My thoughts on "The Time of the Doves" by Mercè Rodoreda

 Although I found this book difficult to read, it was a novel that I had enjoyed very much. One thing that I found very interesting in the novel "The Time of the Doves" by Mercè Rodereda was that the way it is written seems to be very descriptive. I am not sure if this is just because of the way that I had read or personally perceived the novel, but it had seemed like the language had described a lot more than just the situation or plot or context at hand. The novel seemed to deeply describe feelings as well as emotions that I could not have pictured being described in that way or at all prior to reading this text. It seems as though this novel dives subconsciously into details about the character as well as her emotions or feelings and it leads to a more comfortable and a genuine as a reader. It helps me to better understand both the novel and the main character, Natalia, as well as develop a perception of the character and understand her thoughts within this novel. This leads me to my question which is, does the high description in the novel have any correlation with it being translated from its original language?

Another point in the novel that surprised me was a certain quote, "Quimet has said we'd meet at three-thirty and he didn't show up till four-thirty; but I didn't say anything because I thought maybe I hadn't heard him right and it was me who'd made a mistake and since he didn't even say half a word of apology ... I was afraid to tell him my feet hurt from standing up so long because I was wearing very hot patent leather shoes and how a young man had taken liberties with me." (20)

This surprised me because I never really associated the concept of overthinking, or to be more specific, the concept of overthinking as being something that is generally normalized or romanticized in society, as something that would be consistent with the time frame that this text was written. Something that I think is normalized in today's society is overthinking in relationships, friendships, etc. and although it is a normal and natural human trait that is timeless, I did not expect to see an emphasis on it aside from the one that is currently used on overthinking in the society of today. By this I mean when Natalia assumes that she had not heard Quimet right and that she had been the one that had made a mistake, therefore excusing Quimet's lateness and ultimately blaming it on herself. I just pictured this as something that is so relevant in today's society that for some reason I didn't put two and two together and see that this is something that has happened throughout time. Overall, this was a great novel and a beautiful read.