The History Book Club discussion

Please note that Jill will be traveling during the week of September 1st through 7th. Bentley will be moderating the discussion

Hello Everyone,

For the weeks of September 1st - September 7th, we are reading PART TWO - A Christening - The Day of the Scorpion - Book Two of the Raj Quartet.

The twelfth week's reading assignment is:

WEEK TWELVE- September 1st - September 7th ~ PART TWO ~ A Christening (374 - 410)

We will open up a thread for each week's reading. Please make sure to post in the particular thread dedicated to those specific chapters and page numbers to avoid spoilers. We will also open up supplemental threads as we did for other spotlighted books.

This book was kicked off on June 16th.

We look forward to your participation. Amazon, Barnes and Noble and other noted on line booksellers do have copies of the book and shipment can be expedited. The book can also be obtained easily at your local library, local bookstore or on your Kindle. Make sure to pre-order now if you haven't already. This weekly thread will be opened up on September 1st.

There is no rush and we are thrilled to have you join us. It is never too late to get started and/or to post.

Jill will be leading this discussion and back-up will be Bentley.

Welcome,

~Bentley

TO ALWAYS SEE ALL WEEKS' THREADS SELECT VIEW ALL

by Paul Scott

REMEMBER NO SPOILERS ON THE WEEKLY NON SPOILER THREADS - ON EACH WEEKLY NON SPOILER THREAD - WE ONLY DISCUSS THE PAGES ASSIGNED OR THE PAGES WHICH WERE COVERED IN PREVIOUS WEEKS. IF YOU GO AHEAD OR WANT TO ENGAGE IN MORE EXPANSIVE DISCUSSION - POST THOSE COMMENTS IN ONE OF THE SPOILER THREADS. THESE CHAPTERS HAVE A LOT OF INFORMATION SO WHEN IN DOUBT CHECK WITH THE CHAPTER OVERVIEW AND SUMMARY TO RECALL WHETHER YOUR COMMENTS ARE ASSIGNMENT SPECIFIC. EXAMPLES OF SPOILER THREADS ARE THE GLOSSARY, THE BIBLIOGRAPHY, THE INTRODUCTION AND THE BOOK AS A WHOLE THREADS.

Notes:

It is always a tremendous help when you quote specifically from the book itself and reference the chapter and page numbers when responding. The text itself helps folks know what you are referencing and makes things clear.

Citations:

If an author or book is mentioned other than the book and author being discussed, citations must be included according to our guidelines. Also, when citing other sources, please provide credit where credit is due and/or the link. There is no need to re-cite the author and the book we are discussing however.

If you need help - here is a thread called the Mechanics of the Board which will show you how to cite books:

http://www.goodreads.com/topic/show/2...

Introduction Thread:

http://www.goodreads.com/topic/show/1...

Table of Contents and Syllabus

http://www.goodreads.com/topic/show/1...

Glossary

Remember there is a glossary thread where ancillary information is placed by the moderator. This is also a thread where additional information can be placed by the group members regarding the subject matter being discussed.

http://www.goodreads.com/topic/show/1...

Bibliography

There is a Bibliography where books cited in the text are posted with proper citations and reviews. We also post the books that the author used in his research or in his notes. Please also feel free to add to the Bibliography thread any related books, etc with proper citations. No self promotion, please.

http://www.goodreads.com/topic/show/1...


Book as a Whole and Final Thoughts - SPOILER THREAD

http://www.goodreads.com/topic/show/1...

by Paul Scott

We do not have to do citations regarding the book or the author being discussed during the book discussion on these discussion threads - nor do we have to cite any personage in the book being discussed while on the discussion threads related to this book.

However if we discuss folks outside the scope of the book or another book is cited which is not the book and author discussed then we do have to do that citation according to our citation rules. That makes it easier to not disrupt the discussion.

NOTE

For those of you who are reading this book on e-books or whose edition has different numbering than that used by the moderator, the last page of this week's assignment ends with the sentence, "Come on" he said. "Show me where" and off they went......."

Chapter Summary and Overview

Sarah is staying with Aunt Fenny in her air-conditioned little house and is asked why she is really there. When Sarah tells her that she is going to visit Merrick, Aunt Fenny says that she could have done that and then written to Susan. But Sarah says that Susan thinks that Merrick is either blind or has lost a limb and she wants Sarah to see him. Aunt Fenny thinks that Merrick had "taken a shine" to Sarah and that it is mutual. Sarah denies this.

The next day, Sarah goes to the military hospital and meets Sister Prior who says that Colonel Grace had arranged for her to come outside of the visiting hours. The Sister thinks Sarah is a relative but Sarah tells her that he was best man at her sister's wedding. She says that Merrick is a special case with the staff and that he was very lonely; she has not told him that Sarah is going to visit him but cautions her not to ask too many questions since they don't want him to dwell on what happened. When Sarah enters the room, Merrick is lying in bed with his arms under the sheets which a draped over a frame and much of his head and face bandaged. She feels that there is nothing under the frame but knows that is not possible.She offers him a cigarette but he says he can't hold anything yet. She places the cigarette to his lips and they share it, an unexpected intimacy. Sarah says she will also visit the next morning but Merrick is having an operation although he is vague about it. Sarah tells him that his letter worried Susan about the extent of his injuries. Merrick tells her that Teddie had been pretty cool to him after the wedding and that it was a class issue. He states that although Teddie knew how to "play the game", he was an amateur.

Merrick explains the "Jiffs", Indians who fought with the Japanese against their own countrymen under the impression that they were fighting for India's independence. A Jiff named Baksh has been captured and needs to be brought back to be be questioned. Teddie and Merrick go and Merrick discovers that the Jiff had been part of Teddie's regiment but Teddie, whose Urdu is not good, says that Merrick is making it up.....that no member of his battalion would ever be a turncoat. Baksh had been captured by the Japanese and put in a POW camp. The Japanese convinced him and others that they must support the Indian National Army and drive the British out of India. Baksh says he had not will left and he knew he was a deserter, begging Teddie to kill him. But Teddie felt compassion while Merrick did not. Firing starts and Merrick sees Teddie "duck" down. He finds that Teddie is burned terribly by two mortars and is not dead. Merrick tells Sarah that she should not tell Susan that Teddie was conscious.

I found it interesting that Aunt Fenny thought that Merrick had taken a "shine" to Sarah and that it was mutual. Do you think there is any attraction between the two of them?

We are off folks and hope you had a wonderful Labor Day if you are stateside.

We are all back from holiday aside from Jill - so just dive into the questions in message 5 and tell us what you thought of Aunt Fenny and her observations - Real, unreal, any substance whatsoever, why or why not?