Jolly Old England! (November Reading)

[ase]

Empire of Ivory (Naomi Novik / naominovik): Way to cliffhanger, Novik! I'm reasonably sure Laurence is safe, because Novik is writing to entertain. His truck won't break (too much), his dog won't die, his wife won't leave him. I really liked Hannah Erasmus, the missionary's wife, who body-checks Laurence's assumptions when she stays in Africa. Best quote from the entire book: "My husband is dead," she said, with finality, "and my daughters will be raised proud children of the Tswana here, not as beggars in England." It's nicely telling that Laurence completely fails to notice she's adapted quite well to being the Kefentse's favorite child. Laurence really should have seen that coming, given his bond with Temeraire, but - acculturation much? - he's still not coping with the concept of England being a second-best choice, or that women aren't going to automatically follow English social roles. It's a nice PoV trick that Laurence isn't getting this, but Novik communicates events Laurence witnesses without observing the finer points. I have no idea how this will play out with respect to Catherine Harcourt and Bailey's marriage, which Laurence pushed hard on both parties. ("Babies! Married! You have to be married to have babies! Stop looking at me like I've grown a second head!") I suspect it's going to turn out to be a terrible, horrible mistake for all parties, but I'm lousy at predicting book twists, so maybe it'll work out after all.

The epidemic plot: I got nothing. Oh look, it's a terrible disease, and there's a cure! I have absolutely no idea if the dragons got nailed by something bacterial, viral or even fungal, but as McGuffins go, it did its job.

The treason / biowarfare plot: now that the American dragon plague is free in Europe, it's going to become a fact of life, like pneumonia and TB and polio. The long term implications of this are probably beyond the scope of the series, for the moment.

Ha'Penny (Jo Walton / papersky): Remember what I was saying about writing to entertain? Walton is writing to tell an idea in story form. Her character's trucks are gonna break, their dogs will be shot, their wives will leave them. I want to say something about gender roles and Carmichael and Jack, whose PoV would probably be enlightening. Why doesn't Jack get a job too? I come from the two income household assumption, and also from the "construction workers are hot" mindset, so I may be missing the point here. Series structure note: Carmichael PoV limited 3rd past; female protagonist limited 1st epistolary. Nifty trick, since it gives you a reserved point of view, and a distorted one.

Uncle Tungsten: Memories of a Chemical Childhood (Oliver Sacks): For anyone like me, who hasn't been paying attention, Oliver Sacks is awesome. The title pretty much encapsulates the book: childhood, science, colorful twist. It's a love letter to science. Sacks talks about such and such a part of growing up - uncles, parents, the nanny, World War Two child evacuations - and then wanders off to talk about physics, or the history of chemistry. Sacks also includes many, many entertaining footnotes (he blames Mendeleev's footnotes in The Principles of Chemistry, which he writes about in terms that make me want to read it too). Sacks loves science, and is well-versed in the history of science, which he uses to lead into and out of his own childhood. Sacks had a large family, including several uncles involved in industry and applied chemistry or physics. If you think this didn't impact his life, you'd be so wrong. There's something to be said for family expectations and how they play out in your life (see also Sacks's mother arranging an introduction to human anatomy at age fourteen - because every 14 year old wants to dissect the corpse of another 14 year old). It's difficult to write a biography without saying something about the people who impacted that life, and in this case, chemistry and chemical concepts are at least as prominent as the people. Very fun biography.