AD3-READING TASK-JANUARY 2021
OBJECTIVE FIRST
You are going to read four short reviews of books written by female authors. For questions 1-10, choose
from the writers (A-D). The writers may be chosen more than once.
A. Diaries by Alejandra Pizarnik
Alejandra Pizarnik started writing her Diaries in
1954, when she was 18 and wrote the last entry in
1971, when she was 35, nine months before
Pizarnik died from an overdose of sleeping pills. I
always loved Pizarnik’s wit, awkwardness and
erudition. This is why I was shocked when I realised
I had opened the book on December 4, the same
day that, forty years earlier, she had written her last
entry. I got even more astonished when I read the
disturbing way in which she planned her death for
years and years. I absolutely adored her systematic
negativity, her lists, her glosses in this or that book.
She wanted to see her diaries published. I’d like to
see them published in English, too.
C. The House of the Spirits by Isabel Allende
The niece of Salvador Allende wrote a book which,
for many, was based on One Hundred Years of
Solitude by Gabriel García Márquez. The House of
the Spirits has a whimsical charm: a ninety-year
long family chronicle which provides the reader with
an explicit view of the contemporary situation in
South America. In fact, Marina Warner claimed that
the book helped her understand a political situation.
The House of the Spirits has something that attracts
women readers. Experts say that this something
might be the magical realism which gives a perfect
mixture of events that are likely to happen with
events that are difficult to believe and that has been
so popular among Latin American writers in the
twentieth century.
Which book...
gives details of a certain society?
fails to catch the reader’s attention?
has inspired other authors?
has characters that are not easy to identify with?
refers to an amazing coincidence?
has similarities and differences with another book?
hasn’t been translated into another language?
appeals to a specific group of people?
applies a technique which includes unrealistic elements?
was written throughout the author’s life?
B. Mrs Dalloway by Virginia Woolf
Virginia Woolf’s fourth novel, Mrs Dalloway, like the
well-known Ulysses by Joyce, takes place in the
course of a day. However, unlike Ulysses, Woolf’s
protagonist is an upper- class English woman living in
Westmister who is planning a party for her husband.
As Clarissa Dalloway’s day unfolds, we discover that
she is being treated for severe depression, a familiar
subject to Woolf. It should not come as a surprise as
the author also suffered from this disease. Woolf’s
masterpiece has been an incredible influence for new
generation of writers. Take the case of Michael
Cunningham’s The Hours and maybe, Ian
McEwan’s novel Saturday, which also take place on
a single day.
D. Little Women by Louis May Alcott
Reading Little Women was a refreshing
experience and it is impossible to be
indifferent to the four sisters’ disgraceful events - I
actually missed them when I finished the book.
Alcott’s writing is elegant but poignant and haunting
at times. In spite of being aware of the fact that this
book is a real masterpiece, I have a few complaints.
At times I found myself scanning the book since there
are not many exciting events to keep the reader
hooked throughout. In addition, I sometimes found the
characters too perfect to be real. However, I must
admit that people like this do exist and that the book
succeeds in putting several morals across. The book
had two sequels: Little Men and Jo’s boys.
1. __________
2. __________
3. __________
4. __________
5. __________
6. __________
7. __________
8. __________
9. __________
10. _________