SciFi and Fantasy Book Club discussion
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Group Reads Discussions 2011
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Red Mars - Social Dynamics and Relationships *spoilers welcome*
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Brad
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Aug 09, 2011 06:33AM
The first of our themed threads (thanks to Qylie). Chime in on our Martians.
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I've been thinking of what Peggy said in the other thread about Maya's junior high behaviour, and I certainly can't deny that it's the way she behaves at times, but it was never a concern for me and still isn't, so I was wondering why. It struck me on the weekend when I was listening to a friend of my family, a 40-something mother and wife, who went on and on in gossip mode about the women she works with, and I realized it is because it is a pretty common phenomenon. I know men and women, parents, "adults," who've never grown up past grade nine. Of course, I also know plenty who have, but there are enough of those who haven't that I read Maya without a flinch.
Oh, I totally agree - my office of adults is every bit as drama-laden as junior high was, and I routinely hear Maya-level angst from the guy in the next cube. I just think it was that kind of behavior coming from someone in Maya's leadership position that bugged me. We saw both Frank and John acting in a leadership capacity. We saw Maya carrying on because one of her boyfriends didn't like her back. And again, it wasn't the triangle that I had a problem with - I could have totally seen her playing the two most powerful men on the American team against each other. Didn't Robinson make a point of saying how powerful the Russian women were?
Speaking of power - my opinion of Boone as a character took a nosedive when he was gloating about how real power was getting Maya to spend the night with him. So maybe all three of them had this junior high mentality ...
People in a hierarchy try to protect their place in it by scrambling for the moral high-ground. Americans have "small" hierarchies (compared with national hierarchies, like Japan, or 19th Century England) so they concentrate on local hierarchies. We should consider ourselves lucky that our hierarchies are social rather than political.
Boone is definitely the character I like the least, Sid. And that gloating is definitely a tipping point where the carefully constructed hero image starts to crack for us.And I can see what you're saying about Maya, Peggy. That sort of behaviour by a "leader" is aggravating.
One of my favourite quotes in the whole book is when Arkady and Nadia are together on the airship. When Nadia questions why Arkady would be interested in her when he could have any woman in the hundred, even Maya, Arkady's response if something like "You mean I could have the joy of Maya Toitovna? Just like Frank and John? My god, what was I thinking!?"They are, I confess, two of my favourite characters.
Oh, I loved everything about Nadia, Arkady, and their interaction with each other. By the end of the book, I felt more sympathy for Maya, too.
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