UGDU y Otros Relatos: Rey Andújar

Hace varios meses atrás me regalaron, por pura casualidad, tres libros de una editorial local, La Secta De Los Perros. Estos tres libros yo los puse a un lado y me olvidé de ellos por completo, hasta ayer. En la búsqueda de material para este mes me ha dado con ojear los libros y uno de ellos, de cuentos, en particular, que se titula, UGDU Y Otros Relatos por Rey Andújar. El autor es un bailarín, dramaturgo, cuentista y novelista contemporáneo de la República Dominicana. Pues, da la segunda casualidad de que sus relatos me han cautivado por completo. Por lo tanto, el enfoque de este mes estará sobre los relatos de Rey Andújar.

El primer cuento, del cual hablaré hoy, se titula Doña Ana, Los Gallos Y El Monstruo De Samaná. La localización del trama se plasma justo al principio, todo ocurre en Samaná, una provincia de la República Dominicana que es peninsular. La protagonista es una vieja de doscientos años, Doña Ana, bruja y santera, llena de increíbles historias. Todo comienza cuando ella es visitada por un ángel que le demanda, de parte del Gran Hombre, que se ponga de su lado. La vieja lo niega, y luego es amenazada por un castigo. El primer castigo:

"La vieja despertó de un sueño largo. [...] Confundida salió al patio y descubrió que el sol no había aparecido. Todo era opacado por un gris pesadilla y eso la engrifó. En ese instante preciso descubrió que no podía oler el mar que tenía a sus espaldas. Se quedó muda, el mar no era mar, era un inmenso jugo de sangre, un océano de picos y plumas multicolores. Con razón los gallos no cantaron esta mañana dijo la vieja. [...] ningún conjuro, por más concentrado que fuese, iba a calmar la rabia del Gran Hombre. Se sentó triste, a esperar la única muerte unjusta: La muerte del silencio. Y quise gritar como gritas en los sueños, como cuando quieres moverte." 

Peninsula de Samaná, República Dominicana. 

Nuevamente, Doña Ana es visitada por el ángel y termina accediendo a ir a la iglesia. De aquí prosigue una larga sucesión de sueños en los cuales ella va negando todas las imágenes presentadas hasta la ultima, en la cual ella esta descendiendo al infierno. Ahí conoce al que le da la solución al castigo del pueblo, de los gallos, del silencio que la entristece y llena de soledad. Sigue las instrucciones, y el castigo desaparece al despertarse. Luego, ella se aventura a la iglesia. Pero no pudo, y a mitad de sermón se va, con las siguientes palabras:

No vuelvo a la iglesia. Reniego de ti. 

El ángel Mirtilio la visita una segunda vez, mientras ella dormía, y recibe de Doña Ana la contestación:

 Que hagan lo que les salga del forro de los cojones carajo. 

El segundo castigo de Doña Ana es el tormento que recibirá de una mujer bestia, muy parecida a la descripción del capitulo 17 del libro del Apocalipsis en el Nuevo Testamento.

Lo que sucede al llegar la bestia horrenda a Doña Ana, y el final, se los dejaré para los que se topen con el libro.

La portada del libro. 

Primero que nada, el cuento es ricamente descriptivo, las sensaciones vividas por Doña Ana son detalladamente expuestas. También, la ejecución del realismo mágico es balanceado y, en mi opinión, bello. No voy a pretender, después de haber leído el cuento varias veces, entender en su totalidad la narrativa, sería pretencioso de mi parte al igual que una mentira. Pero sí considero que el cuento merece varias lecturas y que su comprensión se plasma mejor en la psiquis que en la dialéctica. Lo que resalta entre todo es una dualidad inherente, lo malo es bueno y lo bueno es malo. Entonces, ¿qué es malo y qué es bueno? Esta gran pregunta es lo que me persiguió mientras leía. Por consiguiente, esta misma pregunta y dualidad se ve plasmada durante la cotidianidad de la vida. Mientras cada cual se encarga de hacer lo que le toca para su pan de cada día, la confrontación de lo que es bien y lo que es mal se da diariamente, ante las injusticias que ocurren con frecuencia, ante aquello "bueno" que tanto esperábamos que pasara mientras aquello "malo" nos ocurre o vice versa, ante lo malo disfrazado de bueno y, más grande que estos, ante el carácter represivo y autoritario (entre otros) que contiene la religión.

En fin, este cuento se merece una mirada bien puesta, da material para exprimir y reflexionar.

~

This month I will be focusing on a young contemporary writer from the Dominican Republic. I happened to receive his book of short fiction unexpectedly quite some time ago. But, I didn't come to read it till yesterday, as I was brainstorming ideas for this month and perusing my books. Before yesterday the book lay forgotten for months. I am incredibly glad I got around to reading it. Coming from a young writer, the book has received a good amount of acclaim. As for me, I'm captivated. The language Andújar utilizes is descriptive and contains a rich caribbean flavor, and also, magical realism. Today I started with the first short story in the book, Doña Ana, Los Gallos Y El Monstruo De Samaná. One of the major aspects that stood out from the narrative is the inherent duality presented. What is good and what is bad? Consequently, who is the one that establishes the criterias for the answers? Within the framework of these questions sits the routine, the daily life that plays out as a juxtaposition. It is here that the narrative resides and plays out, bartering from each side. Another truth is gleaned from the duality in the story, the authoritative and repressive nature contained within religion. This story deserves a read, it contains good material for contemplation.

Part Two: The Master and Margarita

I know I've been away for what it seems like a little while, but in my defense, these past two weeks have been very hectic. Though I am still just in time, for April is not yet over.

Source:
http://www.manuscriptsdontburn.org/categor/
complicites-the-master-and-margarita/page/4/

The second part of Bulgakov's The Master and Margarita opens up with Margarita, this is the first time the reader gets to know Margarita first-hand, in the previous part it is only through what the Master says of her, which is little. We meet her in her own opulent house, being married to a wealthy man, reminiscing about the Master, whom she misses sorely since he disappeared, but we the reader know he's in the mental hospital. In her melancholy she decides to go to the park. There she meets Azazello, one of the devil's entourage. Once she meets him and somewhat tells him her sad story of lost love and injustice done to him, the story proceeds to get even more bizarre, but in an ironic and entertaining way. She becomes a witch, flies to a ritual where she is crowned goddess/queen, meets the devil and the rest of his possee. Along the way, she extracts revenge from the editors and writers that did the Master wrong. Towards the end of the surreal journey, now in the devil's somber chamber, while he plays chess, she pledges her devotion and asks that he bring back the Master. After a brief hesitation he does so, to her and the Master's surprise.

The story ends slightly dubiously, the story of the procurator of Judea is revisited and loose ends are tied, also, the Master and Margarita finally get to their small home we not not where, where they are to live in eternal peace. Ivan Homeless gets the ending of the Master's story and Woland leaves Moscow leaving a trail a destruction inflicted by Behemoth and Koroviev.

Behemoth and Koroviev during the famous séance. Source:
http://my.opera.com/mustainev/blog/2012/03/09/master-and-margarita-by-mikhail-bulgakov-2

Margarita the witch flying to her coronation. Source:
http://www.cafleurebon.com/galbanum-and-other-strangers-master-
and-margarita-by-michael-bulgahov-vol-a-nuit-draw/

I have reduced the second part of the book to the barest words but truly the book is a delight. First, because for those that enjoy fantasy, they will get a good does of that. Woland's magic tricks, the séance, everything he and his entourage do takes the reader's level of belief to a further level. Add to that the eerie, grotesque, yet enchanting ball that is held in Margarita's honor, where all the dead are risen from their graves and their stories are retold as they pay homage to the queen Margarita. The characters are all so colorful and poignant. I especially loved getting to know Margarita and seeing her transform into a witch. And the Master, towards the end, when he is almost reaching his eternal abode of peace, how he is described as he says farewell to the city and life he has known is reminiscent of a messiah.

"'Forever! That's a lot for a man to grasp,' whispered the Master, licking his dry, cracked lips. He listened carefully to what was going on in his soul. For a moment, his excitement seemed to turn into a feeling of deep, mortal insult. But the sentiment was fleeting. It vanished to be replaced by proud indifference and finally settled into an expectation of eternal peace. [...] 'Well, then, 'Woland said to him from high up in the saddle, 'are all the accounts settled? Have all the goodbyes been said?' 'Yes, it is over,' the Master said, calming down,  and looked directly into Woland's face without fear. [...] It had all fallen through the earth, leaving nothing but fog."

Secondly, the book is an enlightening delight because the reader is constantly faced with the weighing of good and evil. What does it mean to be evil? And likewise, what does it mean to be good? Tying this up with Mikhail Bulgakov's time and the context within which he created this book, the nation's insecurity and mistrust as everything around them was changing, the obligation to follow the imposed norm, the disappearances, all the nuances that plagued Moscow during his time as Stalin rose to power is evident. Also, another important aspect of the book is it's questioning of faith, on the veracity of faith and belied versus of non-belief. There is an interplay within these two extremes throughout the novel that ends with more questions than answers.

I highly recommend this book, it was an exciting, intriguing and revealing read. Also, there are so many awesome pictures relating to The Master and Margarita that I couldn't help posting at least three.

Two Nights of Excess

Following up with last week's post on Michel Onfray, my last visit to the city of New York turned up a little small book by a french author, Alfred de Musset. A renown poet, playwright and novelist of the Romantic period, this little book I stumbled upon was his try at erotic literature, Gamiani, Or Two Nights of Excess. According to the sources I've found on the book, the character of Gamiani is modeled after George Sand, another french writer, this is also said in the introduction of the book.
I found, after reading this little 100 or so page book, that in regards to the sexual aspect, it was comprehensive, covering everything from orgies, sacrilegious or otherwise, sadomasochism, bestiality, voyeurism, etc. No major perversions are neglected in the book. Much of it reminded me of the Marquis de Sade, on referring to him I highly recommend the excellent movie, Quills. This book incorporated much of the libertine spirit with a heightened element of the extreme, all for the sake of la petite mort. What distinguished this book from other erotica is its' lack of phallocentricity. The dominant character and sex is Gamiani, a woman.

On the the novel itself, it centers around two nights, between Gamiani, the Italian seductress, Fanny, the innocent virgin, and M. Alcide, the voyeur. The three meet on a night Gamiani holds a ball, the guests leave, she has lured Fanny into her room and Alcide is watching from a hidden place. No crevice is left untouched in their encounters. These three characters indulge extensively in themselves.
A brief interlude occurs during these two nights, where, the hunger of the characters is momentarily satiated and each partake in recounting their first sexual encounters. These are the moments that struck me the most, since it is in these tales recounted that one is able to see the imbalance created by the preceptors of youth, such as family members, and culture, and the predominant stigmatization of religion in regards to sexuality. Each of the characters have suffered at the hands of these stigmas, This imbalance is revealed in extremes that hinder and warp the natural, biological elements and desires that make up a person. This consequently, brought to mind Michel Onfray and his excellent treatise, Théorie du Corps Amoureux: Pour une Érotique Solaire. Which highlights the importance of letting go of the warped views of sensual relations, hindered mostly by extreme religious notions, hatred towards oneself, as well as by idealized romantic views.
If anything else, besides being an erotic novelette, Alfred de Musset in this book reveals diverse facets of human sexuality, how it is susceptible to dangerous extremes, much along the lines with the Marquis de Sade, although Musset draws a more poetic stroke with his words.
So, in the end, I recommend this book to those looking for interesting erotica. I enjoyed it.

Voltaire and his Candide

Greetings to those who pass by here, haven't made a post in a while. I will be going back to making written posts until I am able to purchase a good video camera with which to make videos.
So, to kick off my long absence from sharing my reading adventures I start with Voltaire's Candide.
Recently, I have been getting more and more into philosophy and finding myself gravitating towards philosophical works, I'm halfway through Descartes's Metaphysical Mediations, which is considered the breakthrough in modern philosophy, and I'm highly enjoying it. Among other books, I ordered and received from bookmooch Voltaire's Candide which came with a few other stories as well. I haven't yet read the other stories but I did read Candide. Superficially, it is entertaining and full of adventure. The substance, as I'm sure many know, lies in the characters, their words and actions. Candide is the ultimate optimist trained philosophically by the philosopher Pangloss. Quickly in the story he finds himself thrown out of his comfort and henceforth encounters bizarre situation after bizarre situation. His foolishness leads him to willingly trust people yet his trust is continually broken and spurned, and the consequences are frequently unfavorable. Yet he remains undaunted. On a side note, I found it thought-provoking that there were numerous times when Candide would expound his virtuous hopefulness and "love" of mankind but he would follow that with an action that contradicted his philosophy of life. For example, when he followed his instincts and killed the characters he did, not many. It hinted at the weight of human nature, which is another theme that is touched upon in this story, what is evil?
In Candide, Voltaire was pushing against philosophical optimism and the "idealist" mentality of philosophizing as a "static" pastime. (I use the words idealist and static loosely). To Voltaire, philosophy involved the mind as much as the actions, and even though metaphysical ponderings are interesting the substance of life is found in our actions, hence the ending phrase that is emphasized, "cultivate your garden". It is interesting to compare Descartes and his meditations which stands on the other spectrum, where philosophy is an enterprise that should concern itself with the intangible, with the essence of "things". To keep it short and sweet, I highly recommend this Candide to those that haven't read it, to those that have and it has been a while, another perusal wouldn't hurt. It's a good story with substantial substance.
Until next week.