by Elizabeth Rangel
I had a nice time in class last Monday, it had been a while since I had seen many of my classmates and seeing everyone’s faces again was a nice surprise. I was not looking forward to being online for almost two hours because I find it difficult to concentrate in my classes when they are online but I did not find it as difficult as I first thought it would be.
I found Patricia Powell’s “The Balm Yard” to be a page turner and I sped through the chapter because I was so enthralled in the narrative. I found the chapter Powell provided us with far too short and I am ready for the rest! I think I the mother-daughter relationship had a profound impact on me because the characters were written well, each with their own complexities. I think it is easy for the readers to connect with Dorothea and her mother, it was for me, and I credit that to Powell’s writing. I thought the aspect of dreaming in the narrative was very interesting and I am really intrigued to see how it would pan out in an entire novel. I would like to have had a full grasp on why Dorothea struggles with spirituality, while the chapter delves into it slightly, it is difficult to fully form an understanding from a chunk of a novel.
Nevertheless, the concept of an entire community being interconnected in such way that they can understand not only themselves but predict and prepare for Dorothea is mind boggling! I hope to read more soon!
Ultimately, I had a great time in class on Monday. As I said previously, seeing everyone in class again was something I did not know I needed. It was nice to have a little bit of normalcy.
Coming to Age 