

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  4. The short story that spoke to me was "The Glass Tower" written by Reinaldo Arenas. The first time reading this story I was confused. I reread it and understood that he could not refuse to go to the party because he was the guest of honor. Alfredo finds out that he has been lied to, as well as everyone else at the party. He thinks he is going to meet some people who will publish his work but, found out that all the other guests were told that he would publish their writings. He also learns that no one at the party knows who he is. And he feels very lonely. The only friends he has are in his head. The characters for his next book are the only people he can relate to as well as give his attention to. It is later found out that the whole story was a dream, and the only thing that was real was the Saint Bernard, and the dog is the only one who notices and understands him.

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  5. The short story that spoke to me was "The Glass Tower" by Reinaldo Arenas. The story spoke to me for the authors creative way of exploring the idea of ones conscious thoughts and how it can alter ones behavior and imagination. The way I perceived the story was Alfredo's characters represented his conscious. Alfredo was imagining all the chaos at the event because the characters provoked him to do so. In a way I can relate to Alfredo in the sense of trying to find a balance between our inner thoughts and our actions. There are always times when one wants to do something but has that inner voice that always interferes. The story ends with a sense of positivity as Alfredo realizes it was all his imagination and leaves the readers with hope that he will finally have time to write his story.

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  6. The short story "Who, Me a Bum?" written by Luisa Valenzuela spoke to me. I really like how realistic this short story was, like the man who was so caught up in his work and himself that he was blaming the homeless man for something he wasn't even going to do. Maybe its all the sarcasm and irony that appeals to me in this story. Like how the homeless man, ends up being discontent with others also. Overall, it was an interesting view point that I can relate to.

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  7. Jocelyne RodriguezApril 27, 2016 at 8:54 PM

    The short story that spoke to me was titled "Night Women" by Edwidge Danticat. The short story was about a single mother who is a prostitute in Haiti and works at night not far from where her son sleeps that is only separated by a curtain. This story spoke to me the most because it showed the reality of some people's life and the things that one will do to provide for their families. This woman took all precautions to make sure that her son was asleep and safe while she was working. This story shows the struggle and hard times experienced of a single mother trying to provide and give the best to her son which made this short story most memorable to me.

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  8. The short story I have chosen to write about is "Who, Me a Bum?" by Luisa Valenzuela. The purpose of this story was not so easy to understand in the beginning, but its about a bum trying to find a place to get warm. The bum would sneak into the subway stations to find a place to stay. He would listen to workers complain about an inconsiderate suicide that would make them all late for work. The bum decides to speak up to the workers. His protests against the workers earning him a night in jail. He was released and returned back out onto the streets. The bum still had no place to go. The message the short story gave off was about how suicide is not an inconvenience, but something someone should feel sympathy for.

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  9. The short story I liked the most was " Who me, a bum" by luisa Valenzuela. It talks about the trials and tribulations or someone who feels like nothing to the world. Being homeless I could relate, how would someone see you as? Does having a home really show the true nature of a human being? Or does it just mearly show the fininachal downfalls people face this generation. Evreyday is a better day, but it's hard to keep the faith when people talk down on you.

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  10. "Night Women" by Edwidge Dantitcat from Haiti is a very interesting story about a mother and son. A twenty-five year old haitian woman is a prostitute by night. It's the profession that allows her to feed and provide for her child. She dislikes nights because she knows that she has to work nights and allow for strange men to touch her and allow them into her home, which is aslo her workplace. The only thing dividing her workplace from the room where her child peacefully sleeps is a thin curtain. This mother goes through a lot each day of her life because it's hard enough to find a decent job in the place that she lives but if it wasn't for her night job she would not be able to feed her child. This story comes to show how a mother gives up her life and dignity to be able to provide for their children and sometimes those children don't appreciate what their family goes through and how mentally drain themselves just for the happiness of their children.

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  11. "Encounter" by Roy Jacobsen from Norway reminds me of the society we live in. Some people today are so quick to judge and never really change that trait even after realizing that people are different from them and go through struggles to live the way they want to live. In this story Arvid comes across a black man who is also driving a moped. At first he passes by him and then he returns to go after him to see what he is doing on his "territory" he doesn't exactly say its his but he asks like it is since he is the only one who drives around there. When the black man says that he came on a ship Arvid sort of chuckles and corrects him saying that he came in a ferry not on a ship. The black man is selling books for school and Arvid seems to be making fun of him. The man ends up giving Arvid a free book and then they drive off. Arvid looks back at him from a distance. We don't know whether he changed his view on the man or if he's still the same person he came across as being. This is how society is. We don't really know how people are. They come off as being judgmental and once they know what one is going through we don't know if they become better people or if they continue on being rude and judgmental to other people they come across that are not like them.

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  12. The short story "Minutes of Glory" by Ngugi wa Thiong'o spoke to me. The short story is about a girl that wants the attention of guys. In the end, she finally gets attention from guys but with a price to pay. As I read the short story, it made me want to the protagonist character that she doesn't need the attention of guys to feel happy. She should do things for herself not to please others. The short story taught the lesson to not compare yourself to others and love yourself.

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  13. The short story that spoke to me was "Encounter" by Roy Jacobsen from Norway. This story was about a fisherman named Arvid who caught sight of a black man on a moped like his. The man was selling books and Arvid laughed at the man until he caught sight of a book he was interested in. I felt that this taught the lesson of not judging a book by its cover, or not judging people so quickly that are different from you. Arvid laughed at the man because he was different until he saw how interesting the man was. We need to get to know someone before jumping to judgement because even though they may seem different to us, we may have a lot in common with them and could learn so much.

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  14. The short story "Ysrael" by Junot Diaz spoke to me. This is because the story was about two boys who lived in the countryside and one of them was nine years old. They were described as humble boys who spent their summer at their uncles house since their mom was busy at work. I can relate to this because when I was little, during the summer my parents would leave to work and leave me and my sister with my grandma. We would stay at my grandmothers house and see my parents until late during the day. The boys in the story went through the same difficulties.

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  15. The short story "Moving House" by Pawel Huelle (Poland), covers the time when the Polish had distrust of the Germans. The young boy in the short story tells the story from his perspective, in which his parents did not allow him to go near their neighbor, a german woman. He truly admired the music his neighbor played every night on the piano and one day ended up visiting her home. His parents eventually found out and at the moment were upset with their son, yet later realized that she was a good person with good intentions. This short story shows that we should now stereotype or judge individuals to be the same as the rest of the majority. Rather, we should form opinions on individuals based on their unique self.

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  16. The short story that spoke to me was "The Immortals" by Martin Amis from England. This story is about a man who has been around since the beginning of time and has seen it all but he's sad because he can't have a family because he doesn't age and time moves by really fast for him so 30 years feels like a lifetime and everyone around him eventually dies and he feels all alone. This short story teaches you that you can't take life and the time you get to spend with the people you love for granted because one day they're not going to be here anymore. It makes me wonder if how I spend my time is meaningful or just a way to pass time. Overall, time is a gift and once it's gone you can never get it back so you need to be happy with how you spend it.

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  17. The short story "Night Women" by Edwidge Danticat spoke to me because it shows that life is not always perfect. A young single mother has to provide for her son and herself by prostituting. The audience can tell that this mother loves her son and is trying her best to keep what she is doing away from him. it explains the struggles that one may go through to provide for someone else.

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  18. The story that spoke to me was "Ysrael" by Junot Diaz. I found this story very interesting. It's a very cool idea - the quest to find out what was under the mask. Yunior seemed to relate to Ysrael very well. He seemed honestly interested in what Ysrael had to say. Ysrael has to wear this mask to fit in and it's not his fault. Perhaps, Yunior has to wear a "mask" to fit in with his hoodlum brother Rafa.

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  19. The short story that spoke to me was "Encounter" by Roy Jacobsen. The story is about a fisherman on his way home when he meets someone out of the ordinary. He sees a black man driving down the same road, both on mopeds, going opposite ways. They pass each other but the fisherman has to stop and turn around to catch up with him. He is rude and judgmental at first, maybe a little racist. He realizes that they are both selling something, fish and books. He asks the black man about his books anf although he is foreign and does not speak English very well, he tells him he sells them to pay for his school. The fisherman has a change of heart and offers to buy one but has no money so he says he can come to his house later and he will give him a fish. The black man gives him the book with nothin pg in return and they go their separate ways. I like this story because it teaches you the lesson to never judge a book by its cover. The fisherman realizes that they have something in common and maybe loses sight of the stereotypes he might have heard about black men. It's a feel good story and makes you think about the way you treat people.

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  20. The short story that grabbed my attention was “Night Women” by Edwidge Danticat. This short story talks about how a single mom that works as a prostitute to provide for her child. She says that there are two types of kinds of women the night women and the night women and she is in the middle. In the story it says that they live in a one room house. When her son is asleep she works but since they only have one bedroom the only separate her and her customer from her son sleeping is a curtain. She also talks about what day she has which customer, and how she know that they have wives. She is scared that one day her child wakes up and she is with someone but she says that she will tell him it is his father. A parent would do anything so their child could have a good life. It doesn’t matter that they have to work as, as long as their child have a good life. I liked this story because it reminded me of my parents. My parents mind their job and all the sacrifices they have done because all they want is for us, their children, to have a better future and a better job than they do. They always tell me they work hard so that I won’t have to work as hard as they do.

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  21. The poem that most stood out to me was "Night Women". This poem illustrates how much a mother cares for her children. Since she can't find a decent job in Haiti, she has to prostitute herself in order to bring food to the table. This poem spoke to me because I know a lot of kids whose parents work real hard to provide the little that they can and are very ungrateful. Although the kid in the poem isn't ungrateful, it gives us an image of
    How low a parent would go just to make sure their kids are well fed.

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  22. Out of all the story, I would like to point out "Who, Me a Bum?" by Luisa Valenzuela was about a homeless man who had nowhere to go and who is considerate for those around him who he thinks are fortunate. Even he had nothing to give, he was still generous to make a choice not to go into the shelter to make room for others. This man also have morals because when he snuck into the subway station during rush hour, he spoke up to one of the business man who was saying that he would do anything to skip one of his work days to commit suicide by jumping underneath the train to commit suicide. What kind of normal human being would say that kind of things, but the old man spoke up to what the business man was saying. The bum ended up a night in jail for the night. Overall of the story was that this old man still had nowhere to go but had a story to tell in his own perspective of what he saw and heard.

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  23. The story that spoke to me is "My father, the Englishman, and I" from the author Nuruddin Farah, this story spoke to me because it relates to how he wished he had his mother with him, but he does not. I also can identify with this story because he had a hard time with his father, and there have been many incidents where I have not have had a good relationship with my father but i wish my mother was there even though I still have my mother I am in Bakersfield while mother is in Los Angeles (Somalia).

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  24. Before I even read the short story, “The Shadow of War”, the country from which the writer is from stood out to me first. Being a Nigerian American I was intrigued in finding out what the work was about. Ben Okri told the story of young boy during the war. This concept really spoke to me because when my dad was young and Nigeria was at war many years back, him and his brothers and sisters passed time the same way the boy in the story did. They would sit around and listen to the war and the tragic casualties on the radio. Overall the entire story was entertaining; the story had a mysterious and adventurous quality which I enjoyed.

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  25. The short story that spoke to me is "A Gift from Somewhere" by Amazon Ata Aid of from Ghana. This story shows that even through the hardest times of life, our faith and hope should remain and we should always give thanks for what we do have. Mama Fanti had already lost three sons and was about to lose her fourth one, Nyamekye. She had lost her faith and knew her son was not going to live. Mallam was able to restore that faith even though he himself believed Nyamekye was not going to live. He told Mami Fanti, "Mami, I myself say, this child will live." Nyamekye, thanks to the restored faith of his mother, lived. As the years passed Nyamekye grew up to be a healthy boy and Mami Fanti had other children. They were all healthy but her new family was ran by an abusive father. Mami Fanti endured this hardship knowing that it could be worst and regardless of the situation she gave thanks to God and believed things would one day get better. Just like Mami Fanti, in times of desperation and hardships we should think about all the good that we have and have faith that the bad will be restored with the help of God.
    - Marlene Herrera

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  26. The short story in which that most resonated with me was“ Who me, a bum “ a story that illustrates the cruel and harsh reality of human mistreatment of the lower class people. The representation of suicide is a very prevalent theme with it being touched constantly with the protagonist also battles to find a place to sleep. The reason to which why I choose this story is how common it is to see everyday life. It takes something as being a bum and defamiliarizes it into a story to which you can see the bums point of view
    And have somewhat understand what they go through.

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  27. The story that caught my attention was definitely "The Old Man Slave and the Mastiff" by Patrick Chamoiseau from Martinique. What I gathered from reading this story was the devastating pain and suffering black American slaves suffered during the hard times. I found it extremely hard to believe how a dog got better treatment than a human being just because of the color of their skin. It was inspiring to see how the character in the story stayed so strong mentally and made me realize how lucky I am to be living life like I do today.

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  28. The short story that spoke to me was "The Immortals" by Martin Amis from England. This story spoke to me the most based on how the plot plays out. The story is of a man who is "immortal" but then gives a sense of irony, it explains how his life is almost so short, yet the time in his life flies by. Saying despite his immortal like life, he's not immortal to the feelings of sorrow for all the lost time. The short story explains how everyone who he's known, or loved will soon die, especially even more so quick because he never ages and just watches them all come to their end. It shows how even though one has all the time, and one has all the chance even so that won't always bring you gratitude for some if not many love, connections, and family are what make life.. worth living. This story shows how time can always be taken for granted, despite the short amount of time one is given to live, or let alone to have as free time; this story explains in a non direct way that one should always value not only time but as well as all the people around them.

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  29. The short story " Night Woman" by Edwidge Danticat spoke to me when I read it. I was raised by a single mother and I understand some of the struggles single woman with children have to go through, without the prostitution.Just like the mom in the story reminds me in a different way, but same attitude how much your parents want to support you.

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  30. In “The Encounter”, Norwegian novelist Roy Jacobsen writes about a brief experience between two men (a fisherman and a student) who meet unexpectedly. The fisherman in the story has chosen to keep the largest fish from his time out at sea; this is something (black he does daily. Ironically, the fish is a coalfish which is a species described as blackish or dark backed on top). It’s the one he keeps for himself, superior in taste to cod, despite its low value at market. Jacobsen uses imagery to describe a very isolated area in which a lonely fisherman meets this student selling books. After a brief discussion the fisherman decides to humor the student by agreeing to purchase a book. Ironically and parallel to the coalfish, “Moby Dick” is the book the fisherman goes home with.
    I think the lonely fisherman; yearns for adventure and escapes to brief periods of it on his drive, but only when weather permits. It’s like the student knew the fisherman needed the book to escape to more adventure. So the fisherman is left with the best catch of the day, the coalfish and the novel.

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  31. "Night Women" by Edwidge Danticat was one of the short stories that I found most interesting because of the woman character that plays the role of a loving mother. The first person narrative in the short story provides the audience with the authenticity of the mother's relationship with her son and to what extreme she is willing to go in order to provide for him. As a reader, one can sense that the mother is somewhat accustomed to prostituting herself because she does not hesitate, but blandly accepts her reality. As the mother in the short story, many parents are willing to do more for their children than what they deserve despite the work because of their unconditional love. Danticat really emphasized that sometimes the sacrifices of the parents go unnoticed by the children, like the boy in the short story. I am fortunate to have hard working loving parents, and I am grateful for how much they have done for my siblings and I. "Night Women" made me wonder how some parents sacrifice a lot for their children and how much my own parents have done for me that I am not aware of.

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  32. The short story that spoke to me was "Night Women" by Edwidge Danticat from Haiti. In the story, there is a woman who does many sacrifices in order to provide for her son. She seems to sell her body to men who are strangers at night as her job and it just shows that this mother is doing what she can in order to make enough money to support her son. It proves how there are some parents who sacrifice themselves because they want their children to have the best in life. I feel like sometimes their children are not appreciative and thankful enough for what their parents have done for them. Parents work hard and go through difficult times so their children won't have to go through the same struggles as them.

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  33. The short story that I found most interesting was, "Who, Me a Bum?" by Luisa Valenzuela. This story was about how people view others because of their actions and class. Someone committed suicide and instead of feeling sympathetic, the people were mad because they were going to be late for work. A bum witnessed this and protested against them. The people thought that the person who committed suicide was inconsiderate and the bum realized this is how people see him too. He is also just an inconvenience to everyone around him. It is very sad that people can think this way of others and be so selfish to their own needs instead of putting other people's feelings first for once.

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  34. The short story that most spoke to me was "Imortal" written by Martin Amis. Its about a man who is imortal and has been on earth from the begining of its creation. Its kind of a sad short story because it seems like the imortal want to die the entire time but is unable to do so. He speaks of the sadness he feels when he sees his pets and many humans die and how he longs for an end to his life. It has the moral that if we just live life and take it for granted then in reality life has no meaning but when people live long enough and have experienced so much life sonetimes has no meaning to them because they see all the suffering and they wish for it to end.

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  35. A story called "Night Woman" by Edwidge Danticat is a story about a mother who struggles to provide for her son in an area where it is hard to get any job. The mom lives in Hati working as a prostitute just to put meals on the table. The mother struggles with her dignity due to having to do her job in her own home. Beings it is a night job, she is always worried about her son staying asleep. The only thing that separates the mom from doing her job and the son from sleeping is a thin curtain. The mom wonders how long it will her son before he crosses the curtain in the middle of her job. This particular story spoke to me because it is saddening to me. I feel this way because a mother shouldn't have to work as a prostitute just to provide for her and her son.

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  36. The short story that spoke to me the most was "Night Women" by Edwidge Danticat. It tells a good story about a mother doing what she can to support her son by prostitution. Even though prostitution is not commonly socially or morally accepted, it shows that a mother will do anything to provide for her children. The little boy is ignorant about his mother's doing's just as many children are with any of their parents' financial struggles. He sleeps while his mom is "working" and she wonders if he will one day wake up and open the curtain which is the only thing separating them. Even though it is sad to think of what many parents have to go through to support their children, I was raised by a single mother and their sacrifices are greatly appreciated.

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  37. The House Behind by Lydia Davis

    This short story was about a person who saw a murder. It was a type of neighborhood where two different apartment complexes are shared with the same lot and trash area. The murder happend while a women from the front building and a man from the building in the back. The tention between the buildings and even within them, really changed the atmosphere. In a way, I lived in that type of atmosphere. When my boyfriend and I broke up it was not only hard on us, but also our friends. We shared alot of friends and it kind of gavethe the tention of chosing ehere or not the talk to the other person, can be based on who was right or who was the friend the longest or even loyalty to brotherhood or sisterhood.
    Jasmin Lopez

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  38. The story by Peter Carey, "The Fat Man in History," is about six fat men living in a house trying to go through there daily lives. But there is one fat man in the story that is mentioned to be even more fat then the rest. He does not have a name, or at least he is called, "The-man-who-wont-give-his-name." It is a struggle to share a house with multiple people especially if everyone in it is over weight. This story ties back into my life because I also share a home with three other brothers. Not saying that we are also over weight but we not the healthiest either. And just like in the story, my brothers and I also have struggled to maintain our place up to date. I would have to say that I would tie best into with the character called Glino, because I am the problematic one of our house.

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  39. I chose the story "The Canebrake" by Mohammed Mrabet. I really had no reasoning for picking this story but that it seemed out of my element, and for that I chose it. It was overall a confusing story for me, the language and grammar was interesting, due to the author being from Morocco, and I didn't learn much from the story itself. I did, however, like the different style of writing and the words that he used. It was definitely more straight to the point and simple. I also found it interesting that Kacem's wife dealt with him for so long and then made up with him at the end as if nothing had ever happened. Overall, it was intriguing.

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