China Mieville's Perdido Street Station

[Aaron Vincent]

This is the buddy reads thread for China Mieville's Perdido Street Station.

Participants: Aaron, Joy, Louize, Lynai, Meliza, Monique, Tintin

This book has 8 parts so we'll be reading 2 parts per week.

Happy reading! :)

[Monique]

Guys, question. This pertains to the end of Chapter 2 lang naman.

(view spoiler)[Exactly what kind of bug is Lin? A beetle? (hide spoiler)]

[Louize]

From what I gathered, (view spoiler)[ she's a moth (hide spoiler)].

[Monique]

But Mommy, (view spoiler)[remember her red skin? And she spits, just like her "sisters"? I don't know if moths spit anything, hehe. And the only insects I know that have mandibles are ants. Headlegs, I think it's common for insects? (hide spoiler)]

[Tin]

I think somewhere sa chapter two, (view spoiler)[ where Lin was in the Plaza of Statues and explaining how they do their art. It was mentioned na they have beetle heads, from where the khepri-spit shoots out. (hide spoiler)]

Also (view spoiler)[ ebook from Meliza has this illustration. Although from this image you can't really say kung beetle yan or dragonfly or what. (hide spoiler)]

[Aaron Vincent]

Cousin: (view spoiler)[Scarab. I googled khepri kasi when I was reading that and found out that it's a mythological creature:

(hide spoiler)]

[Monique]

The book mentioned in Chapter 1 the word (view spoiler)[scarab although I wasn't sure if scarabs are supposed to have red skin. Also, I thought that "khepri" is just Mieville's invention, like so many other things are. Hahaha.

Very cool image, cousin. (hide spoiler)]

Tin, (view spoiler)[from the illustration, Lin is supposed to have the body of a human woman and just the head of the beetle? Akala ko isa syang buong insekto, hahaha. Wait, will reread that insectile coitus scene. Lolers. XD (hide spoiler)]\

Anyway, now that we know that (view spoiler)[khepri is a real-life thing and not a figment of Mieville's imagination, here's what WIKI has to say about it. (hide spoiler)]

[Tin]

Ah, from mythology pala siya!

Monique:(view spoiler)[Haha! Oo, the part where they were eating breakfast, it was mentioned that she has a human neck and also hands. Had she been a complete insect, the um...coitus would then be um.....hard? LOooooL! (hide spoiler)]

From the illustration (French edition daw siya), I thought nga
(view spoiler)[as you mentioned "red", she's supposed to have red skin, like whole body. (hide spoiler)]
(view spoiler)[like this guy XD:
(hide spoiler)]
(view spoiler)[Diyan sa illustration hindi naman, skin tone siya. :) (hide spoiler)]

[Louize]

Aaron: Hehehe. Talagang pabaliktad ang mukha ng khepri? Di ba dapat yung mandibles part of the jaw?

Either way, ewww pa rin.

Si Isaac, ano naman?

[Monique]

Mommy, si Isaac naman (view spoiler)[is human. Sure ako dyan kasi nabanggit when they were about to you-know-what. Insectile dun-dun-dun! (hide spoiler)]

[Aaron Vincent]

Found this handy creatures guide over at deviantart:

Left mouse click -> view image to embiggen.

(view spoiler)[ (hide spoiler)]

[Monique]

OOOOH. There's the (view spoiler)[cactus man and the vyo.... the frog thing. Exactly as I imagine them! Si Lin lang talaga di ko ma-imagine, hahaha.

Sobrang angas lang nung Remade. HAHAHA.

COOOOOOOOLLL. (hide spoiler)]

[Louize]

Kasi, going back to the breakfast scene, (view spoiler)[

"He smiled and dangled his fried pork in front of him, curled his tongue around it, wiped his greasy fingers on the table. He smiled at her. She undulated her headlegs at him and signed, My monster.
I am a pervert, thought Isaac, and so is she."
(hide spoiler)]

so, I thought he's another kind of creature naman.

[Meliza]

(view spoiler)[Me too, I thought Isaac is another creature but looks more human. So beetle nga pala yung face ni Lin, mali yung unang imagine ko sa wings. Haha! But it was said nga pala, "she spread her beautiful, useless little beetle wings." E kasi naman, I don't see beetle wings as beautiful. Hehe! (hide spoiler)]

O sige na nga, beautiful na.
(view spoiler)[

(hide spoiler)]

[Tin]

Cooool! (view spoiler)[ So a garuda has a human(oid?)torso pala. And that's how a vodyanoi looks, I initially imagined something more Jabba the Hutt, and a little less Budweiser toad. (hide spoiler)]

Mommy Louize: (view spoiler)[ Oo nga no. I-reread ko nag ulit yung insectile coitus scene. Hahaha! But I took it as playful sex talk lang ni Lin, in reference to them being of different species. I've always imagined Isaac to be human. (hide spoiler)]

Meliza:(view spoiler)[Anong naimagine mo sa wings? (hide spoiler)]

Also question:(view spoiler)[ What are Xenians? General term for the inhabitants of New Crobuzon?

And Cymek? A place? A Garuda tribe? both? (hide spoiler)]

[Meliza]

Tin: (view spoiler)[Because of this kasi:"curled his tongue around it". Kaya akala ko hindi sya masyadong human, si Isaac.

Wings ng butterfly. Hahaha! E kasi hindi nag-stuck yung beetle saken, more like a butterfly, moth, dragonfly ang unang naisip ko kay Lin.
(hide spoiler)]

[Monique]

As for Isaac: (view spoiler)[There wasn't too much specific descriptions of him, unlike Lin, so I assumed he was human. And you know, he has a cock. LOL. (hide spoiler)]

As for Xenians: (view spoiler)[Di ko pa maisip, Tin, hahaha! (hide spoiler)]

And as for Cymek: (view spoiler)[I'm assuming it's another region or place where the garuda come from? Although the garuda are supposed to be nomads. Let's just assume it's just a place from where they hail. :) (hide spoiler)]

[Louize]

Meliza: Ako din doon ako sa beautiful wings nag-focus. Atsaka, sabi kasi yung spit nila tumitigas, hard enough to make statues. :)

Monique: LOL! :D

Tin: Grabe din yung imagination ko ng vodyanoi. As in, slime is oozing from them.(view spoiler)[ (hide spoiler)]

[Monique]

General observation: One thing I noticed, China Mieville likes his politics.

[Meliza]

From Chapter Ten, (view spoiler)[Lin's art is fascinating, no? So that's what the colourberries are for. And the skill of making those spit-statues, the art of mixing the berries and glues to achieve certain colors and textures. Wow! Then the feeling after of being bloated, with the berry acid in the mouth and musty chalk of the paste. The effort exerted. Amazing lang. Hehe! (hide spoiler)]

[Tin]

Monique: Oo nga noh? From a you tube interview I watched before, I found out that Mieville is a leftist and is active sa isang Socialist group, or something. It looks like he put some of his political beliefs in Isaac's character. And also maybe Derkhan. :)

[Monique]

TIN: I mean this is only my second Mieville pero the politics was also present in The City & The City right? And then this one again. Mukha nga siyang aktibista, hehe!

MELIZA: I'm still looking for fan art for Mr Motley but I can't find one that satisfies the, uh, Motley description of him. (view spoiler)[Can't imagine how Lin must be seeing him. (hide spoiler)]

[Meliza]

Politics is also prominent in his Embassytown.

In Un Lun Dun, it was much more subtle maybe because it's YA. But with regards to activism, Deeba, the protagonist there, shows it in her actions.

[Lynai]

I agree on the politics. Un Lun Dun is more about environmental activism. :)

(view spoiler)[Showing up in this thread just so you will know I'm still alive haha. Still on Chapter 2 but I'll catch up once I finish Love Walked In this weekend, hopefully. (hide spoiler)]

[Louize]

CM is a Marxist. He mapped out the Bas-Lag universe 10 years before he finally wrote Perdido Street Station. And while writing the Bas-Lag novels, he was working on his PhD, then wrote a thesis on Marxism. I guess, it's why PSS is soaking in politics.

When he wrote Un Lun Dun and The City and the city mellow na daw sya. Maybe, kasi natalo sya when he stood as candidate for the Socialist Alliance sa UK.

[Meliza]

Hello, I just finished Chapter 20.

For Xenians, (view spoiler)[I think they are the inhabitants of New Crobuzon or maybe the whole Bas-lag, who are sentient except humans. So that includes the khepris, cactacae, vodyanoi, etc. (hide spoiler)]

Also in the Prologue, (view spoiler)[last week, I was about to ask who the narrator is. But now, that was Yagharek, right? (hide spoiler)]

The male khepris (view spoiler)[are just scarabs pala no? Unlike the females who have human bodies. (hide spoiler)]

[Monique]

MELIZA: Yep, the narrator is (view spoiler)[old son Yag. Haha. Also, ew on the male scarabs and procreation. (hide spoiler)]

OMG, read Chapter 21-23 now na now na! Haha. After reading chapter 21 nawala antok ko kagabi, hahaha.

[Meliza]

Agree on the ew. Haha!

Ayan, naexcite ako bigla. Will read them today. :)

[Louize]

Sa chapter 21 din ako nag-stop kagabi e...
Ayan, wala ng tulugan mamaya! :)

BTW, sobrang intriga ako doon sa repairman. Will we meet him again?

[Meliza]

Ako din! Kasi before leaving, me whisper pa s'ya na "Virus be done."

[Tin]

Monique: Chapter 23 na ako!(view spoiler)[Release the kraken-basilisk-medusa-insect thingy! O.o (hide spoiler)]

Meliza: (view spoiler)[ Fascinating nga yung khepri spit art. Although di ko fully maisip kung ano yung itsura, but na-iimagine ko something like glass blowing.

If humans had the same ability, Gaston would be good as this... (hide spoiler)]

(view spoiler)[

because...♪"He's especially good at expectorating!"♪ XD
(hide spoiler)]

Louize: Onga, the repairman, I am curious kung anong mangyayari dun sa cleaning construct. (view spoiler)[Di kaya robot revolt? O.o (hide spoiler)]

[Monique]

It's a (view spoiler)[MOTH!


(hide spoiler)]

Unfortunately I'll have to leave Perdido Street Station for now, I have to prepare for F2F39. I'll hang out back here as soon as I can. See you later, friends. :)

[Louize]

Chapter 28 pa lang ako last night.
(view spoiler)[
Na touch naman ako sa scene ni Derkhan and Flex. :(
Gusto ko na malaman kung saan namamasyal yung cleaning construct ni Lublamai! hehehe
Btw,
I have a theory on what those creatures feed on and why, but I want to be surprised.
(hide spoiler)]

[Meliza]

I'm currently at Chapter 32.
(view spoiler)[Benjamin Flex. Huhu. Lin. Huhu. (hide spoiler)]

Sincerity is a what? Naskip ko ata descriptions nya. What's his/her/its role?

[Tin]

Nasa chapter 39 na ako! By Jabbers! Soooo many revelations!

Louize:(view spoiler)[I think your theory will more or less prove to be correct.:) (hide spoiler)]

Meliza:(view spoiler)[Sincerity is a badger, from what I remember. Alam mo, di ko inisip na may role siya or what. Haha. Sa isip ko, wala lang, pet lang siya. Pampa-cute. Hehe. But sa lagay ng utak ni China Mieville, who knows? :) (hide spoiler)]

[Louize]

Tin wrote: "Louize:[I think your theory will more or less prove to be correct.:)"

Oo nga, tama. (view spoiler)[I had my theory the first time Isaac fed it with dreamshit. In fairness, literal na dreamshit pala yun. Kaya lang di na ako na-surprise, dapat talaga di na nagte-theorize. hehehe (hide spoiler)]

[Lynai]

Hi friends! Starting Part II pa lang ako, eeep! Pero hahabol ako ng bonggang-bongga during the holidays. :D

Ang icky lang ng New Corbuzon. Parang di ako makahinga sa descriptions ng filth and the underground. Pero I want to be a khepri, if only for the art. Chos. :)

[Meliza]

Why are you so fast, Tin? Haha! I'm at Chapter 37, hahabulin kita. Haha. Joke lang.

As for Sincerity, (view spoiler)[E why did David bring it? Hehe! Okay, pampacute. (hide spoiler)]?

MONIQUE: Good luck to the f2f next month! :) I'm excited to read our March book.

LOUIZE: (view spoiler)[I thought about dreams too. But not that dreamshit are from them too. Amazing, no? (hide spoiler)]

LYNAI: Yup, it's icky at the start. Prologue pa nga lang e filthy na. Hehe! I hope you could "habol" soon. :)

[Louize]

Lynai wrote: "Ang icky lang ng New Corbuzon. Parang di ako makahinga sa descriptions ng filth and the underground."

Kapag may description nga ng lugar, lalo na yung trip ni Isaac at Lin sa Spatters, di ko rin masyado ini-imagine kasi pakiramdam ko anytime may gagapang na sa binti ko! hahaha

Meliza wrote: "As for Sincerity, [E why did David bring it? Hehe! Okay, pampacute. (hide spoiler)]?

Si David kasi ang may ari kay Sincerity.(Chapter 3).

[Lynai]

Also, the way that pigeon was killed in Isaac's lab and how the pigs were gutted when Derkhan visited Benjamin in Dog Fenn (?), yuck. Kawawang ibon. Kawawang baboy.

[Tin]

Lynai and Luoize: Haha! Naaalala ko tuloy si Charles Dickens sa ATo2C, kung maka describe nang squalor sa gay paree, wagas. Filth, grime, muck...hahahaha.

Part Five: Councils (Chapter 34-41):
(view spoiler)[ The Weaver! The Council! The Handlingers! (hide spoiler)]
(view spoiler)[ (hide spoiler)]

[Louize]

OMG! (view spoiler)[ Buhay ba 'yung The Weaver? (hide spoiler)] That fight scene was like 4D!

[Tin]

Louize: I know right!!! (view spoiler)[I am not sure! It says the slake-moth's jagged tentacle was embedded in The Weaver's flesh. Brrrr. It sounds fatal. Pero I don't know, baka wounded lang kasi it flitted in and out of different dimensions so hindi talaga siya ma pin down ng slake-moth. (hide spoiler)]

[Louize]

Finished! But I'm still rereading some parts because I still can't explain how I feel. :(

[Tin]

Ako din! Finished!(view spoiler)[ I keep thinking about Yag's crime and Isaac's choice. And Lin. Gah. Bleak all the way to the very end. (hide spoiler)]
(view spoiler)[ Why can't the Council replicate Isaac's crisis engine again? (hide spoiler)]
(view spoiler)[ Really surprised about Jack Half-a-Prayer. I was hoping the mysterious savior would be someone from the gang, like maybe Lemuel remade, or Shadrach remade, or Tansel remade. or David remade. Haha. (hide spoiler)]

[Meliza]

About the ending: (view spoiler)[I was shocked about Yag's crime. Hehe! I thought at first that his crime was something like wherein he doesn't deserve the punishment. But I like what he did in the end, his decision, his acceptance.

With regards to Isaac, a very difficult choice to make indeed. And I really pity Lin. I really really like her and her art. Huhu. So heart-breaking. (hide spoiler)]

[Louize]

Tin wrote: "Ako din! Finished!
Why can't the Council replicate Isaac's crisis engine again?
(view spoiler)[
Isaac didn't give him the whole plan, and since the Council relies on data, it cannot replicate the engine. When Isaac attached the Council to the engine, nilagyan nya ng breaker. I don't know how that works exactly, but Isaac explained that the breaker is important so that the Council cannot get to the engine directly.

Sobrang hindi ko pa rin ma-weigh kung justified ba yung ginawa ni Isaac kay Yag e. Yag was laready judged, in Cymek, and punished. It was done. Dapat ba na Isaac judged and punisedh him too? What happens to his word of honor, their unwritten contract of agreement? But a major crime was committed by Yag. And Isaac will be offending a whole race if he help Yag. *Ako na sentimental!

I was actually sad for Lemuel too. Despite his claim that he was there for the pay, I think he really wanted to help.

(hide spoiler)]

[Tin]

Louize: (view spoiler)[ Ah gets. He cannot make anything if he has only seen them, dapat i-hook up talaga sa kanya. And then Isaac used a breaker pala. Gets!

I think what made Isaac decide sa huli is that he himself found the crime unacceptable. His moral compass is what ultimately couldn't allow him to honor his word. He said na bestowing flight to Yag would mean that the Garuda's action was acceptable, when to him, personally, it's not.

What happened to Lemuel was masakit! He was begging and yelling, and they had no choice but to leave him. Grabiti yung sewer chase na yun. And he has done so much for the group. And I really think he wanted to help too. Considering na life endangering na yung mga pinapagawa sa kanya ni Isaac, mas mabigat yung buhay niya sa pera, and yet he stayed pa rin. Or baka ano, he is like the adventurers/thrill seekers, mahilig sa mga dangerous exploits. Haha. Either way, lab ko pa rin siya. :) (hide spoiler)]

Meliza:(view spoiler)[ Sad about Lin too. The moment we find out that she's alive pala, after thinking her to be dead all along, biglang boom! Slake-moth fodder. (hide spoiler)]

[Lynai]

Hi buddies! Just finished Chapter 31 and I had to stop and process everything. (view spoiler)[The slake-moths make me want to vomit.Ewww. (hide spoiler)]

And about David. Agggh, I hate the cowardice of the man. Will he be able to redeem himself at the end. Nah, don't answer that haha!

Will resume reading once I get over the ickiness of the brain-eating. EWWWW

[Louize]

Hi guys!
Please indulge me by answering these questions:

For you, what is the best part of the book? Why?

Will you consider Isaac as heroic? Why, or why not?