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lebateleur Feb. 5th, 2021 08:07 pm)
lebateleur Feb. 5th, 2021 08:07 pm)TGIF! And what better way to celebrate the weekend than with the first Blake & Avery sync read post for The Strangler Vine.
This post covers the prologue and chapters 1-4. Beneath the cut tags are write-ups of each, focusing on some of the main developments and my reactions thereto. I've written these as though I'm reading the book for the first time, so there are spoilers for each chapter--but nothing beyond said chapter--under each cut. That way, everyone can dive in and comment on the without having to worry about being spoiled for anything that comes later in the book. (That said, I absolutely want to discuss foreshadowing, red herrings, and how subsequent chapters and books build on events in this post in comments! Just be sure to flag any spoilers up front.)
Random thoughts before we get started: I love Carter's use of archaic spellings--they really help give a sense of place and time period. Also, we're in Bengal; why is no one speaking Bangla?
And with that out of the way, let's get started!
Prologue:Standard mystery novel scene setting with an ambiguous character POV. Moving on...
Chapter 1:Our introduction to Avery, Blake, and Macpherson! I love the interactions between Avery and Macpherson, and how Carter uses them to introduce readers to Calcutta and to the duo’s differing reactions to it. We’re already starting to see how Avery is a fish out of water, and how deeply he’s afflicted by culture shock (and how little he realizes it).
We’re also introduced to Mountstuart—1827-style influencer and disrupter, and the reason why Avery came to India in the first place. Up to this point I wasn’t very disposed to like Avery; Macpherson’s geeky enthusiasm and openness to other cultures was much more my thing. But then we find out that Avery’s a fanboy bookworm, which goes a long way toward reconciling him.
And his interactions with Blake—oof. Here is someone who seems cut from the reverse side of the same cloth as Avery: willing to go toe-to-toe in rudeness, and definitely not taking care of himself. Neither of them come out of this reaction looking good. It seems like maybe Macpherson would have been the better choice to coax Blake into accepting the Company’s letter? He certainly seems like he’d have more in common with Blake, if Blake has gone native to the degree he’s rumored to, and thus likelier to get off on a better foot with Blake.
Chapter 2:The levee! But before we get to that, woah, this is how Mountstuart reads? Is he really as good as everyone says he is? I wonder how much of that passage Macpherson ad libbed. ;-) Again, I love the interactions here between Avery and Macpherson. Avery’s kind of a babe in the woods; you wonder how well he would have managed without Macpherson’s steady(ing) influence.
And poor Avery! The levee finds him back in what should be familiar territory, but he’s still a fish out of water. His schoolboy crush on Helen is endearing, and she certainly seems to share his disdain for Indian culture. (Also, I like Mountstuart’s poetry much more than his prose.) But alas! Just as Avery looks poised to make headway with Helen, he’s called away once more…
...to deal with Blake, no less. Who’s as displeased to be thrown back into Avery’s company as Avery is to find himself back in Blake’s. That said, we start to see here that there’s more to Blake than initially meets the eye. We’ve had some intimations here and in the proceeding chapter that he’s hardly from a privileged background, and yet he apparently rose through the ranks to Captain; Avery, with his much better family background has done nothing but spin his wheels. Buchanan thinks Blake’s the man for an irregular, commando style mission into the backofbeyond, for all he looks ready to crumble into dust. And yet, neither does it seem that Buchanan trusts him, judging from the fact that he’s chosen very proper Company man Avery to go along as minder and erstwhile spy.
Chapter 3:Holy afjkds$#! I’d thought for sure that Avery and Macpherson were going to be the main duo, and now Macpherson’s dead?!? Now who is going to help Avery see India through less jaundiced eyes? (To say nothing of win over Blake with a mutual love of Indian culture to get to the bottom of whatever fishy business Blake may be involved with?) It looks like there was a side to Macpherson’s cultural and linguistic expertise that Avery was entirely unaware of. The funeral scene was really touching: you get a good sense of how isolated young Company recruits are from their families and any sort of support system. That scene in Avery’s now empty bungalow: oh, that hurts. We also get our first hint of Avery’s age: around 21. It’s another weight on Avery’s shoulders, along with his: (probable) alcoholism, gambling habit and the debts it’s caused, poor financial skills in general, culture shock and displacement from his family, and emotional estrangement and likely depression. And then you have people like Keefe who are all too aware of how to take advantage of people like Avery.
As do Avery’s servants...although 21st century me is quite happy to seem them getting their digs in at the callous and incurious Company drones. Grieving, hung over, and robbed: a not at all auspicious start to his mission. And here’s Blake, making it very clear to Avery he doesn’t want him there either. Avery’s going to have to learn Hindi quickly or find himself even more isolated.
The scene were he abandons his possessions is painful. It’s brilliantly written, and shows both how pompous and ill-suited to the environment British/Company culture is, and how painful this journey is going to be for Avery, from whom all the remaining signifiers of his status (such as it is) and self-respect are shorn.
And given a choice between all of it, he chooses his books. Oh, Avery.
Chapter 4:
Chapter 4 is where the book really took off for me. We really start to get a deeper sense of who Avery is, versus who he thinks he is or tries to be. His fumbling attempt to make peace with Blake (and Blake’s cutting dismissal), and how, in his spectating of Blake, he has the capacity for observation and insight. We also get further insights into Avery’s personality: that he’s a bona fide outdoorsy type (vice someone who’s into riding and shooting as appropriately masculine signifiers) and would probably be enjoying this outing more if he could just shake off his attachment to cultural signifiers.
And oh my god, can we talk about how cool it is that we don’t even know what Blake looks like until we’re 55 pages into the novel? I can’t think of another author who doesn’t info-dump that information right at the outset. And even the description we get here isn’t really all that descriptive! Blake’s eyes are “some mud shade, [we] suppose”? How many other authors would be brave enough to do this?
Mir Aziz is the surprise MVP here, taking Avery under his wing to mitigate Avery’s hurt and resentment of his treatment at Blake’s hands. I do wonder though, whether Blake is as disinterested in the mission as Avery makes him out to be: after all, Avery has no idea what Blake is saying to any of the Indians or caravan members, etc. they encounter. And if Mountstuart disappeared looking for Thugs, it makes sense that the people closest to Thuggee might be in a better position to know what happened to him.
Anyway, I love the travelogue quality of this chapter. We get a sense of the flora, the fauna, the inconveniences and nuisances the travelers face, how customs change from location to location, and how the inhabitants view and live in their world (versus how the Company perceives them). Blake sure does seem to know a lot of people, doesn’t he? It’s interesting that he seems to be much more well liked among the Indian populations than and European society.
Page 67, and Avery’s reaction to it, made me love him and love this book. XD XD XD
…Aaand then Avery undoes it by bullying Mir Aziz. What are you doing!? Mir Aziz is the only person in this group inclined to show you kindness! Why are you being such a d-bag to him? (And remember how angry you get when you feel the Indians aren’t showing you appropriate respect? Imagine that, only it’s your country that’s been invaded and colonized, and you’re forced to grow opium poppies instead of food that could feed your country, which happens to be on the brink of famine. And, just, yeah.
Between this and Avery’s conversation with the Company civilian, we are really getting a sense of the ruinous arrogance and hypocrisy of the Company’s approach.)
And then Avery regains our sympathy with his uncomplicated happiness at his reception by Jiggins et al. Avery is very much a people person, if not bona fide extrovert, and we get such a good sense of how much he’s been hurting for human interaction and companionship. And because he gets it, he gives away a little more than perhaps we should. Interesting tidbit about Blake—or maybe another Blake—getting drunk and cursing in Irish.
Also, holy crap! Cliffhanger!!
これで以上です。
This post covers the prologue and chapters 1-4. Beneath the cut tags are write-ups of each, focusing on some of the main developments and my reactions thereto. I've written these as though I'm reading the book for the first time, so there are spoilers for each chapter--but nothing beyond said chapter--under each cut. That way, everyone can dive in and comment on the without having to worry about being spoiled for anything that comes later in the book. (That said, I absolutely want to discuss foreshadowing, red herrings, and how subsequent chapters and books build on events in this post in comments! Just be sure to flag any spoilers up front.)
Random thoughts before we get started: I love Carter's use of archaic spellings--they really help give a sense of place and time period. Also, we're in Bengal; why is no one speaking Bangla?
And with that out of the way, let's get started!
Prologue:Standard mystery novel scene setting with an ambiguous character POV. Moving on...
Chapter 1:Our introduction to Avery, Blake, and Macpherson! I love the interactions between Avery and Macpherson, and how Carter uses them to introduce readers to Calcutta and to the duo’s differing reactions to it. We’re already starting to see how Avery is a fish out of water, and how deeply he’s afflicted by culture shock (and how little he realizes it).
We’re also introduced to Mountstuart—1827-style influencer and disrupter, and the reason why Avery came to India in the first place. Up to this point I wasn’t very disposed to like Avery; Macpherson’s geeky enthusiasm and openness to other cultures was much more my thing. But then we find out that Avery’s a fanboy bookworm, which goes a long way toward reconciling him.
And his interactions with Blake—oof. Here is someone who seems cut from the reverse side of the same cloth as Avery: willing to go toe-to-toe in rudeness, and definitely not taking care of himself. Neither of them come out of this reaction looking good. It seems like maybe Macpherson would have been the better choice to coax Blake into accepting the Company’s letter? He certainly seems like he’d have more in common with Blake, if Blake has gone native to the degree he’s rumored to, and thus likelier to get off on a better foot with Blake.
Chapter 2:The levee! But before we get to that, woah, this is how Mountstuart reads? Is he really as good as everyone says he is? I wonder how much of that passage Macpherson ad libbed. ;-) Again, I love the interactions here between Avery and Macpherson. Avery’s kind of a babe in the woods; you wonder how well he would have managed without Macpherson’s steady(ing) influence.
And poor Avery! The levee finds him back in what should be familiar territory, but he’s still a fish out of water. His schoolboy crush on Helen is endearing, and she certainly seems to share his disdain for Indian culture. (Also, I like Mountstuart’s poetry much more than his prose.) But alas! Just as Avery looks poised to make headway with Helen, he’s called away once more…
...to deal with Blake, no less. Who’s as displeased to be thrown back into Avery’s company as Avery is to find himself back in Blake’s. That said, we start to see here that there’s more to Blake than initially meets the eye. We’ve had some intimations here and in the proceeding chapter that he’s hardly from a privileged background, and yet he apparently rose through the ranks to Captain; Avery, with his much better family background has done nothing but spin his wheels. Buchanan thinks Blake’s the man for an irregular, commando style mission into the backofbeyond, for all he looks ready to crumble into dust. And yet, neither does it seem that Buchanan trusts him, judging from the fact that he’s chosen very proper Company man Avery to go along as minder and erstwhile spy.
Chapter 3:Holy afjkds$#! I’d thought for sure that Avery and Macpherson were going to be the main duo, and now Macpherson’s dead?!? Now who is going to help Avery see India through less jaundiced eyes? (To say nothing of win over Blake with a mutual love of Indian culture to get to the bottom of whatever fishy business Blake may be involved with?) It looks like there was a side to Macpherson’s cultural and linguistic expertise that Avery was entirely unaware of. The funeral scene was really touching: you get a good sense of how isolated young Company recruits are from their families and any sort of support system. That scene in Avery’s now empty bungalow: oh, that hurts. We also get our first hint of Avery’s age: around 21. It’s another weight on Avery’s shoulders, along with his: (probable) alcoholism, gambling habit and the debts it’s caused, poor financial skills in general, culture shock and displacement from his family, and emotional estrangement and likely depression. And then you have people like Keefe who are all too aware of how to take advantage of people like Avery.
As do Avery’s servants...although 21st century me is quite happy to seem them getting their digs in at the callous and incurious Company drones. Grieving, hung over, and robbed: a not at all auspicious start to his mission. And here’s Blake, making it very clear to Avery he doesn’t want him there either. Avery’s going to have to learn Hindi quickly or find himself even more isolated.
The scene were he abandons his possessions is painful. It’s brilliantly written, and shows both how pompous and ill-suited to the environment British/Company culture is, and how painful this journey is going to be for Avery, from whom all the remaining signifiers of his status (such as it is) and self-respect are shorn.
And given a choice between all of it, he chooses his books. Oh, Avery.
Chapter 4:
Chapter 4 is where the book really took off for me. We really start to get a deeper sense of who Avery is, versus who he thinks he is or tries to be. His fumbling attempt to make peace with Blake (and Blake’s cutting dismissal), and how, in his spectating of Blake, he has the capacity for observation and insight. We also get further insights into Avery’s personality: that he’s a bona fide outdoorsy type (vice someone who’s into riding and shooting as appropriately masculine signifiers) and would probably be enjoying this outing more if he could just shake off his attachment to cultural signifiers.
And oh my god, can we talk about how cool it is that we don’t even know what Blake looks like until we’re 55 pages into the novel? I can’t think of another author who doesn’t info-dump that information right at the outset. And even the description we get here isn’t really all that descriptive! Blake’s eyes are “some mud shade, [we] suppose”? How many other authors would be brave enough to do this?
Mir Aziz is the surprise MVP here, taking Avery under his wing to mitigate Avery’s hurt and resentment of his treatment at Blake’s hands. I do wonder though, whether Blake is as disinterested in the mission as Avery makes him out to be: after all, Avery has no idea what Blake is saying to any of the Indians or caravan members, etc. they encounter. And if Mountstuart disappeared looking for Thugs, it makes sense that the people closest to Thuggee might be in a better position to know what happened to him.
Anyway, I love the travelogue quality of this chapter. We get a sense of the flora, the fauna, the inconveniences and nuisances the travelers face, how customs change from location to location, and how the inhabitants view and live in their world (versus how the Company perceives them). Blake sure does seem to know a lot of people, doesn’t he? It’s interesting that he seems to be much more well liked among the Indian populations than and European society.
Page 67, and Avery’s reaction to it, made me love him and love this book. XD XD XD
…Aaand then Avery undoes it by bullying Mir Aziz. What are you doing!? Mir Aziz is the only person in this group inclined to show you kindness! Why are you being such a d-bag to him? (And remember how angry you get when you feel the Indians aren’t showing you appropriate respect? Imagine that, only it’s your country that’s been invaded and colonized, and you’re forced to grow opium poppies instead of food that could feed your country, which happens to be on the brink of famine. And, just, yeah.
Between this and Avery’s conversation with the Company civilian, we are really getting a sense of the ruinous arrogance and hypocrisy of the Company’s approach.)
And then Avery regains our sympathy with his uncomplicated happiness at his reception by Jiggins et al. Avery is very much a people person, if not bona fide extrovert, and we get such a good sense of how much he’s been hurting for human interaction and companionship. And because he gets it, he gives away a little more than perhaps we should. Interesting tidbit about Blake—or maybe another Blake—getting drunk and cursing in Irish.
Also, holy crap! Cliffhanger!!
これで以上です。
From:
no subject
And it's deeply unfair because contemporary society offered Avery/men so many more outlets than Helen/women if they found themselves in unhappy marriages, and it makes my teeth grind.
Definitely! It was the kind of time period where men were almost expected to fuck around outside of their marriages, even if they were relatively happy. If they were actively unhappy, then they could do anything they please and it wouldn't be their fault at all. While women couldn't even look at another man without risking their reputation...
One of the things I find really like about Helen is the somewhat mercenary way she racks and stacks her suitors. I find it really admirable. If society is going to make her ability to live comfortably solely dependent on her spouse, then she is going to choose her spouse largely for his ability to provide a comfortable lifestyle, social opprobrium be damned.
I like that too! She's very casually ambitious and focused on making herself comfortable, and honestly I find that great about her. She's very, very much a realist in a lot of ways; and while that clashes with poor Avery quite a lot, who obviously thought that he was marrying for love and only later figured out that Helen was marrying based largely on practical considerations, I cannot fault her for it at all. I would kill to see Helen interacting with Blake a bit more, and with Matty too!
Or worse still, if his infidelity is what effects a reconciliation between him and Helen, which I don't believe is out of the realm of possibility in future books.
Oh, nooooo. I mean, I'm not that much of a fan of infidelity as a plot device anyway... But at least have Avery have an affair with Blake, instead of dragging all these poor innocent women into it!
Particularly in an era when you do start to see women agitating for the social space to have more independent thoughts, as you say. That move would be a Very Collinson Thing To Do.TM
I must admit, that I do have a fairly involved fic idea in my head that involves Helen somehow being revealed as a former spy - perhaps due to a murder that she ends up having to investigate with Matty - and being convinced to work with Blake & Avery to bring Collinson down. It would be literally novel length, which is why I haven't even attempted to write it, but I still regularly return to play around with it. XD
From:
no subject
I suppose it's easier to be relatively happy though when the inadvisable stuff you do really isn't your fault; it's just, society expects it of you so you really don't have a choice and might as well anyway. *extreme side eye*
If they were actively unhappy, then they could do anything they please and it wouldn't be their fault at all. While women couldn't even look at another man without risking their reputation...
Yes, and the risk ultimately originates in this idea of men not being trustworthy or able to control or restrain themselves around women, which. Wouldn't that argue for cloistering men away from society? It's also patently false, but again, the narrative sure let some bad actors live their best lives at the expense of pretty much everyone else.
She's very casually ambitious and focused on making herself comfortable, and honestly I find that great about her.
Yes! And again, I don't see anything different between Helen's ambition in that regard, and Avery's, seeing as this is the guy who went to India precisely to get 1) money, 2) status, 3) status symbol spouse. It's entirely arbitrary that his choice is generally considered rational, adventurous, etc. while women who pursue those goals (and are forced to do it in the reverse order) are seen very negatively for doing so.
She's very, very much a realist in a lot of ways; and while that clashes with poor Avery quite a lot, who obviously thought that he was marrying for love and only later figured out that Helen was marrying based largely on practical considerations, I cannot fault her for it at all.
To say nothing of the fact that Avery's definition of love largely boils down to "I think you're purdy," which (skipping ahead of things here) is what Blake explicitly warns him about! And the thing is, Avery on one level always knew she was choosing based on practical considerations: that's why she favored Keay before his departure, and Avery acknowledged as much. So it's a bit self-deceptive and self-serving on his part to convince himself otherwise when she very directly ends that engagement to marry the guy (i.e. Avery) with better prospects.
I'm not that much of a fan of infidelity as a plot device anyway... But at least have Avery have an affair with Blake, instead of dragging all these poor innocent women into it!
Yes, agreed. And at least some of my impatience with and dislike of it comes from the fact that it's so often been used as a cheap plot catalyst for the male protagonist's personal growth.
I must admit, that I do have a fairly involved fic idea in my head that involves Helen somehow being revealed as a former spy - perhaps due to a murder that she ends up having to investigate with Matty - and being convinced to work with Blake & Avery to bring Collinson down. It would be literally novel length, which is why I haven't even attempted to write it, but I still regularly return to play around with it. XD
I know I sound like a broken record, but I WOULD ABSOLUTELY READ THIS. It's such a fascinating idea, and I love the thought of Matty and Helen being just as effective as the boys (and perhaps society's low expectations of what they're capable of even amplifying that effectiveness)!
From:
no subject
Yes! It's SO FRUSTRATING. Men are allowed to do anything, because there's this really intense atmosphere of boys will be boys and men know best, and that goes double if they're upper class and white and have even the slightest bit of money. It's incredibly disgusting.
To say nothing of the fact that Avery's definition of love largely boils down to "I think you're purdy," which (skipping ahead of things here) is what Blake explicitly warns him about! And the thing is, Avery on one level always knew she was choosing based on practical considerations: that's why she favored Keay before his departure, and Avery acknowledged as much. So it's a bit self-deceptive and self-serving on his part to convince himself otherwise when she very directly ends that engagement to marry the guy (i.e. Avery) with better prospects.
It is! The double standards in the situation are just awful. Helen is doing exactly the same thing as Avery was, but is judged for it. Helen is also only the slightest bit more depressed than Avery with her situation in the second two books, and yet again she is judged for it while Avery gets a lot of sympathy. It really doesn't seem fair. And yeah, she did say a little spiel about how she always favoured him secretly and he was the choice of her heart... But come on, anybody could've seen through that!
Yes, agreed. And at least some of my impatience with and dislike of it comes from the fact that it's so often been used as a cheap plot catalyst for the male protagonist's personal growth.
Is is, isn't it? And it just annoys me. Maybe you can tell an interesting infidelity plot, though I must admit that I've never read one myself, but I'm even more against it when it's just a way to somehow redeem the man. He does an extremely shitty thing, but he regrets it afterwards so obviously that's fine!
I know I sound like a broken record, but I WOULD ABSOLUTELY READ THIS. It's such a fascinating idea, and I love the thought of Matty and Helen being just as effective as the boys (and perhaps society's low expectations of what they're capable of even amplifying that effectiveness)!
I'm glad! :D I always mean to write more Matty & Helen (and Matty/Helen, for that matter). I think the two of them together could lead to an even more interesting examination of power in society. Because nobody pays attention to women, especially if they're married or a servant, and so they'd basically be able to solve crimes unseen.