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"The Master" by Colm Toibin

In January 1895 Henry James anticipates the opening of his first play, Guy Domville, in London. The production fails, and he returns, chastened and humiliated, to his writing desk. The result is a string of masterpieces, but they are produced at a high personal cost. In The Master Colm Toibin captures the exquisite anguish of a man who circulated in the grand parlours and palazzos of Europe, who was astonishingly vibrant and alive in his art, and yet whose attempts at intimacy inevitably failed him and those he tried to love. It is a powerful account of the hazards of putting the life of the mind before affairs of the heart.

Greed and romance

My book has a "reader questions" section that refers to the greed of the squire and the doctor in going after the treasure. I was a little taken aback by that because I didn't see them as greedy per se. Maybe they were, though. But more so than a run-of-the-mill person? Anyway, it got me thinking about their reasons for going vs. Jim's. Jim was certainly interested in the money to repair the financial damage to his family's inn, but the money seemed secondary to the romance of sailing and treasure-hunting. Maybe that's also why Jim harbored more sympathy for Long John Silver, because he was swept up — in a way the literal-minded, mission-oriented adults weren't — in the romance of the voyage.

Jim again

What did you think of Jim as a hero?

Jim

I found Jim's relationship to his parents curious, especially for a "children's" book. He seemed sympathetic to them, but not especially close. He didn't seem terribly upset by his father's death; he seemed more preoccupied with the pirate's doings while his father was dying. And he didn't seem overly fond of his mother; for example, he wasn't pining for home while he was on his voyage.

A lot of great children's stories involve orphans, and Jim seemed like an orphan, even though he wasn't. I sort of wondered whether Stevenson made him a kind of honorary orphan just for the sake of the story. Thoughts?

Villainy!

What did you think of Long John Silver eluding justice in the end?

Next pick: "Treasure Island"

Next pick

The Swerve: How the World Became Modern
by Stephen Greenblatt

Fantasy Fantasy League

If you were in a Fantasy Fantasy League — I'm not saying you're that geeky, although you kind of are — who would your five starters be? And why?

'Architecture'

Reading an interesting article in The New Yorker about Martin (written before "Dragons" came out).

What do you think of this bit?

Tolkien was what Martin calls an “architect.” Tolkien created entire languages, mythologies, and histories for Middle-earth long before he wrote the novels set there. Martin told me that many of his fans assume that he is as meticulous a world-builder as Tolkien was. “They write to say, ‘I’m fascinated by the languages. I would like to do a study of High Valyrian’ ”—an ancient tongue. “ ‘Could you send me a glossary and a dictionary and the syntax?’ I have to write back and say, ‘I’ve invented seven words of High Valyrian.'”

Sigils

I just read this line in Book Four: Lord Tyrell the warrior, the queen mused. His sigil ought to be a fat man sitting on his arse.

Hehe

What would your sigil be? (seriously)

Big and little

This just occurred to me. Do'h! The juxtaposition of Brienne and Tyrion. She's a giant, ungainly woman who's repeatedly described not just by the other characters but also by the narrator as "ugly." But we like her. She's brave and good and resourceful and suffers for love. And Tyrion is also described as horribly unattractive, and his size also is all wrong, only the opposite of Brienne's size. But we like him. He's smart and honorable and resourceful and suffers for love. Each of them is falsely accused of killing a king. Each of them is also a kind of bridge or liaison. Brienne is loyal to Catelyn but ends up being "close" to Catelyn's nemesis Jaime. And Tyrion is loyal to the Lannister clan but also can appreciate the value of other families. Do you think they'll meet?

Ladies

Do you have a favorite female character? Do some seem more plausible in their roles than others?

I am rather partial to Arya, just because she seems to combine common sense/integrity/moxie to a degree beyond all the others.

Betrayal

Like the deaths, the betrayals keep coming. Which one did you find most upsetting? or surprising?

I'm still stewing about the Red Wedding. I knew something was going to happen, but I didn't expect wholesale slaughter, and the violation of the guest rule/peace banner was utterly shocking.

I also was pretty outraged at Catelyn for betraying her king (Robb) and freeing Jaime. That just seemed stupid and ill-fated and not entirely explicable as an act of mother love.

I sensed that Theon wasn't altogether upstanding, but I was also surprised by his heartless and cruel betrayal of the Starks.

Central hero

Ned seems like the moral thread that was holding everything together. As long as he had some power, the center seemed to hold, more or less, but when he is killed it all falls apart. The "game of thrones" begins in earnest with his demise. Is there someone who takes his place, someone who becomes the hero? Tyrion? Or is he too pragmatic vs. principled? Jon Snow?

A shocking demise

These books are full of surprising deaths. Whose untimely end has shocked you the most thus far?

Song of Ice and Fire: Likable villains

As we dive into Book Four, we've gotten a thorough look at the story's villains. I find the characters interesting because there's a simplicity to them; pretty much for any character, if you were doing casting, you could easily define who gets a black hat and who gets a white one. The distinction between good and evil seems so clear cut. So you have that moral satisfaction. But there's also the satisfaction of several likable villains, like Petyr Baelish and Varys the Eunuch. I was trying to figure out what's so intriguing about these obviously rotten eggs, and maybe it's the fact that they understand their world so well? Their vile manipulations are so doable only because they are so knowledgeable about their surroundings and put so much effort into being on top of things. Their very horridness arises from their skill at their jobs, which makes them admirable in a way and fascinating to watch, even while you eagerly await their comeuppance.

Do you see any sort of distinction among the villains in the book? Why are some more interesting than others?

Beli

In many ways, Beli seems like as much a main character as Oscar does. Her story takes up about half the book, and is pretty compelling and overwhelming.

What did you think of her character development? Did her actions make sense to you? How much are we supposed to sympathize with her?

Dominican Republic

What did you think of the way Diaz described the Dominican Republic? Did anything surprise you?

Hocus pocus

What are we supposed to think about all the fuku business? The golden mongoose and faceless man and the other magical realism elements?

Writing style

What did you think of the very conversational, slangy writing style? Did you like all the Spanglish and references to geek culture, or did it distract from the story?