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Do the other books in the series contain unchecked racist caricatures or is the one included here an outlier?
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The Sweetness at the Bottom of the Pie,
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James Kelly
I think this is an allusion to the reference to a horrible event in Calcutta? I agree that Colonialism was, and still is, a great evil that many countries have taken part in. There is no excuse for it. That said, in this case, I think the reference is used ina. uniquely British way. It is, after all, set in Britain. The 'idea' of the sweltering 'Black Hole of Calcutta' passed into folklore and the national psyche there and has been handed down through the generations as a grim reference to a horribly crowded space The phrase, "It was like the Black Hole of Calcutta in there", is still one you might hear in conversation anywhere in Britain. I think this is how it is used here, but, I can understand how this might be shocking to outsiders. I don't see it as a racist remark. I certainly don't think it indicates racial bias on the part of the writer. Considering that he is Australian, with a British mum, I find his ear for colloquial English quite astonishing and this is an example- though, to some, one that might make them feel uncomfortable if unfamiliar with the way of British speech.
Ms. McGregor
I'm wondering the same thing. I was horrified that I recommended this book to an Asian-American student earlier this year because of the things I had heard about it, and now I'm in the middle of it and came to that part. :( The worst part is that at least at my current progress in the book, it serves NO PURPOSE in the characterization or plot.
David
I was shocked when the father told his story about painting his skin yellow and talking in a cartoonish “Chinese” dialect. As noted elsewhere, that characterization served no point in the narrative.
Then I saw how recently the book was written and I was even more shocked.
The Calcutta line played as a little girl prone to absurd exaggeration. Insensitive, but in character. The Chinese caricature seems in there for no reason other than to offend under cover of period accurate racism.
Just as Agatha Christie changed the title of her own book until it became “And Then There Were None” and as Roald Dahl rewrote Willy Wonka’s helpers from being African pygmies to the now well known orange skinned Oompa-Loompas, Bradley should rewrite and reissue this book so that it doesn’t shock readers out of the story. (I can’t imagine Martin Freeman, who is set to play the father in the movie, will recreate such and aggressively hostile portrayal of Chinese people.)
I am beginning to also get nervous about the “Roman Salute” that a character gives before apparently committing suicide. Her own father was a WWII veteran and I find it creepy that she doesn’t refer to it as a Nazi Salute. ( I am still only 2/3 of the way through.)
Then I saw how recently the book was written and I was even more shocked.
The Calcutta line played as a little girl prone to absurd exaggeration. Insensitive, but in character. The Chinese caricature seems in there for no reason other than to offend under cover of period accurate racism.
Just as Agatha Christie changed the title of her own book until it became “And Then There Were None” and as Roald Dahl rewrote Willy Wonka’s helpers from being African pygmies to the now well known orange skinned Oompa-Loompas, Bradley should rewrite and reissue this book so that it doesn’t shock readers out of the story. (I can’t imagine Martin Freeman, who is set to play the father in the movie, will recreate such and aggressively hostile portrayal of Chinese people.)
I am beginning to also get nervous about the “Roman Salute” that a character gives before apparently committing suicide. Her own father was a WWII veteran and I find it creepy that she doesn’t refer to it as a Nazi Salute. ( I am still only 2/3 of the way through.)
Valerie
I hate to say, having read some responses, that since I'm unfamiliar with British colonialism, this went over my head. I do ponder, does that colonialism negate all British books that allude to it? The reactions to war are certainly familiar due to our understanding today of PTSD.
Rebecca A
I will not be continuing this series for that reason. So unnecessary, so vile. Having Flavia call her capture her "own personal Calcutta", even if ~150 white men died in a war under the Mughal Nawab of Bengal (and probably more during the violence which they inflicted upon India as colonizers), completely glazes over the context and uh... *The Bengal Famine*.
~4 MILLION Bengalis died under Churchill's orders. This took place before this book was set. The comments about Calcutta were so sudden and blatantly racist that I am unconvinced this is not the author injecting his own disgusting perspective into the book.
~4 MILLION Bengalis died under Churchill's orders. This took place before this book was set. The comments about Calcutta were so sudden and blatantly racist that I am unconvinced this is not the author injecting his own disgusting perspective into the book.
Sandra Jackson - Alawine
What on earth are you talking about? Honestly people need to get over themselves. The event you are referring to took place in the 1920s and is faithful to that time period.
It shouldn't prevent anyone who enjoys historical fiction or murder mysteries from enjoying the book.
It shouldn't prevent anyone who enjoys historical fiction or murder mysteries from enjoying the book.
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