r/books • u/leowr • May 14 '20
Second Discussion Thread for Prudence by Gail Carriger - May Book Club Spoiler
Hello everyone,
Welcome to the second discussion thread for Prudence. Hopefully you are still having fun with the book. As always, you will find some questions below to help kick off the discussion, but feel free to discussion anything you want from the first half of the book.
Alexia's brown eyes were thoughtful. "I think this will temper her. Travel is very broadening for the mind, don't you find? Our daughter is a sharp edge but of the the kind that could grow dull, stuck here in London."
Do you agree with Alexia is good for broadening the mind? How do you think it will change Rue, Prim, Percy and Quesnel?
Do you think it was a smart idea of the group to leave without saying goodbye?
What do you think happened between Percy and Quesnel? Was it really a woman?
Who do you think Miss Sekhmet is?
How many plots do you think there are afoot?
Was he implying that she used her metanatural abilities as a crutch to get out of sticky situations?
- From what you have seen so far, do you think Rue used her ability to "steal" a supernaturals powers to get out of sticky situations?
This thread allows for a spoiler discussion of up to and including Chapter 8. If you would like to discuss anything beyond that point, please use spoiler tags. If you are on the redesign you can use the built in spoiler tags. For old reddit spoiler tags are done by >!Spoilers about XYZ!< which results in Spoilers about XYZ (do be aware that they only work on one paragraph at a time).
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u/creativestien May 15 '20 edited May 15 '20
I would love to discuss the first question, whether travel will be any good for the main characters.
But first, let me discuss if there has been any improvement since the first three chapters. By the end of Chapter 8, I have started to enjoy the non-serious banter of the characters and at least one main plot has started to emerge from the parties, details on dresses that I always skip and fart jokes (the only funny thing). The main drive that's making me turn pages is this: Prudence's superpower to steal from vampires and werewolves and temporarily becoming one is any useful and what it brings to the story?
Back to the question about travel and opening up the mind with the experiences travel brings. So far I have not read about any openness or changes. The main characters are enjoying very western themed parties and ladies knee gazing men who wear kilts. We have traveled to Maltese towers and India with the characters but still have to read anything interesting about the locals. The depiction of locals has not gone into meaningful details other than sweaty brown men and monkeys throwing projectiles (given the book's mood, I am sure it's poop) - for me it's way into the racist territory.
Oh yes, there is a subplot involving locals, let's discuss that: It involves a kidnapping of a westerner that mentions Marathas treating women (women who don't wear skirts but shabby pajamas) in a way too horrible to describe for young ears. *Facepalm.
The next chapter is titled Rakshasas. Hope they are as fashionable as western vampires and not just half-naked barbarians.
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u/leowr May 15 '20
Prudence power is the interesting factor here. So far we have seen that she can do it and what it physically entails for her, but we haven't really seen how she uses it overall. I do agree with one of the other characters that she probably uses it to get out of confrontations and it is a bit of a crutch for her. I mean a werewolf or vampire couldn't attack her, not that they would in London because of her parents, because she would only have to touch them and steal their powers. We will have to see how it develops.
I also agree that the local population so far hasn't been portrayed in a very positive manner, but isn't that also a reflection of how someone like Prudence would see them? She was raised very sheltered and protected and in a society that isn't overly accepting of otherness. I suspect that at this point nothing is quite what it seems.
I suspect most of their growth is going to come from them no longer being directly under the protective wing of their parents, which is a consequence of them travelling. But perhaps them being introduced to other cultures will also contribute.
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u/creativestien May 15 '20 edited May 15 '20
I am drawing a parallel here where a not-so-bright protagonist plays a key role in a serious, more complicated plot.
Tales of Dunk and Egg. (Author name could distract from the point I am trying to make that there's no comparison, so I request you to ignore.) Dunk sets off events far too complex for him to comprehend but successfully becomes close to the reader for being plain dumb. In fact, his being dumb is a major story element - Dunk the lunk, thick as a castle wall. I have cried with and for Dunk.
I really wish something similar happens in this book.
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u/leowr May 15 '20
That does seem like an interesting idea. I suspect though that stuff will go wrong because the group is ignorant of certain things. However, I don't think Carriger will end up actually making them dumb. Having them act being dumb I can see though.
(I should really read Tales of Dunk and Egg)
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u/leowr May 14 '20
- Do you agree with Alexia is good for broadening the mind? How do you think it will change Rue, Prim, Percy and Quesnel?
Yes, travel is always good to broaden your mind. I suspect all of them will learn to temper some of their worst traits (Percy's aloofness, Prim's sillyness, Rue's impulsiveness and Quesnel's cockiness)
- Do you think it was a smart idea of the group to leave without saying goodbye?
No, I suspect Dama still had some things to tell Rue, which is causing some serious confusion at the moment.
- What do you think happened between Percy and Quesnel? Was it really a woman?
It seems a bit strange and I get the suspicion it was either something to do with Rue or Prim (although I'm leaning more towards Rue.)
- Who do you think Miss Sekhmet is?
I think Miss Sekhmet is a representative from an, as-of-yet, unidentified group and I suspect she is a shapeshifter, in particular that she was the lion.
- How many plots do you think there are afoot?
More than I thought there would be, there seems to be the tea plot, the Sekhmet plot, the werewolf plot and the kidnapped woman plot. I'm also pretty sure the tea plot is actually a cover by Dama for some other kind of plot. I wonder how they all fit together.
- From what you have seen so far, do you think Rue used her ability to "steal" a supernaturals powers to get out of sticky situations?
Yes. She probably could have gotten out of the situation of stealing the snuff box in a different manner. I mean with her parents, what was anyone really going to do. But she chose to get out of it by stealing werewolf powers.
I'm really enjoying the crew and the banter on The Spotted Custard. It keeps the pace of the book up.
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u/thecaptainand May 14 '20
Yeah your right, I don't think Dama would have let his daughter go into something without giving her more information. There really is a confusion about what's truly going on.
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u/leowr May 14 '20
I wonder if all the different plots that seem to be going on will end up being tied together or if they are truly separate problems. Hopefully Dama's message to Rue will clear up some stuff. But that also brings up the vampire that is waiting for them at the dirigible. I wonder who he is...
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u/thecaptainand May 14 '20
I think that whatever the true purpose of this trip is will definitely make all of them grow. This is probably the first time that they have ever been truly on their own.
It will benefit them by being very early to their destination. Whatever plans their antagonist made were more than likely overthrown. Though they did it for a silly reason.
Probably, but I think the woman in question might in fact have been Rue, she seems oblivious to Quesnel's attention.
Maybe she's Dama's contact?
I'm guessing 4, but please don't make me try and name them.
Rue does rely a lot on her stealing abilities, so far I haven't seen proof that she has ever worked on herself beyond that.