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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
Their meeting in the first chapter really doesn't go well, does it? I love how they're both thoroughly being dicks throughout it, and also how they both give as good as they get. Avery is generally unpleasant to everybody around him in this chapter, it's true. I love him as a character, but that's a great deal due to the way that Carter unfurls him throughout the book. He's not a bad person, but he's very set in his ways and needs to be given the opportunity to move beyond that.
I find the levee really interesting. Avery's crush on Helen is adorable, but it's very clear that they don't actually see each other properly. She sees him as yet another suitor, and not a particularly appealing one at that despite the things they have in common, while he sees her as an idealised beauty and not an actual thinking person. We don't get a lot of Helen through the books, she's kept almost deliberately a cipher, but I do like her - despite her terrible views - and would like to know more about her. You have to wonder why she had to become part of the fishing fleet to find a husband.
And the second meeting of Blake and Avery! You feel really sorry for both of them, forced into this situation that they have no way out of. I find it really interesting how they both express that they don't want to go with each other, their antipathy towards each other at the beginning really enhances how close they grow to each other later! This was also the scene where I think I started to fall head over heels for Blake. He's such a dick, and cares so little for society even when it has power over him. Goals, quite frankly. XD
Looking forward to reading the rest of it! I'll hopefully have a little more time next week, so I look forward to updating with my impressions.
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Prologue: I enjoyed the suspense of the prologue, but the worst part was the monkey being killed.
Ch 1: I love the detail in this book. Which is weird, because in many books the detail is more of a distraction from the story and I skim a lot, but here, India is another character in the story and the detail fleshes her out. Avery proves himself to be the kind of person I would dislike upon meeting them. I was irritated at his insistence that the natives should learn English when he couldn't be bothered to learn Hindoostanee. And his rudeness when entering Blake's home in his refusal to remove his shoes.
Ch 2: A part of me loved the notion of Avery being surprised that Blake knew his hero Mountstuart. I do not trust Buchanan.
Ch 3: I was very surprised by Macpherson's death the first time I read this book, and dreading it this time. I felt bad for Avery having lost his friend and having to leave so much that was ~familiar behind, but I rolled my eyes when he started drinking and agreed to gamble after having just paid off his debts. (Why wasn't there a place he could store those things?!! Seems there should have been.)
Ch 4: I really like how Mir Aziz appears to have taken Avery under his wings and explain things to him. I would not want to travel this way, and yet I found Avery's complaining and expectation of servants to do everything, very irritating. Also, he is quite a trouble magnet.
I hadn't thought about the culture shock and missing home and depression having anything to do with Avery's actions, but that certainly sounds right. I also thought it was bad form for Avery to tell Mir Aziz how good they have it with the Company there. *eye roll*
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