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Feb. 7th, 2011 11:11 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
skygiantsMan, guys, Laurence Yep - much as I love him - is generally a pretty optimistic and feel-good writer, overall; I was not expecting Dragon's Gate, which is probably the darkest Laurence Yep book I've yet read, and that includes the one in which a teenaged boy sacrifices himself to make a magic cauldron.
Dragon's Gate starts out in China in 1867, with Otter - an upper-class Chinese teenager whose adopted father and uncle travel back and forth from the US, with cash - and his AWESOME REVOLUTIONARY ADOPTED MOM, who spends all her time a.) being a financial genius and b.) plotting against the Manchus. She is only in the first few chapters and is nonetheless the most amazing character in the book.
OTTER: I want to go to America and have adventures with my dad and uncle!
OTTER'S MOM: No son, someone has to stay here and learn my job so you can be an AWESOME REVOLUTIONARY INVESTMENT BANKER like me.
OTTER'S DAD: Well, honey, maybe Otter can -
OTTER'S MOM: >:|
OTTER'S DAD: Have fun staying home and being a revolutionary investment banker, kid!
Except then Otter accidentally kills an official (which already ratchets this a level or two in srs bsns above most of Yep's other books) and his mom has to ship him off to America anyway. Otter is super excited - until he realizes that the job his father and uncle have taken to learn about the railroad for ~revolutionary purposes~ has backfired, and now they are all working fourteen-hour days inside a giant snow-covered mountain where people are dropping like flies from frostbite or ill-timed explosives every day. Oh, and despite the fact that they're technically free hires, nobody's allowed to quit.
OTTER'S DAD: Oh great, not only did we basically get tricked into slave labor, but now my son is here too. AWESOME. BEST WINTER EVER.
OTTER: I seriously did not sign up for this. D: D: D:
This is really gritty stuff for Laurence Yep,and he is not pulling his punches about how terrible the conditions were. It's not completely grim and depressing though - I mean, one of Laurence Yep's main theses is that the people who hacked their way through a solid mountain to build this railroad were awesome, and everyone better recognize. One of my favorite bits is when Otter and his uncle have volunteered for an extremely important and near-suicidal job in an attempt to get off the mountain:
SEAN, THE BRUTAL FOREMAN'S SYMPATHETIC SON: I feel bad about my privilege, so I'll come on your suicidal mission too!
BECCA: Is the noble white kid going to be the one to complete the dramatic mission? Because I like Sean, but I'm pretty sure I'm not down with that.
SEAN: *ten steps in, falls in a hole and twists both ankles*
OTTER: . . . well, I appreciate the thought! But I think you'd better crawl back to camp now. Don't worry, we got this.
BECCA: HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA
Other things I liked: the fact that Yep goes out of his way to set up the complicated political situation in China before transferring his attention to the US; Otter's class issues, and how he's got his own privilege to deal with as well; the semi-ambiguous ending; OTTER'S MOM. Whenever I read a Laurence Yep book, I always end up wanting to read the prequel about the awesome mom! And fortunately such a prequel usually exists, so Serpent's Children and Mountain Light are also now totally on my list.
Dragon's Gate starts out in China in 1867, with Otter - an upper-class Chinese teenager whose adopted father and uncle travel back and forth from the US, with cash - and his AWESOME REVOLUTIONARY ADOPTED MOM, who spends all her time a.) being a financial genius and b.) plotting against the Manchus. She is only in the first few chapters and is nonetheless the most amazing character in the book.
OTTER: I want to go to America and have adventures with my dad and uncle!
OTTER'S MOM: No son, someone has to stay here and learn my job so you can be an AWESOME REVOLUTIONARY INVESTMENT BANKER like me.
OTTER'S DAD: Well, honey, maybe Otter can -
OTTER'S MOM: >:|
OTTER'S DAD: Have fun staying home and being a revolutionary investment banker, kid!
Except then Otter accidentally kills an official (which already ratchets this a level or two in srs bsns above most of Yep's other books) and his mom has to ship him off to America anyway. Otter is super excited - until he realizes that the job his father and uncle have taken to learn about the railroad for ~revolutionary purposes~ has backfired, and now they are all working fourteen-hour days inside a giant snow-covered mountain where people are dropping like flies from frostbite or ill-timed explosives every day. Oh, and despite the fact that they're technically free hires, nobody's allowed to quit.
OTTER'S DAD: Oh great, not only did we basically get tricked into slave labor, but now my son is here too. AWESOME. BEST WINTER EVER.
OTTER: I seriously did not sign up for this. D: D: D:
This is really gritty stuff for Laurence Yep,and he is not pulling his punches about how terrible the conditions were. It's not completely grim and depressing though - I mean, one of Laurence Yep's main theses is that the people who hacked their way through a solid mountain to build this railroad were awesome, and everyone better recognize. One of my favorite bits is when Otter and his uncle have volunteered for an extremely important and near-suicidal job in an attempt to get off the mountain:
SEAN, THE BRUTAL FOREMAN'S SYMPATHETIC SON: I feel bad about my privilege, so I'll come on your suicidal mission too!
BECCA: Is the noble white kid going to be the one to complete the dramatic mission? Because I like Sean, but I'm pretty sure I'm not down with that.
SEAN: *ten steps in, falls in a hole and twists both ankles*
OTTER: . . . well, I appreciate the thought! But I think you'd better crawl back to camp now. Don't worry, we got this.
BECCA: HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA
Other things I liked: the fact that Yep goes out of his way to set up the complicated political situation in China before transferring his attention to the US; Otter's class issues, and how he's got his own privilege to deal with as well; the semi-ambiguous ending; OTTER'S MOM. Whenever I read a Laurence Yep book, I always end up wanting to read the prequel about the awesome mom! And fortunately such a prequel usually exists, so Serpent's Children and Mountain Light are also now totally on my list.
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no subject
Date: 2011-02-07 07:41 pm (UTC)His Dragon Wars quartet is one of my favorite children's series of all time. The Boneless King--such a fantastic villain.
also shipped Shimmer/Monkey for foreverno subject
Date: 2011-02-07 07:46 pm (UTC)HAHAHAHA I CAN SEE IT. Monkey was totally my favorite. I always felt bad for Indigo, though, who was 100% ridiculously in love with Shimmerno subject
Date: 2011-02-08 02:14 am (UTC)INDIGO WAS LIKE THE FIRST BOOK!LESBIAN I CAME ACROSS. Haha, I remember being sort of confused, then feeling bad for her because Shimmer was OBVIOUSLY NOT FEELING IT FOR THE BABY HUMANS.no subject
Date: 2011-02-08 02:25 am (UTC)I had totally forgotten about Indigo's ridiculous lesbian dragon crush until I reread and I was like "OMG HOW DID I MISS THIS." And yeah, it is sad! Because I could maybe see Shimmer/Thorn (who was also mad crushing on her) in ten years or so when he'd grown up a little, given their hilarious codependency, but she's never really going to see Indigo as anything other than her mini-me.no subject
Date: 2011-02-08 02:52 am (UTC)(well I do occasionally read other stuff BUT IT IS RARE)
I totally shipped her and Thorn until Monkey showed up. Then I realized the age difference and immortality/mortality could put a crimp on their relationship.
There was that one dragon dude who seemed to be hitting on Indigo at least, so maybe if she's bi? *g*
Civet was also one of my favorites, and I still mourn her. I kind of wanted a whole book about her past exploits, ngl.
god I need icons of them.
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Date: 2011-02-08 03:03 am (UTC)They would have a great few years in the middle! Then Shimmer would realize about the immortality/mortality thing and throw a panic-hissy fit and disappear until Thorn was like ninety, because Shimmer is SO GREAT at facing up to relationship issues in a mature and responsible way. Haha, that is really the only reason I can ship them at all despite the age difference - because Thorn is like ten times more mature than Shimmer ALREADY.
CIVET. Oh man, I loved Civet SO MUCH. The other main reason I keep requesting it for Yuletide is because I WANT CIVET FIC DESPERATELY.
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Date: 2011-02-08 03:49 am (UTC)that'll be first on my list haha.
SHE TOTALLY WOULD. Oh Shimmer, girlfriend, JUST ACCEPT IT BEBE. Thorn would totally wait for her though. Just like "yeah I knew she'd do that eventually I'll just hang." I loved that they knew each other so well.
CIVEEEET. Dude do not make me want to write Civet fic. I CAN'T GO DOWN THAT ROAD. I'D NEVER COME BACK.
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Date: 2011-02-08 05:00 am (UTC)doooooooooooooooooo itno subject
Date: 2011-02-08 03:17 pm (UTC)AAGH
alright GIVE ME A FEW DAYS I need to re-read.
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Date: 2011-02-08 05:16 pm (UTC)>:DDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDno subject
Date: 2011-02-07 08:44 pm (UTC)P.S. For a minute I was like, "BECCA? Who's Becca? Another character???"
and then I...yeah. lols. =)
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Date: 2011-02-07 09:00 pm (UTC)PS. Hahahaha yeah, I am incapable of keeping myself out of my reviews. >.> IMPARTIALITY: THROWN OUT THE WINDOW FROM THE BEGINNING.
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Date: 2011-02-07 09:41 pm (UTC)Oooooh, I'm very into "without making so that the..." I always talk about queer fiction and how, like, I hate a lot of the books and things that happen because they aren't really that good they're just all like kfdasgjreidsjfasdfas AND THEN THERE WERE DEATH THREATS or whatever. I am just waiting for the day where queerness is just there, yes? and not every movie has to be, like, Brokeback Mountain, and people don't have to be getting attacked all the time. And I know, I know, it's a teaching thing, it's a drama thing, a story has to have a conflict, but I just - blargh, I just want it to be normal already. x_x (It is changing; so many things are already so different; but - yeah. I am just silly and don't like to deal with HORRIBLE AGONY all the time, alas.)
Heeeee.
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Date: 2011-02-07 09:52 pm (UTC)Yeah, me too - it tends to be especially egregious in queer fiction, I think. Not everything about queer people has to be a Problem Novel! Like, it's important to address the extra layer of privilege that isn't there, but - queer people can also have problems like "crap, if I don't study I am going to flunk my math test" or "in a wacky sitcom dilemma, I have accidentally locked myself out of my apartment" or "I need to get this magical MacGuffin to a fiery volcano so that I can SAVE THE WORLD." These kinds of plot developments are not limited to straight people (or white people, or dudes, or able-bodied people) while all the queer people and people of color and disabled people and so on are off having Special Minority Plot Developments About Their Issues.
. . . uh, so to cut a long rant short, I really love it when Laurence Yep is just like "and yes, this girl is going to learn some about her heritage and racism in Hollywood, BUT ALSO she is going to FIGHT CRIME and it's going to be awesome."
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Date: 2011-02-07 10:01 pm (UTC)It's because it's the latest frontier blah blah blah blah blah. The next thing is gonna be, like, trans books and stuff, I suppose. You know, I'm having a commentversation with
Yesss, you know, it's like a Bechdelly kind of thing of being like, "We (girls) have problems that are not only about our pining after so-and-so, you know." (or our weight, or our clothes, or our blah blah blah blah blah) and...
ugh, this rant reminds me of Glee. -.-
Side note: I'm so torn between two imperatives; I am way frivolous and like to read and write and watch about people's problems that are about pining. On the bright side, this is not exclusive to a sexuality or gender, but you see my point; I'm like, it's funny that at the same time I'm all grumpy about serious things and how they...
Although, see, if everyone is frivolous in a movie, that's cool. You don't want like -
you know what I mean; I'm not phrasing this well (I'm eating dinner as I write this).
Oh, racism in Hollywood...
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Date: 2011-02-07 10:04 pm (UTC)Maybe I should see this movie and find out how I actually feel about it, and then get back to everyone. XD
But what if it makes me saaaaad?
Also, I need to study. x_x
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Date: 2011-02-07 10:09 pm (UTC)- hah, yeah, you sum up exactly my feelings about The Kids Are All Right. Like, I hear the movie has a happy ending, but . . . I don't really want to put myself through all that stuff in the middle, I just want to find something to watch with an actual happy long-term-successful gay couple and family! I KNOW IT'S POSSIBLE, MY AUNTS HAVE BEEN MARRIED TWENTY YEARS AND MY COUSIN IS AWESOME. Make a movie about them. And if there were a bunch of movies that just accepted happy gay families/couples, then this would be fine! I wouldn't have any problem! But as is - is this the only story we can tell?
Ugh, studying. GOOD LUCK.
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Date: 2011-02-07 10:29 pm (UTC)This also reminds me of reading about Lexie's issues with the concept of having to come out, and when I was thinking about it when I was writing Devon and Luke (ahahaha, and, unrelatedly, how I do have trouble with Dev, sometimes, and how he doesn't have as much going on in his life especially in the fic because I ran out of time to create the scenes that weren't them with each other or talking about each other and so in a way you have no idea what Devon does in college besides pine but SHHHHH it is better in the sitcom) I was like, "I don't WANT a coming-out scene. Must there be one?" And I ended up putting one in but making it as non-dramatic and it-is-just-already-there-whatever-everyone-knows as possible.
Also: I went on this whole ramble about bisexual/curiosity the other day, and how it's really kind of frowned upon in elements of the gay community, especially the latter, and it's so like considered a transition stage or a copout or whatever, or horrible, in the case of bicuriosity, and I'm like, "Why are people not allowed to try things? They don't do it to screw with 'actually gay' people on purpose, or anything?" but it's true, no one wants to be "that girl" or whatever, or so I hear (my best friend went to an all-girls' school, and her roommate was always kind of interested in exploring her attraction to girls but she primarily identifies as straight and was nervous about it there), and I'm like, why can't it just be like, whatever? And I know why - it's a privilege thing, it's why so many things in anything to do with privilege are okay going one way but horrible going the other, and I wish it weren't like that and that things would just Be. x_x Because ideally as far as sexuality goes experimentation would be a normal part of being young and it wouldn't have to be like, DUN DUN DUN, and you wouldn't have to worry so much about defining, blah, blah, blah. But I guess so long as we have majorities and minorities and differences and people who are into focusing on differences, whatcha gonna do.
Which kind of makes it sound like I approve of things like color-blind casting, which I do NOT. I mean, I guess it depends on the situation, but I just don't think it's really interchangeable, depending on the character and the situation and the time period, but WHATEVER.........
Hahahaha, this reminds me of how I'm like, Alas, our sitcom, it is 96% white. Perhaps I should examine this in myself.
I think it's a lot about where I grew up. XD I never realized that Boston is kind of a white city (I mean, I knew its history with race, of course, but I just mean general breakdown) until my cousin, who grew up in DC and now goes to Smith, was here recently and mentioned it.
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Date: 2011-02-08 02:21 am (UTC)Yeah, privilege screws up a lot of things for everyone - including the people it's theoretically working in favor of. In short: the system sucks. It's something I try to think about, at least! And try to make sure that I'm taking note of the breakdown of the media I consume (and produce, although that's uh mostly fanfic right now) and so forth, at least to be more mindful of it.
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Date: 2011-02-08 03:18 am (UTC)True. Actually, got into a whole discussion about looking/not looking gay, turning conventions, etc., etc. - a spinoff on the The Kids Are All Right thing (I wondered which spouse it was that cheated, if it was the "straighter" looking one, etc.) - partly because I've been thinking about the kinds of girls queer girls like vs. the kinds of girls straight(er) girls like, and who is perceived as gay, and why do I write characters a certain way, blah, blah, blah, blah.
Well, besides, you know, because I'm superficial and /I/ like certain things. XD
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Date: 2011-02-07 10:40 pm (UTC)Also I watched The Kids Are All Right and I disliked it, mostly because the kids were the catalyst for the whole thing but once the affair happens they're kind of relegated to reacting to it. The big dramatic family confrontation blow up has them just sitting halfway off screen not contributing to the dialogue and augh. IT'S THE TITLE OF THE MOVIE THEY SHOULD CONTRIBUTE TO A FAMILY CRISIS. I don't know, I could see good parts in it (the acting between the married couple was genuine and sweet) but so much of it left a bitter taste of hipster film in my mouth.
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Date: 2011-02-08 02:13 am (UTC)And I would be way more interested in the kids than in any affair at all, so. Still less reason to see it!
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Date: 2011-02-08 03:21 am (UTC)Sorry, this, uh, kind of reminds me of Middlesex. Which obviously is not normal and I'm sure is pretty different; I'm just remembering reading it and thinking some of it was just so LOVELY, in a White-Oleander kind of way, when I was in, I think, early high school. And, oh, I have such appreciation for the kind-of-happy-ending it has now! Although, I mean, it obviously has its issues and is not happy happy all the way or anything.
I wish I liked The Virgin Suicides half as much; I didn't realize it was the same guy until after I read Middlesex and I hadn't read it and then I picked it up and I just don't like it nearly as much, alas, or I didn't at the time.
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Date: 2011-02-08 02:22 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2011-02-08 02:26 am (UTC). . . it may happen in Child of the Owl too, mind, I haven't actually read that one yet.