The Mary Sue Books and More Club discussion

Comment away on Chapters 9-11 here! No spoilers!

Just finished. Going to totally be using "bless your hands" as an expression for a while. I enjoyed the book. There were some weak spots and the ending felt a little.... I'm not sure, rushed? But otherwise an entertaining read.

I think knowing about the Djin ahead of time kind of helps with understanding the difference in how they are thought of in the Arab world versus out view. If you want a bit on them, look up the Disney Story Origins Podcast. He talks about Disney movies versus the original story their based on. The Aladdin one is 3 big parts, but theirs 2 little side ones about the storyteller & one about Djin or genies & their story in Middle Eastern culture.

I loved the Jedi mind trick pulled on the plain clothes security guy! It's so quick, but I loved it!

I apologize for my phone & autocorrect of much of my previous post.

Once this book started rolling, it really started rolling. For me it was so boring up till we met Vikrim, then that's where things started to pick up.

It's interesting to me that Vikrim treats Dina better than any other male character does. And because of this Alif finally realizes she's very intelligent. I mean he loaned her books, and then they would talk about it, although hers was more from a religious point of view, but he never heard what she was saying. And I really guess that's more of a culture thing, than anything else. I mean, I'm white American middle class, so even though I know these issues exist in different cultures, its hard to keep them in mind. It's not how I was raised, so it's almost shocking when faced with it. I kept thinking, she needs to slap him, but then thought, she'll be in more trouble if she did.

Alif sure goes through some rapid growing up in this section, on several levels including love life, coding skills, surviving solitary confinement.

On reading the comments above about Vikram, I think this 'growing up' may apply to him as well. He sacrifices himself for the group, particularly for the two women.

I agree that Vikram starts out as a "Loki" style character but eventually ends up as a sort of mentor. His respect for Dinah certainly endears him to me over time.

Lisa! Spoiler :( I've been hopping to the thread as soon as I finish the designated chapters so I haven't finished the book yet.

I'm curious to know how theoretically accurate all the code referencing is. It all just went right over my head.

Characters like Sheikh Bilal make me feel really fondly towards religion, which is pleasant.

Katie,

Ack! So sorry, I used the link from my email and thought I was responding to the end of the book thread. My deepest apologies. Bah!

My husband is a coder and says it's....in the ballpark...but a little inaccurate at times. For example, she uses the word algorithm incorrectly about 1/2 the time.

Again, I am sorry regarding the spoiler. I misposted.

Absolutely forgiven :)

Thanks for the info about the coding!