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lightreadsThe Gentleman's Guide to Vice and Virtue by Mackenzi Lee
2/5. Sloppy eighteenth-century fuckboy is a privileged asshole, goes on tour, is tragically in love with his mixed race male best friend, improves minorly as a human being.
On the one hand, I acknowledge that it is important for people to write about assholes when they know they are writing about assholes. And to write about assholes who only improve in the most marginal sense, because that's usually how human beings work in the real world. No grand revelations, no big turnaround. Just a long series of fuckups with slowly improving reasons for the fuckups.
On the other hand, that's not very satisfying or enjoyable.
On the other other hand, I have a sneaking suspicion that a lot of the people who don't like this book don't like it because the protagonist – gasp – sleeps around while being in love with someone, the horror.
On the other etc. hand, I realized I kind of don't like it not because he's an eighteenth-century fuckboy but because he's really, uh. Not bright. Not just uneducated but, um. A very dull spoon. Which probably makes me no better than the above people.
On the other etc. hand, there is something really offputting about how this book frames the child abuse, almost like a character trait. Like his only good character trait, somehow. It's hard to articulate this, but it feels like the points at which we are supposed to decide we like him after all are when he's acting the way a lot of abused kids act.
Basically, I have a lot of problems with the fantasy of wokeness that this book is diverging from. You know, the version where he magically learns self-reflection and consideration for others and an understanding of the race and class and gender and wealth pyramid that he stands on top of. But it turns out I also have problems with this version of the counternarrative, where he continues to be an asshole who gets everything he wants, up to and including the boy, but he's such an asshole that you're like "but why do you like him? For real? Why is this story even about him?"
2/5. Sloppy eighteenth-century fuckboy is a privileged asshole, goes on tour, is tragically in love with his mixed race male best friend, improves minorly as a human being.
On the one hand, I acknowledge that it is important for people to write about assholes when they know they are writing about assholes. And to write about assholes who only improve in the most marginal sense, because that's usually how human beings work in the real world. No grand revelations, no big turnaround. Just a long series of fuckups with slowly improving reasons for the fuckups.
On the other hand, that's not very satisfying or enjoyable.
On the other other hand, I have a sneaking suspicion that a lot of the people who don't like this book don't like it because the protagonist – gasp – sleeps around while being in love with someone, the horror.
On the other etc. hand, I realized I kind of don't like it not because he's an eighteenth-century fuckboy but because he's really, uh. Not bright. Not just uneducated but, um. A very dull spoon. Which probably makes me no better than the above people.
On the other etc. hand, there is something really offputting about how this book frames the child abuse, almost like a character trait. Like his only good character trait, somehow. It's hard to articulate this, but it feels like the points at which we are supposed to decide we like him after all are when he's acting the way a lot of abused kids act.
Basically, I have a lot of problems with the fantasy of wokeness that this book is diverging from. You know, the version where he magically learns self-reflection and consideration for others and an understanding of the race and class and gender and wealth pyramid that he stands on top of. But it turns out I also have problems with this version of the counternarrative, where he continues to be an asshole who gets everything he wants, up to and including the boy, but he's such an asshole that you're like "but why do you like him? For real? Why is this story even about him?"
no subject
Date: 2019-04-06 10:37 am (UTC)