Coming to an end of a semester, I have come crossed many novels from different backgrounds, genres, and cultures. Tram 83, Utopia, and Signs Preceding the Ends of the World and Baho all showed light upon their issues and I was exposed to a new culture within each novel.
One of my favorite novels that caught my attention from beginning to end was Signs Preceding the End of the World by Yuri Herrera. It was a controversial topic on borders between the Mexico and U.S and the journey of the main character Makina. This novel made me feel emotions and compassion towards the whole situation of having borders and the struggle those people face trying to come over to the U.S for a better lifestyle.
This novel brought light to the issues of border and how it might limit opportunity and the risks people take and the readers are also able to relate it back to our own society.
This course made me read novels I normally wouldn’t pick. I tend to stick with novels or authors that I know or heard about but this course had a selection of African and Mexican literature. It showed me to not judge a book by its cover. Take a risk and pick up a new book and see how it is.
We should be educated on many different novels, genres, and cultures. The more we read the more knowledge and power we have.
Literary Genres in Translation 