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Scribble Orca's Reviews > Perdido Street Station
Perdido Street Station (New Crobuzon, #1)
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Nope. Sorry.
A few decades ago when Mr Mieville was traipsing around foreign climes for a year I'd have been prostrating myself at the temple of his wizardry had he written this book then. I never had a problem in those heady daze with Robert Heinlein et al, so I hardly think I'd have failed to make room in my literary bed for good ol' China.
Let's just say I've arrived at the party a little too late. He's innovative rather than inventive, he's concocted a christmas cake of the fantasmagorical and spliced everything together as a rape of the genre - everything old is new again. I'm reminded of JK Rowling, but for adults, with an eye on the money as well, despite the self-proclaimed socialist allegiance.
(Which reminds me, it irks me no end that a writer with the claim to academic fame of Mr Mieville calls a spade a spade when he is really talking about clubs - his depiction of the garuda society is not a discussion on the allocation and organisation of resources but rather a description of a particular political system - anarchy (in its conservative sense) does not equal Marxist communism.)
Worse, the one aspect which I cannot bear, in a writer who is lauded for having upended and re-written the tropes endemic in the genre, is the male fantasy porn inherent in this novel. The lead male character is the scientist, the lead female the artist. The lead male is 'normal', the lead female, exotic. And the lead female is intact where it counts - a true paper bag job. The lead male emerges unscathed, the lead female suffers derangement. The lead male is redeemed, the lead female is left....helpless. Of course, there's no such thing as being commercial, if you're being 'revolutionary', is there?
Urgh. Read it by all means, if that's your cup of tea. It's just not enough to make me swoon anymore.
by
Scribble Orca's review
bookshelves: closet-chauvinist, there-are-better-writers-i-d-rather, unfinished
Aug 23, 2012
bookshelves: closet-chauvinist, there-are-better-writers-i-d-rather, unfinished
Nope. Sorry.
A few decades ago when Mr Mieville was traipsing around foreign climes for a year I'd have been prostrating myself at the temple of his wizardry had he written this book then. I never had a problem in those heady daze with Robert Heinlein et al, so I hardly think I'd have failed to make room in my literary bed for good ol' China.
Let's just say I've arrived at the party a little too late. He's innovative rather than inventive, he's concocted a christmas cake of the fantasmagorical and spliced everything together as a rape of the genre - everything old is new again. I'm reminded of JK Rowling, but for adults, with an eye on the money as well, despite the self-proclaimed socialist allegiance.
(Which reminds me, it irks me no end that a writer with the claim to academic fame of Mr Mieville calls a spade a spade when he is really talking about clubs - his depiction of the garuda society is not a discussion on the allocation and organisation of resources but rather a description of a particular political system - anarchy (in its conservative sense) does not equal Marxist communism.)
Worse, the one aspect which I cannot bear, in a writer who is lauded for having upended and re-written the tropes endemic in the genre, is the male fantasy porn inherent in this novel. The lead male character is the scientist, the lead female the artist. The lead male is 'normal', the lead female, exotic. And the lead female is intact where it counts - a true paper bag job. The lead male emerges unscathed, the lead female suffers derangement. The lead male is redeemed, the lead female is left....helpless. Of course, there's no such thing as being commercial, if you're being 'revolutionary', is there?
Urgh. Read it by all means, if that's your cup of tea. It's just not enough to make me swoon anymore.
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Reading Progress
August 23, 2012
– Shelved
November 17, 2012
–
Started Reading
November 17, 2012
– Shelved as:
closet-chauvinist
December 16, 2012
– Shelved as:
there-are-better-writers-i-d-rather
December 16, 2012
– Shelved as:
unfinished
December 17, 2012
–
Finished Reading
Comments Showing 1-50 of 68 (68 new)
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Scribble
(last edited Dec 17, 2012 12:24AM)
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Nov 17, 2012 07:54PM
I don't think this is going to end prettily, Mr Mieville.
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His style not working for you?
Lot of issues, J.It isn't actually the sentence construction. I like that. It's that he performs a rather vast and stunning intellectual dishonesty. It's times like this when I wish writers would shut up about what their stated intents are...I hazard a guess that I wouldn't be feeling so hostile if I hadn't read some of his quotes/comments.
"It's that he performs a rather vast and stunning intellectual dishonesty."Fascinating thoughts. I have this one waiting at the library for me as everyone says its the one of his I must read. I hated his Kraken book a few chapters in and made it one of those books I had to stop. He indicated his excellent writing ability and thoughts but then was sooooooooo repetitive to the point of tedium.
For truly original, twisted, gnarly prose, I admired his Looking for Jake.The prose in PSS swings high and low. It's not the real issue though.
I think pacing is probably not his strongest point, but then, he's in love with purple prose, and to a certain extent, I enjoy that. I tend to skip large chunks when I feel things are bogging down.
I'm still ploughing through (probably to the bitter end) but I already have so many "how could you if you think..." nuggets of irascibility that I really don't think I'm going to experience an epiphany of redemption. Or something.
I also think that had I been about thirty years younger I would not have been as bothered by the issues I have. Afterall, I thought Heinlein was pretty mind-blowing when I first read him in my teens.
I'm so miffed I've actually created a new shelf in Monsieur Mieville's honour.
The 'closet chauvinist' shelf? But doesn't he thank his wife in his books or something like that haha?
What? Thanking your wife implies a lack of chauvinism?
After all, chauvinism is not necessarily gender-related...(The original meaning has nothing to do with it.)I'm looking forward to this review.
Ha! I wasn't actually referring to Nicolas Chauvin with the appellation "Monsieur"....To lend some spice to the anticipation I will neither deny nor confirm either the narrow or the broader meaning.
Scribble wrote: "What? Thanking your wife implies a lack of chauvinism?"I was being sarcastic, doesn't really show. It was a point someone raised once as how he thanks his wife in a way that's meant to show 'gender equality' and I was like: what are you talking about?
Jonathan, I was being slow ;)
I could accuse Mieville of many things: of bad writing, of being disgusting, of being thoughtless, of being half-baked, of being undisciplined; but i'm rather fascinated that anyone could call him chauvinist...I must be missing something huge, but that is truly one thing i cannot seem to find in this work.Care to explain that particular accusation?
Ah, but before we get bogged down again in comparing apples to pears, when you use the word chauvinism, and seeing that you mentioned Nicolas Chauvin, would it be fair to assume that you were using the term in the sense that Wikipedia explains it as: Chauvinism, in its original and primary meaning, is an exaggerated, bellicose patriotism and a belief in national superiority and glory.[1] It is an eponym of a possibly fictional French soldier Nicolas Chauvin who was credited with many superhuman feats in the Napoleonic wars.
By extension, it has come to include an extreme and unreasoning partisanship on behalf of any group to which one belongs, especially when the partisanship includes malice and hatred towards rival groups. Jingoism is the British parallel form of this French word, when referring to nation.
A contemporary use of the term in English is in the phrase male chauvinism.
Trav, I promise you that I will reveal all in my review. But to be fair, actually I referred only to old Nic as a riff on Monsieur and Helen's preceding comment and Jonathan's preceding comment...and it does start to lose its verve when rehashing that particular mash-up. But...I'm using in this particular context the contemporary appropriation and I reserve the right to broaden my usage (with explication as forewarning) as and if required once I write the review proper.I don't think it means you are missing something huge, it's probably more about how we might differ in our perceptions of chauvinism (in the contemporary sense). I'm actually hoping that I revise my opinion...but so far...not looking good. Since I liked his short stories, I might give another Bas-Lag rendition a shot. Or not.
So many books, so little time.
That's fair. If you meant male chauvinism, i still don't get it, so..-quite interested in seeing the review!
Oh, well, you'll probably end up disappointed. My reviews tend to have lots of crackle and pop in the build-up and fizzle like old fire-crackers in the execution.
I wouldn't say that is how i've experienced your reviews, so when you're done with your NaNoWriMo activities, we'll be on the lookout...
Nothing like pressure, huh?
Trav polishes her halo. @_@
It was never dusty in the first place ;-)
It became all sooty from the horns and tail below it, though! Hehe XD
Glad to see you've got your groove back XD
Thanks, yes things are more relaxed now. Hope you got your pressures sorted as well.
Oh yes, I just have to produce this bloody review for you, don't I?! All sorted, done and dusted, etc etc! :DThanks :P
Never a dull moment, eh? ;) Nothing like pressure to get a job done. Which reminds me..- i do have a few things i need to do still myself...
I'm just here to shamelessly poke and prod at the reviewer......I promise I will post my review of Deathless as soon as this one is out.
*taps fingers on desk* *whistles Auld lang Syne* *looks at the clock* *taps fingers on desk again*
Oh come on! It's only fourteen days since the NaNoWriMo pressure was off (well, Nov 29 when we last discussed, to be technically honest) and here you both are...ouch...stop that!...now just a minute....
I reviewed it in the midst of my NaNoWriMo frenzy.:D
(Oh god please don't kill me.)
FOUR-TEEN DAYS? It really takes you fourteen days to write a review?We're not expecting a study guide or a thesis, just a simple little 8 or 900 word review detailing CM's chauvinism will do for now, S!
@Helen, @Trav (Aubrey, I'm ignoring you, you deserted your post! Unless you were mistakenly alluding to me as god, in which case, sorry I really must decline...)...I have still to finish reading this agonising apology for a....no, wait...I'm overtaking myself here....I mean...You want me to at least struggle through to the bitter end before I vent my spleen, right?
Can I, perhaps, interest you in my last two reviews - the latter has particularly scintillating reading progress updates?
Gazelle
A Postmodern Belch
Nope. Not controversial enough.(But I must inform you that over half of the links in the latter are not working.)
Scribble wrote: "@Helen, @Trav (Aubrey, I'm ignoring you, you deserted your post! Unless you were mistakenly alluding to me as god, in which case, sorry I really must decline...)...I have still to finish reading..."
Oh, come on, it's really not a difficult kind of book, Scribble. You can always read my short chapter-by-chapter synopses in the group read to help you through, ha ha ha. Btw, i re-read this in order to enable me to make those synopses, so if i can do it twice, you can surely do it once. :)
In case you forgot where it is: http://www.goodreads.com/topic/group_...
Helen wrote: "Nope. Not controversial enough.(But I must inform you that over half of the links in the latter are not working.)"
That was deliberate, Helen (about the links I mean) - it's part of the way the book is written.
(well that's my excuse, anyway).
Trav...erm...thanks. That's so terribly...erm...generous and helpful of you.(*^%$$%^&^Y#@#$%$)
*whistling, smiling....*
See? I got a shiny halo! Always glad to be of service. ;D
Traveller wrote: "See? I got a shiny halo! Always glad to be of service. ;D"You left out an 'f' I'm sure you meant to say 'off service'.
@Scribble: Did not. But I will let it lie.
@Aubrey: Ha! Sleeping dogs etc...I suppose if you're still here your post hasn't deserted you. I, on the other hand, am wandering in the wilderness, lost in a desert of strange winged beasts..
Quoted from the review: "(Which reminds me, it irks me no end that a writer with the claim to academic fame of Mr Mieville calls a spade a spade when he is really talking about clubs - his depiction of the garuda society is not a discussion on the allocation and organisation of resources but rather a description of a particular political system - anarchy (in its conservative sense) does not equal Marxist communism.)"
I'm not sure how it follows that:
1) The Garuda should depict any form of Communism or Anarchy, and
2) How you can read any form of anarchy into a society that uses quite ferocious punitive processes for crimes.
You would need to explain that more explicitly to a poor soul as slow as myself. ;)
Regarding your problem with the arrangement between the genders, i might just mention that in the second New Crubozon book, the protagonist/"hero" is female. A human female. :)
Ah, good. Makes me less guilty I decided not to bother despite gushing reviews from many highbrow critics. (Never thought I'd see scientist self-insert outside standard SF, though.)
@Traveller Making a MC female does not make book non-chauvinist. There are still many ways that can go wrong.
Helen wrote: "@Traveller Making a MC female does not make book non-chauvinist. There are still many ways that can go wrong. ."..but similarly, making two out of the four protagonists male doesn't make it chauvinist either. ..and (view spoiler)
I suppose that somebody has to try their hand at a negative review of PSS and that some telling criticism might emerge from the endeavour, but I have to say, regrettably, nope, sorry, this review is not it.It would have been nice to see Scribble adopt a less flippant and superficial approach, so that readers could test whether there was any real substance to her views and learn from them or at least question their own boosterism (of which I personally am totally guilty).
If you really want to read without generosity, you could dismiss every author's efforts by resorting to the language of tropes, but what's the point?
Who could write about love or lust or sex without using what some critic somewhere (in the tropics?) would want to describe as tropes?
Maybe chauvinism needs to be rooted out, but women have just as much to fear from other women who would describe them as "a true paper bag job".
How disappointing.
Scribble, I'm with you. I don't necessarily have the same objections as you do (I must say, I'm finding it so dull that every political/moral/social message or whatever is flying straight over my head), but so far I'm not finding Mieville to be close to what I expected. His ideas are so half-baked that the whole thing blends together and becomes rather dry and superficial and it's putting me to sleep.
*sigh* I hope it gets better, because I'm determined to finish this no matter what. I wish I like it more, I'd been so excited to read this.
*sigh* I hope it gets better, because I'm determined to finish this no matter what. I wish I like it more, I'd been so excited to read this.
Ian wrote: "I suppose that somebody has to try their hand at a negative review of PSS and that some telling criticism might emerge from the endeavour, but I have to say, regrettably, nope, sorry, this review i..."This comment demonstrated the extent to which the commenter misinterpreted and misconstrued the review, the book and the concepts to which he refers. New and unmatched heights of puerility and pomposity.
Jocelyn wrote: "Scribble, I'm with you. I don't necessarily have the same objections as you do (I must say, I'm finding it so dull that every political/moral/social message or whatever is flying straight over my h..."I very much enjoyed his Looking for Jake, Jocelyn. I'm sorry to hear you're having no fun with PSS, but maybe his short stories will appeal more. I've just started The City and the City which is reading well so far. Otherwise, I'm still inclined to say Aurorarama might be more to your taste, given how much you also enjoyed Jonathan Strange & Mr Norrell
I'm still waiting for Scribbs to admit that China is a sweetie and not a chauvinist. ;) The City & TC might not do it, but Embassytown most certainly might.
My god, woman! Enough already! High Commission Outsized Village TBRED with your name on it (hoping there's no bullet involved...). And now you can jump on the Aurorarama train too! What's good for the Scribbler is good for the Traveller.
