Megb’s Comments (group member since Jan 11, 2020)

Megb’s comments from the Another World Book Club group.

I finished this one early. Despite the eerie and morbid tone, I enjoyed this book. It does, however, leave one wondering at the end.

Thoughts and unanswered questions:

Were Tamsen's daughters still alive when she met her end?

Did Tamsen and her brother have an incestuous relationship?

In real life, Reed (and his family) survived. They way he survived in his tale is a bit unbelievable to me.

The back stories were interesting. And, as Katsu notes, she did use her creative license to spin this tale. I'm curious about her other books. Has anyone read them?

Finally, I was struck by the journey and what people took and then were forced to leave behind. It really got me thinking about my own possessions. Also, from an archaeologist's point of view, how interesting would it be to follow these wagon trails and excavate them.

At the beginning of this book, I was struck by the image presented of the Native Americans and again of the green Martians. I think I really honed into this aspect because I recently watched "The Danger of a Single Story" by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D9Ihs...) and since then, I have been thinking a lot about the impact narratives have on our interactions with others outside of literature (and for that matter, movies, games, etc). It was not until John encounters others that look like him that he begins to talk about others in a positive away, aside from Sola. For me, this also highlights the seemingly human instinct see differences before similarities.

I feel like the ending leaves a lot of questions. How and why does he go to Mars and Come back? What happens to the Martians? Who is the woman in the cave? Was she somehow part of the story? Did he really go to Mars or did he some drug-induced hallucination? I'm interested to see where this story goes even though it's not really a story I would normally pick out.

This is something I encounter a lot with my students overseas. We've kind of moved away from this in American education, but emphasis on memorization is strong in a lot of other countries. You so are right that many people remember but can't really apply or explain.

Welcome, Peter!

This read was perhaps the strangest for me. The storyline was lacking, too. In the beginning Alice was a bit annoying. I listened with my daughter and she commented that Alice "wasn't the sharpest crayon in the box." However, as the story progressed, she did seem to wisen up a bit.

I did think there were some interesting, valid, and lucid points made in the book. Throughout the story, Alice is asked to recite several poems and songs. When speaking to the Mock Turtle, she also does this. He replied to some effect that what is the point of being able to recite if you don't explain along the way. This resinated with me because it is something I often encounter teaching international students. Many of my Chinese students want to memorize words without really understanding them or being able to apply them. So, here maybe Carroll is calling out the education system since being able to recite information was quite common during this time period. Any thoughts?

I finished the book last night. It's also out of my normal reading genre. However, I kind of enjoyed it, but I'm not sure I will read more of the books.
I agree that it is sexist. I was surprised by how Valeria was portrayed as such a strong, brave woman at times, but at other times she was weak and fit more into the typical woman character in need of saving.
Also, I was trying to figure out where they were, geographically. At first it felt like their travels were Northern Africa and the Middle East. However, the city and people's names were similar to names in Central America (Aztec/Mayan). Do you guys know any more about that?

This is definitely going to be a change from The Wind in the Willows. ;)

Amber: I think the jailer and the girl were humans. That was the impression that I got.
Toad's friends were too kind to him, and you are right in saying that he didn't deserve them.
I'm also not sure that the takeaway from this book is. Had Toad truly been punished, there could have been a good lesson there. There are a lot of good examples of friendship; however, the animals were very quick to make friends and trust others that we don't really encourage nowadays. For example, Mole moved right in with Rat without even knowing him. I thought Rat was very hospitable (In fact, the animals seemed to generally be very hospitable.), but this is not something I would encourage my daughter to do.

Additionally, what do you all think about Toad's actions as being an example white privilege or even privilege from social status? Through many of his experiences in the book, he skates through without major consequences. Finally, when he does have a consequence and is sent to jail, he escapes and is never caught or really even looked for (expect for initially in the train seen). He is also able to pass a non-threat. At the end, he is able to reclaim everything he has lost, despite not deserving it. Had he been a different type animal or of a lower class, would he have experienced the same result?

Jamie, I think that makes sense. There is definitely a separation between the rabbits and others, so that division makes sense.

The women in "Toad's Adventures" were definitely stock characters. At this point, the story mixed the animals and humans. At this point in the story, I feel like Badger, Mole, and Rat stage an intervention with Toad. A lot of Toad's actions remind me of an addict.

Badger seems to be the patriarch. He organizes everything and the animals look to him for guidance.

Some little thoughts:

The more I get into the story, the more I see the class disparity too. The rat thinks the river is the center of the universe.

Toad reminds me of people who I know who always have the newest thing, like the latest version of iPhone.

I'm still trying to figure out the role of the rabbits.

I really want to explore Badger's house. He's also a mystery to me. He seems very reclusive but inviting at the same time. It's an interesting combination.

Another wonder: Where are the women in this story?

Hey All! I started reading this version and decided to switch to the audio. The audiobook on OverDrive is very good and has made it a smoother read.

So far, I admire Mole for just deciding on a whim to leave his home and explore. It was abrupt, but I think it is something that a lot of people dream of.

I also think this book highlights the limitations of our individual perspectives and shows how we view our own little worlds. In some ways Mole reminds me of myself living abroad and interacting with others, specially Mole's curiosity and wonderment and Rat's devotion to his way of life and shock of how Mole is so ignorant of it.

I'm planning to finish this week and write more soon. I look forward to hearing your thoughts!

Agreed. I didn't think of it that way. They are the perfect specimens for this type of story.

I'm about halfway through The Turn of the Screw. It doesn't flow a smoothly as a more modern book would but the story is interesting so far, and I do want to see where it goes.
At the beginning, I was thinking how times have changed and that the art of oral story telling is a dying art. As a society, we don't come together to tell and hear stories like this; this is a sad thought, definitely a cultural loss in my opinion.
It's hard for me to connect with the main character because her world and perception of it is so different. It seems like women during this period are all governesses or hired help. They don't have much dimension. However, I admire her for taking for taking on such a job, living with people she doesn't know, and for having such optimism.

Amber, I will post on this story by tomorrow. :)

I have also been distracted with other reads. I've never read June's book, and I'm really going to try to get on board with the online conversation!

The end of the first chapter really caught me off guard, and I am still trying to figure out how that particular event, Toby's transformation, is going to be significant, aside from the impact it had on her relationship with her family. One of the characters at Devin's house referred to it, so perhaps there is more to come.

Questions/Thoughts:

Why was Toby's family so quick to write her off? Are they aware that she is not human?

What's the relationship between Devin and Toby? The language she uses to talk about it is confusing to me.