Cat’s Comments (group member since Jan 28, 2015)

Cat’s comments from the Nothing But Reading Challenges group.

DQ's- Day 2: Chapters 7 - 13

So far we have met a mojority of the key players. With Salima requesting that Amina find her grand daughter Dunya because her dead son Asif used to work for her,


6. We are getting hints of a nefarious demise of Asif with the possibility that Amina was involved. Any guesses (If you don't know) of what may have happened. Did anyone else confuse Asif as being Marjana's father?

I was definitely thinking initially that Asif was Marjana's father, but not anymore.
I think there was something gone wrong with Amina's last husband - the djinn or whatever - and yeah, Asif ended up dead as a result of getting the husband into the trunk.

7. So far it seems that instead of Amina being the great baddie that she once was, is really the one being taken advantage of. With Salima forcing her hand to find her grand-daughter. Do you think that even if found her grand daughter would go home willingly?

Salima's a piece of work! I have doubts. I did think the conversation and reflections Amina had with Majed's wife, about strong role model v protection of daughter was interesting, when she acknowledged to herself that she might be on the same side, though not extreme,, of overprotecting to the point of driving away.

8. Amina has gotten her old crew back together (Dalila, an expert poisoner; Tinbu, her first mate; and Majed, her navigator) Which reunion did you enjoy the most?

I enjoyed the action-adventure of the breakout, but the actual relationship with Majed is more compelling

9. With magic playing afoot and Falco being able to do things unknown and Amina not being familiar do you think they eventually bring in or find someone to help them with that?

I guess so. I wonder when and how the husband will come back into it (not read ahead, but SURELY that level of foreshadowing can't be ignored, amirite?!

finished the Pratchett biography, which I was wise enough to be in private for the ending. destroyed me. very good.

Respun:

Echidna
1 350 to 450
2 CAVE in text
3 character uses a sword
4 Author name (first and last) contain all the letters in HERA
5 MC is a mother

DQs Day 1 : Beginning - Ch 6

1.) Do you have any expectations going in? Have you read The Daevabad Trilogy (starting with The City of Brass)?

Only that there would Islam inspired mytholodgy.
I've read City of Brass, but not the next two. I'm preferring this to City of Brass

2.) Right off the bat, the quote "that to be a woman is to have your story misremembered". What do you think about this statement?

Accurate! And I like that set-up - that because she's telling it herself we need to believe it.

3.) Did complaining about the annoyances and expense of home maintenance make the legendary pirate seem more real and relatable even after fighting off a demon in the previous chapter?

It did. Mostly I'm liking that she's 41 and feeling it - it's nice to have a real feeling character in the face of current YA / romantasy stuff

4.) There seems to be a fun bit of the mystical woven into this world. Do you think Marjana's father is human?

Nope. Though whether he's fully myffic I'm undecided.

5.) Are you liking how the book is structured? Like we are sitting at Amina's feet while she tells her tale with some fun extra thrown in between chapters.

I am loving it! especially the shut up and let me tell you asides that are put in.

I think we can do that.
I'm out and about at the moment, but imagine a break day inserted after day 3

I don't doubt it! I'm taking forever with the Terry biog. It's good, so I'm lingering.

Quick Recap

Tasks Unclaimed
Tagged indigenous 10 or more times
Vine, snake, or string like object on cover
Title or author name (first or last) starts with a Y
175-225
MPG Time travel
Page number is a prime number
UNICORN mentioned in text
silver text on cover

Tasks Claimed
MC gets lost Óz, a nagy varázsló Domi
Shoe(s) on cover Óz, a nagy varázsló Domi
Author initials in IRRWURZ Terry Pratchett: A Life With Footnotes Cat
651+ The Passage Sammy
Someone dies or is found dead in the first chapter The Passage Sammy
A sequel or next in series with more than 5 year gap Come to Grief Cat
200-299 Sweep of the Blade Mel
Author's initials in MORRIS DANCING Sweep of the Blade Mel
Takes place in South America Argentina Sammy
Set in Africa or South America (>50%) We Are the Water People Sammy

I finally finished Under Heaven, and thus The Cunning Man.
In the flush of excitement I did a silly thing, and respun....

On the plus side: it's new.
On the down side....

Yateveo
1 651+
2 Someone dies or is found dead in the first chapter
3 Set in Africa or South America (>50%)
4 Vine, snake, or string like object on cover
5 Title or author name (first or last) starts with a Y


I'm off to think hard about the error of my ways!

but the twist, Sammy! The twist is all!

(I agree with your view)

DQs Day 4- Part 2

14.) Norman. What was it like to be Norman? Passing as white and working a minstrel show. Why do you think he left at this point? What do you think of him?

From the author's position: to pull out another way of being Black, and showing the bad side of it.
From Norman's point of view: the scales definitely fallen off his eyes about Emmett, and the precariousness of his existence revealed.

15.) What did you think of their plan to sell Jim?

Oh dear, was never going to go well, was it? and I feel like they missed it by putting the price so high - a lower price would have had lower security, maybe?

16.) I feel like all I have to do in this section is throw out a name and ask you to discuss. So. Sammy. Discuss.

Poor Sammy! I thought the conversation that James & Norman had was striking - was it better for her to die in the pursuit of freedom or be alive, enslaved and sexually abused? It showed Norman's privilege as someone who could pass, that he doesn't have the concept of the value of hope and freedom that James and Sammy have.

17.) One thing that keeps popping up in my head when reading this is the amount of pain and suffering that Jim and others go through and then just keep going. Whipped, beaten, almost drowned, starved, and then almost killed by a riverboat. I have never gone through anything even as bad as one of Jim's better days. How do you think he keeps going?

I think it's that or die. It's like mothers- how they deal with kids while suffering with flu or whatever is impressive!

I very much enjoy Jalaluddin's books. Like you say, not perfect but happy spaces.

DQs Day 3. Ch 21 - end of Part 1.

sorry, I overshot with the reading! too gripped!

10. To no-one's surprise Duke and the King pop back up, causing Bad Things to happen. What do you think about Huck's reaction to them at this point? (I'd ask if we will see Huck again, but given the broad beats of the source material, #spoiler: yes)

11. The interlude with Easter is interesting - making it clear that James is not alone in his code-shifting of language. What do you think about Easter, and what he represents in terms of Everett's exploration of the experiences of enslaved people?

12. But more interesting is that Easter obviously thinks Huck is passing, and James seems oblivious to the concept, and also the insinuation that James and Huck are related (see also convo about widow's peaks earlier). What do you think about this point? Does a blood relationship between the two change your perception of their bond?

13. The Minstrel Show. Ugh. I hadn't realised it had roots so far back. What are your thoughts on the various characters we meet in the show? And the "it's not slavery, but you owe me and can't leave" justification of Emmett? Did that reveal at the end of the section change how you had initially perceived him?

DQs Day 2
Ch 9 to 20

6.) Wow, that was an eventual 60 or so pages. Were you surprised at how far they made it before really running into issues with people/getting caught?

I was surprised how far they got, and enjoyed how protective of James Huck is being.

7.) How much longer do you think Jim/James can keep up the pretense with Huck about his education level?

Yeah, he's slipping in the face of Huck's general acceptance of him as a human. It's an interesting dynamic, and I hope it lasts, but fear the power of a dramatic reversal...

8.) The quote "I have come to understand the tidiness of lies, the lesson learned from the stories told by white people seeking to justify my circumstance." hit home with me. What do you think about this statement's relevance to current events?

Yeah, some powerful resonances right now, but also generally. People polish stories to make them look or feel good, which usually makes othering someone, often unfairly.
It's always really interesting how the retelling of a classic can be so relevant

9.) 'King' and 'Duke' are certainly interesting people to be stuck with. What did you think about how the events surrounding the revival played out? Do you think they'll all get away or just James and Huck?

They were fun. I accidentally listened on a bit further, so I'm not sure if it was in this section where Huck makes it clear that he didn't believe their takes at any point, but was enjoying them regardless.

Judith wrote: "Cat wrote: "No preferences :)

You pick which day you want to give me!"

How about you take day 3, Jenny can do day 4 and I'll do day 5 unless more volunteers pop in"

Done!

DQs Day 1 Chapters 1-8

1.) The obvious first question is of course, when did you last read The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn? Did you like it at the time?
(If you haven’t read it, are you inspired to read it now?)

Flipping ages ago. At least 20 years. I did read it as an adult, not as a school text.

2.) How is your impression of Jim different so far from the one you had of him in Twain’s book? Or, what is your first impression of Jim?
How about Huck?

I'm assuming that they didn't have the conversations about slavery and ethics in the original, so I'm preferring the more thoughtful Huck we see here

3.) Hard to ask if one can imagine being a slave, so I will ask instead, can you imagine having to hide your intelligence to keep your “job” or your life? I didn’t ask that well. For anyone listening to the audio version, do the different conversational styles sound very different?
(It is different in print for sure.)

It's certainly clear when he's dumbing down, but through the language, not through sudden adoption of different accent

4.) What do you think of Everett’s writing style, and his take on the story so far? Have you read anything else of his?

I've read The Trees, which I enjoyed. Yes, I like his style

5.) Have you read any of the the philosophers that Jim dreams of? Voltaire, Rousseau, Locke, etc? What do you think of his conversations with them?
Did anyone else have to look up proleptic irony vs dramatic irony? Just me?

I'd read Candide, and about the others, but not directly. I enjoy the ethical / existential conversations.
I didn't look them up, though I couldn't have defined them either!

No preferences :)

You pick which day you want to give me!

I think I've got a copy and can join in

Oh! I've been totally oblivious.

I;m here for a readalong & set some Qs :)

I'll give you all feedback after 20 March.... :D

back from holiday, cleared off a few whilst lying lazily!
no stinkers, but highlights would be , and (the last not technically a TBR clearance, but definitely a rec!)

DQ Set 5: Chapter 63 - end

21. Simone was not safe in the shed! Shocker! There was a flurry of blood and gore here. Generally, did you like the pacing of the book? Was it effective in building and holding tension for you?

22. What did you think of the Denny twist?

23. We finally arrive at the luxury lodge! What thoughts did you have about the lodge and events there? And the final reveal?

24. Overall, what are your thoughts on the book? Would you recommend it? Would you read others by Coates?