ambivalence

[erastes]

Big Bang Theory - oh sigh. It continues to be as witty and as much fun as ever. Oh Sheldon how I love thee.

TRUE BLOOD COMING TO CHANNEL FOUR TODAY!!!!! whee!!! Can't wait!

I've been reading Night Watch by Sarah Waters and although I admit it's well written (although I know a good handful of writers on my flist who can do every bit as well) it's got a load of flaws as far as I'm concerned. I'll be doing a cross post review on Speak Its Name and Bosom Friends because it’s not just a lesbian story, there’s a strong gay plotline too.  But what annoys me is the entire lack of conflict – and the fact that at 500 pages of hardback it needs a damn good red penning. But hey. What do I know.

i also wish people would not write about Ireland when they obviously haven’t a bloody clue about the place. The book I’m reading for review now is the second one in a month which illustrates this fact and it’s so wrong I can hardly bear it.  Catholic boys in 1919 who “aren’t accustomed” to sharing a bed. Someone bicycling from Cork to Limerick and back in an afternoon!!!  The Black and Tans on the streets a good year before they actually were. No mention of CHURCH. At all. GAH.  People!! The Irish War of Independence is not just a fun time to set your gay romance in.  Don’t fuck around with it if you don’t know or don’t care about the people, the culture and the mind-set.  *kicks it*

Does America have a gender?  I know Germany is a Fatherland and Russia is a Motherland, and England is a woman, but what about America?  It’s referred to as a She in this book, and it’s not something I know.

Comments

[eledhwenlin]

Actually, grammatically Germany is a neuter. It is a "fatherland", but I'd only refer to it as a neuter.

[erastes.livejournal.com]

Interesting! Thank you!

[jl_merrow]

Hmm. I've always thought of America as male. Big, loud, sometimes aggressive, sometimes laid-back - and then there's the Uncle Sam thing.

But what do I know? ;)

[erastes.livejournal.com]

Me too, I have to say.

[valarltd.livejournal.com]

America is usually female in story and song. True, we have Uncle Sam, but we also have "Stand beside her and guide her throught the night with the light from above."

Imagine her as a snotty 17 year old cheerleader that can't be told anything and has to bull ahead and do it her way. But she's all meek and mild the minute her boyfriend (Jesus) expresses disapproval. Then she flips him off behind his back.

[erastes.livejournal.com]

Heh - thanks Angelia - that's helpful!

[valarltd.livejournal.com]

Or you might find this helpful too:
http://community-2.webtv.net/Ace-Detective/USAGODS/index.html

An American Pantheon. Lady Liberty as the Goddess. Uncle Sam as the God. Bugs Bunny as the Trickster. The Man in Black as the Dark God.

[lee-rowan.livejournal.com]

LOL!

Actually, I think America has a gender identity problem. Or possibly multiple-personality disorder.

[alex-beecroft.livejournal.com]

The Irish thing really annoys me, because every time I see a gay historical set in Ireland, I'll think "ooh, lead me to it!" And then it turns out to not be recognisably Ireland at all, and I'm extra disappointed because I'd been looking forward to it so much.

Is England a woman? I know Britannia is, but is that the same thing?

[erastes.livejournal.com]

It's unbelievably bad. I don't know how I'm going to be polite about it. That being said, it's not as bad as the last one I reviewed, but factually I want to kill it.

Hmmm. I always thought England was - supose i was getting muddled with Britannia - I took the symbol as a whole, I guess.

[gaedhal.livejournal.com]

What about John Bull?

[alex-beecroft.livejournal.com]

I thought that was a polite and balanced review, and it made me want to read the book. And then I read what he had commented underneath and decided I had better things to do than buy books by people who thought it was OK to be that rude just because of a slightly less than glowing review. I'll buy 'At Swim Two Boys' instead, because I haven't tried that one yet.

[erastes.livejournal.com]

i didn't read the comment. I make it a habit never to do so when an author comments, it's bad for my blood pressure!

At Swim is amazing. Don't be put off by the first 2-3 chapters as they are very Joycian and almost put me (and Gehayi) off from continuing with it. I actually had an email conversation with O'Neill, who was really really nice where I thanked him for the book and asked him about the first few chapters and he said that he's been asked about them all over the world and he's made excuses and whatnot, and now he just has come to the conclusion that "they are what they are." which is sensible!

Perhaps review it when you read it - I haven't dared attempt a review. too much in awe. still crying.

[alex-beecroft.livejournal.com]

Very wise. Suffice it to say that there's an author whose books I won't be trying for a while.

Is it me or is there just too much good stuff out for me to afford at the moment?! I think I'll be asking for book tokens for Christmas :)

[mrs-norrington.livejournal.com]

I know when we discuss colonial America and the Revolution, we tend to call England the mother country but I don't know where we get that from.

It's an interesting question, particularly since Britannia is a woman, but we also know England as John Bull too.

Then there's Uncle Sam but Lady Liberty...

[erastes.livejournal.com]

Very true! Very annoyingly confusing.

[schmoo999.livejournal.com]

You are watching the Big Bang Theory? LoL. It is my must watch Monday evening show.

and Season 2 of True Blood? Loved it, loved the whole freaking thing. But I thought you watched it already.

8 months till Season 3.

[erastes.livejournal.com]

I love the BBT - found it online, and now it's here too.

Oh no - this is season ONE of TB, but its on UK TV (rather late...) but it will be good to rewatch and it saves the bandwidth!!!

:)

[kethlenda.livejournal.com]

Well, someone above mentioned Uncle Sam, and he's a guy, but there's also a female personification of the US, Columbia. Like at the beginning of Columbia movies. ;)

[erastes.livejournal.com]

Thank you!

[gehayi.livejournal.com]

Whenever American politicians make speeches that anthropomorphize the country, America is described as "she." Uncle Sam is more the representation of the U.S. government; Lady Liberty, Columbia, etc. is the ideal.

[kethlenda.livejournal.com]

You're right about Uncle Sam, I think. He tends to come up more in terms of war and foreign policy (Uncle Sam wants you!) o rwhen people are talking about taxes ("I had to send $$$ to Uncle Sam...")

[erastes.livejournal.com]

Every day I learn something!

[ammonite7.livejournal.com]

I have the impression that countries can be male or female, depending. I like Angelia's comment.

TrueBlood has lots of sites on LJ: truebloodfic, truebloodtv, etc. Plenty of slash fics too, as you can well imagine.

I would feel an idiot if I didn't do the research and someone caught me in such a faux pas and do not think much of a publisher who prints that stuff.

[erastes.livejournal.com]

The trouble with publishers, particularly small ones is that they don't have the staff who are qualified are interested enough - or who have the time - to check the accuracy of an historical. They just take for granted that you know what you are on about. I've been lucky that I have very stern betas who pick me up on facts "Hey, numbskull, no cigarettes or metronomes in 1830" etc and Running press in particular have checked my facts and etymology too.

[penguinfaery.livejournal.com]

Personification are usually female for pretty much anything from countries to concepts (Liberty, freedom, nature, etc). Usually, but there are things like Father Time. Although even being the Fatherland, I've always seen Germany it's self represented as female. So it's pretty safe to err on the female side.

[erastes.livejournal.com]

Interesting - thanks!

[lee-rowan.livejournal.com]

You might enjoy "The Anglophile." Period m/f romance, fairly formula on the romance part but the author did her homework on the history and politics. Heavy-handed Englishmen, Irish angry at not being allowed to learn to read or to speak their own language, the usual colonial abuses. I can't remember the author but the book's around here somewhere...

[erastes.livejournal.com]

that sounds interesting - I'll see if the library has it!

[gaedhal.livejournal.com]

I was reading an online story set in 1963 England.

The wife was making her husband a cup of tea.

With a teabag.

In a microwave oven.

When I mentioned in my comment that she might want to revise
that, I was called:

Mean.

A Bitch.

A Nitpicker.

A Know-It-All.

I bowed out of that community immediately.

I imagine they are still making tea with teabags
in the microwave in 1963 at this moment.

[erastes.livejournal.com]

Good Lord. That sounds as bad as the snowflake who wrote Tudor Ipods. I don't blame you for bowing out.

I used to get similiar abuse in Harry Potter fandom when I pointed out to 16 year old writers that - no - there weren't openly gay clubs in 1976 - yes, it was legal, that didn't matter. And Remus and Sirius were having sex illegally as they were only 17. Also we don't graduate from high school and we don't have cicadas.

:)